Ohio State has added another marquee opponent to its future schedule. Per a release from the university, the Buckeyes will be facing off with Georgia in 2030 at Georgia’s Samford Field, while the Bulldogs will make a trip to Columbus the following year. The latter of the two is marked for Aug. 30, 2031, meaning it will likely be the opener to that season, while the former comes on Sept. 14, two or three weeks in.
This will be, per the release, Ohio State’s first regular season matchup with an SEC opponent since 1987 and 1988, when the Buckeyes faced off with LSU, tying in 1987 at Tiger Stadium, 13-13 and winning the home swing, 36-33. To go back into the archive, that second game would have been just the third in John Cooper’s tenure at Ohio State and as he told BSB at the time, it was a win that felt good.
“One week you’re stomping the grapes and the next week you’re drinking the wine,” said OSU head coach John Cooper after the game. “I don’t know if I’ve ever been around a more exciting finish. I just finished talking to our recruits and told them the next time they came we’d try to play an exciting game for them.”
Ohio State has faced off with Georgia just once before, in the 1993 Citrus Bowl, a game that the Bulldogs won 21-14.
“This is going to be a terrific series for fans of both programs to look forward to down the road,” Diana Sabau, Ohio State University Deputy Athletics Director, said. “This series is a testament to our commitment to scheduling and playing really good intersectional contests. It’s these kind of games that make for memorable experiences for our student-athletes.”
Georgia is the latest in a significant run of early season matchups against top teams for the Buckeyes. Since 2005, the Buckeyes have played home-and-home series’ with Texas, USC, Miami (FL), California, Virginia Tech and Oklahoma, putting up a 6-6 in those games. The 2018 win over TCU was originally designed to be a two game series, but the two parties changed it to a neutral site one-off prior to the start of the series.
Ohio State also has quite a few top opponents to play between 2019 and 2030. The Buckeyes have home-and-home games scheduled against Oregon for 2020 and 2021, Notre Dame for 2022 and 2023, Washington for 2024 and 2025, and Texas in 2025 and 2026.
