How Many FBS Teams Has Ohio State Never Played?

The Ohio State Buckeyes have been playing football for a long time. Ever since the first game on May 3, 1890, a game in which the Buckeye took down Ohio Wesleyan, 20-14, Ohio State has suited up for 1,392 games. Through the 2025 season, Ohio State owns the all-time record for winning percentage. Despite vacating 12 wins from the 2010 season, Ohio State is second in all-time wins.

Naturally, that means that Ohio State has played all kinds of programs over the years. In addition to the 37 FCS and below teams the Buckeyes have faced, Ohio State has played 92 of the 138 programs set to suit up at the FBS level in 2026.

So, that leaves 46 programs. Which programs have never played Ohio State?

How Many FBS Teams Has Ohio State Never Played?

MAC: 4

There has been plenty of overlap between Ohio State and the Mid-American Conference. Considering seven of the 13 in the conference reside in Ohio (and three are just across the border in Michigan), it only makes sense. In total, Ohio State has played 39 games against nine MAC programs, owning an official 37-1 mark (don’t forget, Northern Illinois is a Mountain West team in 2026, because that makes sense). The 2010 win over Eastern Michigan was self-vacated, and that lone loss came at the hands of Akron in their first-ever matchup in 1894.

So, that leaves four teams.

Ball State, Central Michigan, UMass, and Sacramento State have never played Ohio State. However, Ball State is on the schedule for 2026, so this group will shrink by one soon. Central Michigan is a bit of a surprise, especially considering the Buckeyes have faced the other two directional Michigan schools.

UMass has spent the overwhelming majority of its time as a football program at a lower level. The Minutemen were at the highest level of college football from their inception in 1882 until 1906. From 1907 until the 2012 season, UMass played in Division I-AA/FCS. Of course, since jumping back up to the FBS, UMass has gone 26-134 with eight 10-loss seasons and two winless seasons.

In the same boat is Sacramento State. The Hornets recently bought their way to the FBS level. If Ohio State is going to play all 13 MAC teams, SacState is likely going to be the final one.

Conference USA: 9

In the same vein as those few MAC teams, it only makes sense that Ohio State rarely plays Conference USA teams. To date, the Buckeyes have won both games against the two CUSA teams they have faced: Western Kentucky and New Mexico State.

So, that leaves nine. Ohio State has never played Delaware, Florida International, Jacksonville State, Kennesaw State, Liberty, Louisiana Tech, Middle Tennessee, Missouri State, or Sam Houston. While Louisiana Tech is trying to sue its way into the Sun Belt, we will assume the Bulldogs will play a CUSA schedule in 2026.

Middle Tennessee is the oldest FBS program of that group, moving up in 1999. After that, FIU joined in 2005. All of these programs are newer to the FBS level. Jacksonville State and Sam Houston jumped in 2023, Kennessaw State jumped in 2024, and Missouri State and Delaware started FBS play last year.

As of now, Ohio State does not have any scheduled games against any CUSA teams, let alone this group of nine.

Mountain West: 4

The Mountain West will be undergoing changes in 2026 as the Pac-12 raided its ranks. To date, the Buckeyes have faced off against six of the MWC. Oddly enough, Ohio State has a losing record against one Group of 6 team: Air Force, when it lost its only matchup in the 1990 Liberty Bowl. In total, Ohio State is 6-1 against the MWC when you add NIU.

So, that leaves Nevada, New Mexico, UTEP, and the newly-added North Dakota State. Matchups against the Mountain West are few and far between, naturally. Ohio State doesn’t tend ot find itself in bowl games against Group of 6 teams. In its history, Ohio State has played 61 bowl games (if you count the self-vacated Sugar Bowl win over Arkansas), and has only played two programs currently in the Group of 6: Air Force and Navy.

However, if it stays scheduled, the Buckeyes will take on Nevada in 2030.

Sun Belt: 10

When it comes to the Sun Belt, we run into a similar situation as Conference USA. To date, OSU has played the Sun Belt five times, winning all five times. Of those five matchups, three were against Marshall, one was against Troy, and one was against Arkansas State.

So, assuming Louisiana Tech remains in CUSA, the 10 programs Ohio State has never played from the Sun Belt are Appalachian State, Coastal Carolina, Georgia Southern, Georgia State, James Madison, Louisiana, Louisiana-Monroe, Old Dominion, South Alabama, and Southern Miss.

It’s the same situation as with Conference USA. While Louisiana, UL-Monroe, and Southern Miss have been at the Division I-A/FBS level for a while, the rest joined in the 2010s or later. James Madison, of course, most recently made the jump in 2023.

As of now, there are no plans to play any Sun Belt teams, let alone new ones, on Ohio State’s future schedule.

American: 7

Ohio State has played half of the American Conference in its time. The Buckeyes have played seven teams a total of 13 times, winning all 13. Leading the way with five matchups is Navy, followed by two each against Rice and Tulsa. Ohio State has played Army, FAU, Tulane, and UAB once each.

With that, it leaves seven American Conference programs to have never played Ohio State: Charlotte, ECU, Memphis, North Texas, South Florida, Temple, and UTSA.

As of now, Ohio State is slated to play Charlotte and Navy in 2029, potentially checking one of those off the list. As for the rest, there are no plans. However, imagine the storylines if Ohio State got to face off against South Florida and Brian Hartline.

Pac-12: 4

Finally, the sixth Group of 6 conference, the Pac-12, is a ghost of its former self. It’s going to take a lot for the newly revived conference of scraps to earn its way back into “Power” conversations.

