Ohio State enters the 2018 season with a new quarterback, a pair of new defensive coaches and yet, still a boat load of expectations.
Luckily for the Buckeyes, the schedule for the upcoming campaign isn't all that grueling. Ohio State draws Purdue, Minnesota and Nebraska from the Big Ten West and gets Michigan at home.
What follows is a list of Ohio State's 2018 games this season, ranked in order of difficulty, starting with the easiest contests of Urban Meyer's seventh season with the Buckeyes.
12. Tulane, Sept. 22
The Green Wave is coming off of a 5-7 season, and comes to Columbus on Sept. 22 for what should very well be an easy ticket for fans to get and an easy win for the Buckeyes.
Tulane ranked 99th in total defense a year ago in the FBS and 75th in total offense. The Green Wave quarterback Johnathan Banks returns as their leading passer and rusher. Tulane's success through the air last season was limited, as the Green Wave ranked 117th in the FBS in passing yards per game, averaging just 160 yards per game through the air.
11. Rutgers, Sept. 8
Chris Ash should have the Scarlet Knights back into a bowl game this season if he stays on the same trajectory he is on, however coming back to Columbus for the second time as a visitor likely won't go well for him.
Ash is breaking in a new quarterback for the 2018 season, and the favorite to win the job is true freshman Artur Sitkowski. Sitkowski has talent, and was the highest rated recruit of Ash's third recruiting class. Assuming he wins the job however, he will be playing in his first career road game when the Scarlet Knights come to Columbus, where Rutgers has been outscored 114-17 in two visits since joining the Big Ten.
10. Oregon State, Sept. 1
The Beavers enter the 2018 season under first year head coach Johnathan Smith, who has quite the rebuilding project ahead of him.
Oregon State has not been to a bowl game in five seasons and has been through three head coaches in that span. The Beavers are coming off of a 1-11 season in the Pac-12, with the lone win coming by just three points over Portland State from the FCS.
The Beavers have the luxury of playing Ohio State on opening day with a new quarterback, center and a plethora of other first-year starters. The Buckeyes, like any new team, will surely have their growing pains in the season opener, but the Beavers shouldn't present much of a challenge.
9. Minnesota, Oct. 13
The Golden Gophers enter the second year of the P.J. Fleck era with expectations of a bowl game appearance, but not much more than that.
Fleck signed the No. 7 ranked recruiting class in the Big Ten, but must find a new starting quarterback after Demry Croft transferred to Tennessee State in the offseason. The Gophers were already one of the worst passing teams in the country last season, averaging just 126.1 yards per game through the air, and breaking in a new quarterback will only add to the growing pains in the passing game.
The Gophers do catch Ohio State in the middle of its easiest part of the conference schedule, so there is a chance Fleck's team could catch the Buckeyes napping. However, those chances are more likely a few years down the road once Fleck has had a chance to build his program more.
8. Indiana, Oct. 6
Richard Lagow and Simmie Cobbs are gone, yet the Hoosiers enter 2018 with returning production at the quarterback and wide receiver positions.
Peyton Ramsey supplanted Lagow as the starter early in the season before suffering a season-ending injury against Wisconsin. A more versatile quarterback, Ramsey brings a running attack to a Hoosier offense that seemed to struggle to move the ball under Lagow, following the season-opener against Ohio State.
The Hoosiers have also played better defense since Tom Allen took over, ranking sixth in the Big Ten last season in total defense, allowing an average of 340.1 yards per game. Indiana does however, have to travel to Columbus, a place it has not won since 1987. The best thing they have going for them, is that the game comes one week after the Buckeyes play Penn State in Happy Valley, which will take every bit of OSU's effort to win (more on that later).
7. Nebraska, Nov. 3
The first year of the Scott Frost era at Nebraska has fans in Lincoln making plans for Indianapolis already, but they might be a year ahead of themselves.
The Cornhuskers have a rebuilding process in front of them and while it might not be as bad as the situation that Mike Riley left at Oregon State (sensing a trend?), it isn't likely to happen overnight.
Adrian Martinez appears to be the real deal at quarterback, but will enter Ohio Stadium as a true freshman with only a handful of games under his belt. This year figures to be a much closer game than the 56-14 romp last year in Lincoln, but should still be a semi-comfortable win for the Buckeyes.
6. Purdue, Oct. 20
A road-trip to Ross-Ade Stadium isn't always kind to Ohio State, and this year doesn't figure to be any different.
Other than the blue-blood programs in the Big Ten, perhaps no other team in the conference has more momentum than Purdue, which went from the laughing stock of the league to a bowl-winning team in 2017 under first year head coach Jeff Brohm.
