COLUMBUS, Ohio (AP) — After this season, Ohio State only has two games scheduled against other teams from the state.
Even though the Big Ten is adding a game to its conference schedule in 2016 – eliminating one more possibility per year of the Buckeyes taking on an in-state opponent – Ohio State athletic director Gene Smith has no plans for his football team to stop playing schools from within the state’s borders.
”Absolutely not,” he said Thursday. ”The frequency will probably diminish as we move from eight to nine conference games. And, frankly, we’ll try and add in some different-branded schools, like a Tulsa in ’16, or Oregon State in ’18. When we get into scenarios like that, it makes it more difficult to schedule a MAC school (or Cincinnati). But it will not go away.”
The Buckeyes have won their last 38 meetings with other colleges from the state heading into Saturday’s game against Kent State. They also host Cincinnati in their next game on Sept. 27.
Not since a 7-6 setback to Oberlin in 1921 have the Buckeyes lost to an in-state opponent. For years they didn’t even deign to play one, ignoring them from 1933 through 1991.
However, Ohio State has played at least one in-state opponent in 18 of the last 23 seasons. It currently has plans to play only Bowling Green in 2016 and Cincinnati in 2019.
”When we get to the ’20s, we’ll schedule some Ohio schools,” Smith said. ”It’ll happen.”
Continue Reading: Buckeyes have dominated games vs in-state schools
