Ohio State Football: Ranking Buckeyes’ 2020 opponents by toughness

Ohio State has a couple of preseason top-10 teams on the schedule and both happen to be matchups on the road. The Oregon Ducks will host Ohio State in the second week of the season and it’ll be a massive Pac-12 vs. Big Ten battle which could have serious playoff implications. Could this be a playoff preview? It’s possible.

Justin Herbert may be gone, but the Ducks have a talented sophomore in Tyler Shough as well as Boston College transfer Anthony Brown under center.

The backfield will be elite as well as the receiving corps and offensive line. And the defense continues to get better. The Ducks are the Pac-12’s top playoff hope.

Year in and year out, Penn State and Ohio State seem to play instant classics and the 2020 season should be no different.

James Franklin is one of the only coaches who has been able to figure out the Buckeyes and if he wants to make his first playoff appearance, he’s going to have to pull off the upset in Happy Valley this season.

Penn State is talented enough to get the job done with Sean Clifford back under center and Journey Brown at running back along with an elite defense led by Micah Parsons. This could decide Ohio State’s playoff fate for 2020 as well as the Big Ten East.