COLUMBUS, Ohio — Ohio State’s season-opening matchup with Texas on Aug. 30 is among the marquee nonconference matchups on the 2025 college football schedule.
However, the meeting between two powerful foes is becoming a rare breed.
As the College Football Playoff has expanded to 12 teams, many programs have cancelled high-level nonconference games to avoid unnecessary losses which could prove harmful on a postseason résumé.
Coach Ryan Day thinks there’s a solution to keep games such as Ohio State vs. Texas on the schedule.
“For us to be motivated to play in these games moving forward, I think — in the SEC and the Big Ten, we’re going to need some more automatic qualifiers,” Day said on the College Gameday Podcast. “If we don’t, there’s going to be less motivation to play these games. I think they’re great for college football.”
Discussions about expanding the playoff from 12 teams to 14 or 16 have been prevalent this offseason. In those proposals, Big Ten and SEC teams have often received more automatic bids.
The current 12-team format features one automatic bid for the Big Ten, SEC, Big 12, ACC and the highest-ranked Group of Five conference champion.
Ohio State did not have a notable nonconference opponent during the 2024 season. However, throughout Day’s tenure, the Buckeyes have scheduled meetings with teams such as Oregon, Notre Dame and Cincinnati.
In 2021, a home loss vs. the Ducks — along with a loss vs. Michigan — proved detrimental for the Buckeyes. That résumé, with more automatic qualifiers in play, could be CFP worthy.
“I think they’re great for our team as long as there are these automatic qualifiers because we can learn a lot about our team,” Day said. “But if it’s going to be detrimental to getting into the playoffs late in the season, there will be less motivation to play them.”
