Prediction of all games in the 2024 Ohio State Buckeyes football schedule

Ohio State is entering a historic 2024 season marked by the expansion of the Big Ten Conference. After three straight losses to Michigan, the team is now aiming to qualify for the 12-team College Football Playoff with a roster that most analysts are calling a national championship class.

The Buckeyes are ranked second nationally in most bookmakers’ national title odds and bring important experience, especially on defense, and have made key signings that put the team firmly on the short list of serious championship contenders.

What can we expect from the Buckeyes this season? Let’s make some early predictions for every game on the Ohio State football schedule using ESPN’s Power Index analysis model.

Odds for Ohio State: 98.7%

How big are the Buckeyes’ favorites in the season opener? The current odds have Ohio State as a 50.5 favorite against the Zips at home. Akron won two games last season.

Odds for Ohio State: 98.2%

The Broncos won four times last year and allowed more than 40 points in every game against Power Five competition (all losses) and come into this matchup after an opener at Wisconsin.

Odds for Ohio State: 96.4%

Marshall started last season 4-0, including a win over Virginia Tech, but lost five straight games to ruin the season. The team finished the season 6-7, with the 106th best offense in the country.

Odds for Ohio State: 91.5%

An early litmus test for Jonathan Smith, the Spartans’ new head coach, who hopes to revive an offense that ranked 132nd last season but brings in athletic quarterback Aidan Chiles to stir up trouble.

Odds for Ohio State: 87.0%

We’ll see if the Hawkeyes can revive their offense, but what we do know is that Iowa has the players to stand up to a strong Ohio State and that their fourth-best scoring defense can get back on the field.

Odds for Ohio State: 34.5%

The only game in which the Buckeyes are not considered favorites is a key away test at raucous Autzen Stadium against a Ducks team that boasts arguably the best wide receiver group in college football, in addition to two of the most physical lines in the country.

Odds for Ohio State: 91.4%

Nebraska played good defense last year and has enough of that unit back to make some plays early at the line. And we could see some flashes from five-star new quarterback Dylan Raiola, but the Buckeyes have home advantage in this game.

Odds for Ohio State: 50.8%

A key date on the Big Ten schedule, the Buckeyes travel to Happy Valley each year to face an elite Penn State defense with plenty of experience and the Nittany Lions’ dynamic running back duo – all while facing the deafening roar of PSU’s faithful.

Odds for Ohio State: 93.3%

We placed Purdue last in our Big Ten football rankings after the team lost edge rusher and B1G sack leader Nic Scourton from a defense that otherwise struggled mightily last year, allowing more than 30 points per game.

Odds for Ohio State: 87.8%

Eight starters are expected to return for a Wildcat defense that wasn’t too bad a year ago, but Northwestern still has one big question at quarterback that hasn’t really been answered yet.

Odds for Ohio State: 94.6%

The Hoosiers’ offense could make a splash this season after new head coach Curt Cignetti brought in quarterback Kurtis Rourke from Ohio University and made several transfers across the field.

Odds for Ohio State: 74.2%

Despite their three-game losing streak in The Game, this is a big number for the Buckeyes, but Michigan is a completely different team right now after winning the national title, and the projections are for OSU, with its returning players and elite transfers, to win the series back at home.

Ohio State Football Schedule 2024