Ohio State’s third national title defense will feature three conference games in 2025, with the Buckeyes set to host multiple conference games for the first time since 2022.
The Great Lakes Conference schedule has a new twist for the 2025 campaign. The top teams from each division from the year before will square off, as will the second place teams and third place teams be pitted against each other. The fourth place team from the previous season in the West Division (Loyola Chicago), will be left without a crossover opponent for the 2025 season.
With Ohio State earning the Great Lakes title in 2024, the East Division will host the crossover games in 2025. For the Buckeyes, that means hosting Michigan State, which finished atop the Great Lakes West Division last season, but forfeited the conference title game to the Buckeyes, citing lack of available players.
The Buckeyes and Spartans are set to meet Week 2 in Columbus on Sunday, Sept. 28, which will serve as the first matchup between the two schools since the 2023 conference title game, in which Ohio State won 52-0. A kickoff time will be announced at a later date.
Ohio State won’t play another conference game until Week 6 when the Buckeyes are scheduled to make the trip across I-70 to Wright State to renew the NCFA’s longest standing rivalry. The Buckeyes and Raiders are set to play Sunday, Oct. 26 at Mulhollan Field with a time yet to be determined. The two programs have met every year since 2012, with Ohio State losing just once in that span. The Buckeyes won last year’s matchup, 58-7, handing Wright State one of its two losses on the year. The Raiders posted their best season in nearly a decade in 2024, finishing 6-2 and narrowly missing out on the No. 4 seed in last year’s NCFA Playoffs.
Finally, the Buckeyes will return home in Week 7 to host Toledo. Ohio State won last year’s matchup 42-0 in the Glass Bowl. The Buckeyes are 4-0 all-time against the Rockets, who joined the NCFA in 2021. Toledo is expected to return a number of key starters, including quarterback Brandon Motter who has thrown for 2,868 yards in his three seasons as the Rockets starter. Kickoff is scheduled for Sunday, Nov. 2 with a kickoff time yet to be determined.
Ohio State has not lost a conference game since 2018, when the Buckeyes lost the conference championship game to The Apprentice School. The Buckeyes have won five straight conference titles and will look to defend their national title crown in 2025.
Ohio State’s non-conference opponents, times, dates and locations will be announced at a later date.
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