Ohio State to Host Buffalo in 2028 Season Opener

Ohio State is scheduled to host Buffalo in its 2028 season opener on Sept. 2, 2028, making up for the game that was scheduled to be played between the Buckeyes and Bulls in 2020 before the Big Ten canceled all of its non-conference football games for that season due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

As was announced last year, Ohio State will also play Alabama in 2028, traveling to Tuscaloosa for the second leg of a home-and-home series between the Buckeyes and Crimson Tide.

Ohio State will pay Buffalo $1.9 million to play at Ohio Stadium in 2018. The Buckeyes would have paid Buffalo $1.8 million for the 2020 game, but did not have to make that payout after the game was canceled, though the two schools agreed to reschedule the game for a future season.

All three non-conference opponents Ohio State was supposed to play in 2020 are now back on the schedule for future seasons. Ohio State will open its 2027 season against Bowling Green, who it was originally scheduled to play in its 2020 season opener, before hosting Alabama in its second game of the 2027 season. Ohio State will play a new home-and-home series with Oregon next decade, traveling to Eugene in 2032 – as it was supposed to in 2020 – before hosting the Ducks at Ohio Stadium, as it did this season, in 2033.

The 2028 game between Ohio State and Buffalo will be the second-ever meeting between the Buckeyes and Bulls. Ohio State previously hosted Buffalo in its 2013 season opener, a game the Buckeyes won 40-20 but which is most remembered as the game that made Khalil Mack a top-five NFL draft pick, as he had 2.5 sacks and returned an interception for a touchdown in that game against the Buckeyes.