Massive news hit college football last week when it was announced that Oregon and Washington would join USC and UCLA in joining the Big Ten.
These expansions will be a big change as it brings the Big Ten from 14 to 18 teams. The additions will start in 2024 as that is when the four expansion teams will begin play in all sports for the Big Ten.
Not just the landscape of the Big Ten, but the landscape of college football is changing. Moving forward it appears like the game is headed towards having two super conferences, the Big Ten and SEC, with the ACC and Big 12 also being competitive. Meanwhile, the Pac-12 appears to be getting left behind.
All four of the new Big Ten teams are very legit football programs that have had success in recent memory. This sets the stage for some very exciting matchups for Ohio State in the near future.
We rank them by excitement level.
5
UCLA Bruins
The Excitement Level
Due to it being over 20 years since Ohio State and UCLA have squared off in football with the last matchup coming in 2001, it comes in as the least exciting future matchup.
However, that’s not to say it won’t be an exciting matchup because it certainly will be. UCLA plays in one of the best venues in college football, the Rose Bowl. On top of that, the Bruins are a program that has grown in recent years under Chip Kelly.
4
Washington Huskies
The Excitement Level
Washington has been one of the most successful Pac-12 programs in the college football era. The Huskies won the conference in 2016 and 2018, and are one of two teams in the conference to claim a playoff berth with their appearance in 2016.
Last season the Huskies went 11-2 and finished No. 8 in the final AP poll ranking in their first season under new head coach Kalen DeBoer.
Ohio State has recent history with Washington with the two programs having faced off in the 2019 Rose Bowl, a 28-23 Buckeye victory. With the recent success Washington has had, and this recent exciting Rose Bowl matchup, all the ingredients are there for the Huskies and Buckeyes to have exciting matchups in the future.
3
Oregon Ducks
The Excitement Level
The Oregon Ducks have been the most successful Pac-12 program in the playoff era. They’re the only Pac-12 team to win a playoff game and have won the conference three times in that time span.
On top of that, there are very few, if any teams outside of the Big Ten with more recent history with Ohio State than Oregon. The two programs squared off in the 2014 national championship game, which the Buckeyes won. Oregon has also had success in the series recently, handing Ohio State a loss in a week two matchup in 2021.
There will be plenty of more exciting matchups to look forward to when the Ducks join the Big Ten as they make the second spot on this list.
2
USC Trojans
The Excitement Level
Historically, USC is one of the most successful programs in college football, having won 11 national championships and boasting seven Heisman Trophy winners. With Lincoln Riley’s arrival at USC, the Trojans appear to be on their way to being a consistently dominant team again.
Ohio State and USC also have extensive history with each other, having played 24 times, with the most recent matchup being the Buckeyes’ 24-7 victory over them in the 2017 Cotton Bowl.
Considering all of these factors, the Trojans claim the top spot on this list of future matchups with the Buckeyes. They could easily become the Buckeyes’ biggest rivals aside from Michigan.
1
Summing it up
What it all means
There are a lot of things that we can point to as the unmasking of college football as we have known it, and to some extent, that’s true. There are pros and cons to where this has — and will — all land as things move forward. However, the excitement of matching up with programs that seem to be a culture clash with limited history, but that were joined at the hip in the days of the Rose Bowl meetings is one that we can all get excited about.
And while each of the four new teams brings its own set of variables that can rile up a fanbase and raise the interest meter going forward, some will draw more interest than others.
Buckle up, it’s going to be interesting, fun, and a little bit weird.
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