Ohio State Football: 2017 season preview, predictions
2017 schedule
| WEEK | DATE | OPPONENT | LOCATION |
| 1 | Aug. 31 | at Indiana | Bloomington, Ind. |
| 2 | Sept. 9 | vs. Oklahoma | Columbus, Ohio |
| 3 | Sept. 16 | vs. Army | Columbus, Ohio |
| 4 | Sept. 23 | vs. UNLV | Columbus, Ohio |
| 5 | Sept. 30 | at Rutgers | Piscataway, N.J. |
| 6 | Oct. 7 | vs. Maryland | Columbus, Ohio |
| 7 | Oct. 14 | at Nebraska | Lincoln, Neb. |
| 8 | Oct. 21 | BYE WEEK | |
| 9 | Oct. 28 | vs. Penn State | Columbus, Ohio |
| 10 | Nov. 4 | at Iowa | Iowa City, Iowa |
| 11 | Nov. 11 | vs. Michigan State | Columbus, Ohio |
| 12 | Nov. 18 | at Michigan | Ann Arbor, Mich. |
The Buckeyes’ 2017 schedule gets off to a bit of an unorthodox start on Aug. 31 in Bloomington, Ind. Ohio State starts the Big Ten campaign earlier than the rest of the conference, taking on Indiana in a road contest under the lights. It’ll be Indiana’s Super Bowl, but don’t expect the talented Buckeyes to slip up early against a middle-of-the-pack team with a new coach.
The second game nine days later won’t be any easier. Oklahoma comes to town and the Buckeyes will be forced to test that young secondary against one of the top quarterbacks in the country: Baker Mayfield. If they can take down the Sooners, the nation will surely mark the Buckeyes down as a playoff favorite.
The next five games are all extremely winnable and it’d be shocking to see the Buckeyes trip up before an Oct. 21 bye week. That’s when the schedule really gets rough, tough.
After the bye week, Ohio State will host Penn State, travel to Iowa, host Michigan State and travel to Michigan for “The Game” to round out the regular season. That’s an absolute gauntlet compared to the first month and a half.
Next: College Football: Top 50 breakout candidates for 2017
Prediction: 11-1 (8-1 Big Ten)
The last month will be so tough for Ohio State that I just can’t see the Buckeyes finishing a perfect 12-0, but it’s definitely possible. Ohio State will cruise through the first eight games of the season, outside of maybe Oklahoma and Nebraska, and take an 8-0 record in the bye. However, the Buckeyes will lose one of their final four games, putting the Big Ten East title in jeopardy. Who they will lose to remains a mystery, but each of those teams have proven to be a threat over the past few years. I say one regular season loss and a Big Ten East crown will get them to the title game against Wisconsin.