The Boilermakers return both quarterbacks from a season ago in Elijah Sindelar and David Blough, and also figure to build on a defense that finished 52nd in the country last season.
5. Maryland, Nov. 17
The first year of the D.J. Durkin era got off to a rough start when quarterbacks Tyrrell Pigrome and Kasim Hill both tore their ACLs in the first two weeks of the season, leaving the Terps to play the majority of the season with third-stringer Max Bortenschlager behind center.
Maryland managed just two wins without Pigrome and Hill, but both are expected to compete for the starting job in 2018 and bring an added element to the Terps offense. Combine that with the No. 5 recruiting class in the Big Ten, and Maryland has a very good chance to get back to a bowl game in 2018.
The Terps get Ohio State on their home field in 2018, and while Maryland Stadium doesn't exactly create a hostile atmosphere, the game does come between contests against Michigan State and Michigan for OSU, making it a possible trap game.
4. TCU, Sept. 15
The Horned Frogs played in the Big 12 title game for the first time ever last season, but were thrashed by Oklahoma, 41-17. They bounced back to beat Stanford in the Alamo Bowl, but lost a lot from last years squad.
TCU must replace starting quarterback Kenny Hill, running back Kyle Hicks and a pair of senior receivers on offense. Defensively, the Horned Frogs must replace linebacker Travin Howard, who led the team for three straight seasons in tackles.
The game will still present Ohio State with its first "road" test of the year. While the game is technically billed as a neutral site contest, AT&T Stadium is just a short drive from TCU's campus in Fort Worth. It will be the first real test for Dwayne Haskins and a new-look OSU offense against an always talented Gary Patterson defense.
It wouldn't come as a shock to anyone to see Patterson take a long, hard look at Ohio State's film from the 2014 Virginia Tech game. A defensive mind like Patterson figures to give the Buckeyes a run for their money, despite replacing multiple key pieces.
3. Michigan State, Nov. 10
A trip to East Lansing is almost always a dogfight for Ohio State, but one the Buckeyes have routinely pulled out.
Ohio State has won its last six trips to East Lansing, last losing in 1999 on the road to the Spartans. However, Michigan State will no doubt have revenge on its mind after being whipped 48-3 in Columbus in 2017.
In addition, the Spartans return quarterback Brian Lewerke and star running back L.J. Scott to the fold to make what should be an impressive one-two punch in the air and ground games respectively. Add in an always tough Mark Dantonio defense, and you have what should be another classic between these two schools.
Outside of the 2017 contest, each game between Urban Meyer and Dantonio has been decided by 12 points or less, and I would expect the 2018 game to be played within a tight window once again.
2. Michigan, Nov. 24
The Game is almost always No. 1 on this list, but because the Buckeyes get the Wolverines at home and haven't lost to Michigan since 2011, it checks in as the runner-up.
Jim Harbaugh is out of excuses. He has built a top-notch defense. He has the star quarterback, with a pair of weapons in Donovan Peoples-Jones and Tarik Black on the outside. If not now, when?
This game should come down to the wire, but in the end, it is hard to bet against Meyer in The Game, which Ohio State hasn't lost at home since 2000. By that time, the new look Buckeye offense should be running like a well-oiled machine. The Game could shape up to be a classic, and for the sake of the rivalry, we can only hope that is the case.
1. Penn State, Sept. 29
A trip to Happy Valley for a white-out game is almost always the hardest game on anyone's schedule, and considering Ohio State's last two trips to Penn State, that is no different in 2018.
Ohio State's loss to Penn State in 2016 cost them a chance at a Big Ten title and kickstarted the Nittany Lion's current return to national prominence. The 2014 double-overtime win was one for the ages, as a hobbled J.T. Barrett carried the Buckeyes to victory.
The white-out crowd for a young Dwayne Haskins starting in his first true road game will make for a difficult challenge, as he also is working with a first year starter at center in Brady Taylor. This is a major test for a team breaking in a handful of fresh faces on both sides of the ball, especially considering it will be the first big time true road environment for many of them. Add in a veteran quarterback on the other side in Trace McSorley, and you have the makings of a potential barn-burner.
The good news for Ohio State is that a loss in this game wouldn't eliminate them from playoff contention, assuming they enter the matchup unblemished. The game occurs early enough in the season that the Buckeyes could still run the table and sneak into to a CFP spot. Regardless, the trip to State College, Pa. is Ohio State's toughest challenge in 2018, at least in the regular season.
