Ohio State has removed a well-known non-conference home-to-home series from its future football schedule.
OSU announced Wednesday that it has canceled two scheduled games with Washington. The Buckeyes were due to travel to Seattle to face the Huskies in 2024 and then play the second leg in Columbus in 2025. Now there is no meeting.
As a result of the cancellation, Ohio State will pay Washington $500,000, as stipulated in a previously agreed contract between the two schools. This fine must be paid by February 2025.
“We initiated the cancellation,” Ohio State Athletic Director Gene Smith said. “I have a lot of respect for the University of Washington and Director of Athletics Jennifer Cohen and it was very difficult to do so.”
Smith said the cancellation of the Washington game allows Ohio State to add an eighth home game in 2024. Ohio State’s 2023 schedule has six home games.
“As a result of the cancellation, we will be adding an eighth home game in the 2024 season, which will give us the opportunity to get funding to pay a fine and a guarantee for this eighth opponent,” Smith said.
Could Ohio be another trip to the West Coast in 2024?
The 2024 season will be the first year that both UCLA and USC are members of the Big Ten, meaning those schools could be included in the OSU schedule this season. If a road game against one of these schools is part of Ohio’s 2024 schedule, the Buckeyes would have to travel to the West Coast twice if the Washington game remained on the schedule.
The Big Ten schedule for 2024 will not be revealed until October. In addition, the college football playoffs will expand to 12 teams in 2024.
Ohio State has scheduled non-conference home games for the 2024 season against Southern Mississippi and Western Michigan, but now has the option of another non-conference home game that could take place on September 7 or 14.
Ohio State has scheduled non-conference home games in 2025 with Texas (August 30) and UCLA (October 18). Due to the fact that a return visit from Washington is not registered, OSU has an opening outside the conference on either September 6 or 13, 2025.
An Ohio state visit to Texas to complete the home is scheduled for the 2026 season. Ohio State also has future series planned with Alabama, Georgia and Oregon.
Washington ‘very disappointed’ with Ohio’s decision
Ohio and Washington agreed on the series “Home and Home” in April 2017.
Cohen, Washington’s athletic director, said the school was “very disappointed” with Ohio State’s decision.
“We are very disappointed that our student athletes, staff, and the Husky Nation will not be able to participate in these two games with Ohio State. Everyone has had these dates circled for several years and we have been looking forward to competing with the Buckeyes,” said Cohen.
Washington currently only has non-conference games scheduled against Weber State and Eastern Michigan in 2024, and Colorado State and UC Davis in 2025.
“We are in the process of looking for new contenders for the 2024 and 2025 seasons and will provide an update as soon as it becomes available,” Cohen said.
With Ohio State not on the schedule, Washington is not scheduled to play an out-of-conference game against the Power Five until it hosts Michigan in 2028. Michigan was scheduled to visit Husky Stadium in 2020, but the game was canceled due to the COVID-19 pandemic. UW then traveled to Ann Arbor in 2021 as originally planned.
Source: sports.yahoo.com
