The upcoming 2022 season is starting to take shape.
The majority of Ohio State’s 2022 schedule was released April 6, featuring some familiar foes and others that the Buckeyes have not met in almost a decade.
For the 2022 season, the National Club Football Association (NCFA) realigned the league into three conferences and brought back the NCFA Playoffs, with automatic bids for each conference champion and one at-large bid.
Ohio State, which last played in the Great Lakes Conference in 2016, will be joined by Oakland, Michigan State, Loyola (Chicago), Toledo, Miami (OH) and Wright State, making up the largest conference in the NCFA.
The Buckeyes are scheduled to open their season on the road against Toledo, on Sunday, Sept. 18, one day after the varsity programs meet in Columbus. Ohio State defeated the Rockets 51-14 last season in their inaugural matchup, in which the Buckeyes set a program record for offensive yards in a single game.
Ohio State will return home a week later to take on Michigan State, a team the Buckeyes have not faced since 2015 which ended in a 45-0 loss to the Spartans, the lone meeting between the two teams. The 2022 matchup will mark the first in Columbus between the two programs.
Loyola (Chicago) will be Ohio State’s Week 3 opponent, as the Buckeyes are set to make the trip to the Windy City for the second time in program history. Ohio State won the lone meeting between the two schools in 2013, a 31-6 victory that was concluded at halftime due to inclement weather. The game against the Ramblers will be played either Oct. 1 or Oct. 2.
The Week 4 matchup features a return to the Dayton area to take on Wright State. The Buckeyes defeated the Raiders twice in 2021, winning 57-7 in the regular season matchup and 55-12 in the conference title game. The Buckeyes have won 10 of the last 11 meetings against Wright State dating back to 2012. The game against Wright State will be played either Oct. 8 or Oct. 9.
After a week off, Ohio State will return home for a Week 6 tilt against Oakland University. The Golden Grizzlies and Buckeyes are tied with Coppin State for the most national titles in league history with two apiece and will renew their rivalry for the third straight season on October 23. Overall, the Grizzlies hold a 4-3 advantage all-time, although the Buckeyes have won the last three matchups by a combined score of 126-16, including a 36-9 win in the 2019 national title game.
For its Week 7 matchup, the Buckeyes will step out of NCFA play and take on Denison University’s JV squad. Ohio State dropped a 28-20 contest to the Big Red last season, dropping the all-time record against Denison to 1-2. The Buckeyes lost the inaugural matchup in 2012, 23-14, before rebounding in 2013 with a 31-14 victory. Denison’s varsity squad finished 2021 with a 6-4 record.
The Buckeyes are set to close the regular season at home against long-time rival Miami (OH) on either Nov. 5 or Nov. 6. After losing seven straight to the Redhawks from 2012-2017, the Buckeyes have won the last three matchups, including a 24-0 victory last season that was called off at halftime.
The Buckeyes are tentatively set to return 12 starters from their 2021 championship season, including All-Americans Kellyn Gerenstein, Casey Scroggins, Jordan Griffith-Simmon and Colby Stahl amongst others.
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