In 2026, there will be eight Pac-12 teams (and 18 Big Ten teams and 16 Big 12 teams…). To this point, Ohio State has only faced off against four, and it has won all 17 matchups. Those four teams are Oregon State, Washington State, Fresno State, and San Diego State.

Process of elimination means Boise State, Colorado State, Texas State, and Utah State have never played Ohio State. Boise State may be the most surprising, considering it can be argued that the Broncos are the bluest of G6 bluebloods. Remember, Boise State has 19 double-digit win seasons since 1999.

At this point, there are no plans to play any Pac-12 team, let alone a new one.

Independents: 1

There was a time when the group of Independents was larger than any single conference. Now, it’s down to two teams. Notre Dame would sooner fold its athletics department than join a conference in football. Whether or not you agree with that matters not; it only makes sense, financially.

Ohio State has played Notre Dame nine times, winning each of the last seven. The most recent matchup was the 34-23 win in the CFP National Championship. Notre Dame hasn’t beaten Ohio State since it did so in 1936, 7-2.

That leaves UConn. The Huskies have been at the Division-I/FBS level since 2002.

Big 12: 2

Now, as we get into the Power 4, the Buckeyes have quite a history with the Big 12. While it looks different from how it did 20 years ago, Ohio State has plenty of matchups to look back to. In total, Ohio State has played 14 of the 16 Big 12 teams, with Cincinnati leading the way with 17 matchups (15-2). In total, the Buckeyes are 47-6-1 against the current configuration.

Those final two teams are Iowa State and Kansas, which makes sense. Unless Ohio State scheduled either for a regular-season matchup, it was never going to face either in a bowl game. Historically, neither program has been very good.

As of now, there are no plans to play any Big 12 opponents on the Buckeyes’ future non-conference schedule.

ACC: 2

Now that we are firmly in Power 4 territory, Ohio State is slowly running out of teams it hasn’t faced. Thanks to historical bowl tie-ins, Ohio State has faced off against 15 ACC teams in history. It has a losing record against Clemson, Florida State, and Stanford, and has played Pitt 25 times (19-5-1).

Those final two programs are Georgia Tech and Wake Forest. Again, just like with the Big 12, those two teams have not found themselves in many situations where they would be in a bowl with Ohio State.

Ohio State’s future non-conference schedule only features one ACC team, and it’s Boston College. The Buckeyes are currently slated to play the Eagles in a home-and-home in 2035 and 2036. Ohio State has won all three previous matchups.

SEC: 2

Ohio State has quite a history with the SEC. Of the 14 teams the Buckeyes have played, they have a .500-or-below record against eight (nine, if you don’t count the Sugar Bowl win over Arkansas). In terms of the current configuration, the Buckeyes are 29-20-2 overall and 6-14 in bowl games. Of those 14 teams, Ohio State has played Missouri the most and owns a 10-2-1 record. Currently, Ohio State is on a three-game win streak against the SEC.

Those final two teams are, predictably, Mississippi State and Ole Miss. Just like with the ACC and Big 12, neither of those two teams has ever been good enough to draw a bowl game with Ohio State, aside from last year. If Ohio State had beaten Miami (FL), it would have faced the Rebels for the first time in program history.

The Buckeyes’ future non-conference schedule currently has plenty of SEC opponents. A trip to Texas (Ohio State is 3-2) awaits this year. Then, in 2027 and 2028, Ohio State gets a home-and-home with Alabama (Ohio State is 1-4). Down the line, a home-and-home series with Georgia awaits in 2030 and 2031 (Ohio State is 0-2). We will see if those games actually get played, of course.

Big Ten: 0

Finally, and most predictively, Ohio State has played all 17 other Big Ten teams. From sharing the history with the original Big Ten to adding the West Coast quartet, there was no doubt. Ohio State has played USC, UCLA, Oregon, and Washington a combined 59 times, thanks to the Rose Bowl and such.

Ohio State currently has a losing record against just USC and Michigan.

All Together Now

So, if you were keeping track, this is the final list of Group of 6 (and Independent) teams Ohio State has never faced:

Sun Belt	CUSA	American	MAC	MWC	Pac-12	Independents
Appalachian State	Delaware	Charlotte	Ball State	Nevada	Boise State	UConn
Coastal Carolina	FIU	ECU	Central Michigan	New Mexico	Colorado State
Georgia Southern	Jacksonville State	Memphis	UMass	UTEP	Texas State
Georgia State	Kennesaw State	North Texas	Sacramento State	North Dakota State	Utah State
James Madison	Liberty	South Florida
Louisiana	Louisiana Tech	Temple
Louisiana-Monroe	Middle Tennessee	UTSA
Old Dominion	Missouri State
South Alabama	Sam Houston
Southern Miss

As we noted above, the Buckeyes are currently scheduled to knock Ball State (2026), Charlotte (2029), and Nevada (2030) off this list.

As for the Power 4 programs, it’s a much shorter list:

Big 12	ACC	SEC	Big Ten
Iowa State	Georgia Tech	Mississippi State	N/A
Kansas	Wake Forest	Ole Miss

Unfortunately, there are currently no plans to knock any of these six off the list.

Overall, there are still a good number of FBS programs that have never played Ohio State. Who knows, with NIL and the transfer portal (as we’ve seen with Ole Miss), there may be a few of these programs to suit up against Ohio State in the postseason.