Ohio State is two games into its 12 game schedule, and has easily won its first two challenges of the season. With the Buckeyes in the midst of non-conference play, OSU is not expected to be significantly challenged until its 11th game of the year against No. 4 Michigan State. As the overwhelming favorite to repeat as national champions, if the Buckeyes defeat Michigan State, the squad looks destined to be unbeaten going into the Big Ten Championship. Given OSU’s schedule, the Buckeyes currently have a 53 percent chance of going unbeaten through the regular season according to PredictionMachine.com. But what if Ohio State had Alabama’s or USC’s schedule? PredictionMachine.com ran 50,000 simulations and found that OSU would have an 18 percent chance to go unbeaten if it had Alabama’s schedule, and a 25 percent chance if it had USC’s schedule. While the Buckeyes would be favored to win any game on Bama’s schedule, the odds are one of OSU’s opponents would trip up the Buckeyes during the season they had Alabama’s schedule.By comparison, Alabama only has a 10 percent chance of going unbeaten with its remaining schedule.The Buckeyes are given a 71.7 percent chance of beating Michigan State later this season. If Ohio State had to play at Georgia, a game that is on the Crimson Tide’s schedule, the Buckeyes would have a 63.8 percent chance of winning. The contest versus Michigan State is the only game the Buckeyes do not have at least an 85 percent chance of winning according to PredictionMachine.com. Given Alabama’s schedule, OSU would have five games where the opponent would have at least a 15 percent chance of winning. USC’s schedule is tougher in large part due to its contest against Oregon late in the season. The Buckeyes would be given a 66 percent chance of defeating the Ducks according to the simulations.
Continue Reading: Could Ohio State go unbeaten in the SEC?
