It won't be until next decade, but Ohio State will eventually play the football game at Oregon it was supposed to play last season.
Ohio State will play a home-and-home against Oregon in 2032 and 2033, athletic director Gene Smith told Eleven Warriors on Thursday. (Correction: Smith initially told Eleven Warriors that the games would be played in 2031 and 2032, but the games will actually be played in 2032 and 2033.)
The Buckeyes will still play Oregon in Columbus this year in their home opener, which is set for Sept. 11 at noon. Assuming Ohio Stadium is back at full capacity for that game, Ohio State will pay Oregon $3.5 million for this year's trip to Columbus.
“We just couldn’t find a date next year or the year after or even before ‘26, there was no way that we could return the game. And that’s why we had to up the guarantee,” Smith told Eleven Warriors during an interview that will air on next week's Real Pod Wednesdays.
“Our options were to cancel the game and just, we go find another opponent, which would be more expensive, frankly, and then you wouldn’t generate the revenue that you would generate with an Oregon ... if things are back to some level of normal, we know the Oregon game will be packed, it will be a great game and revenue-wise, it would be exceptional and help us with our deficit. At the same time, we’d be able to pay Oregon more than we would be able to pay somebody else. So it became a math issue and (Oregon athletic director Rob Mullens) and I agreed that we needed to do it this way, and they’ve accepted that.”
“I also felt that it was important for our fans to have a chance to go to Oregon.”
Oregon is the first opponent on Ohio State's schedules for both 2032 and 2033.
