See where showdown with No. 3 Oregon ranks among Ohio State's toughest road games since 2014

The Ohio State Buckeyes have been no stranger to facing tough opponents throughout the regular season. Unlike their SEC counterparts, the Buckeyes have embraced challenging out-of-conference games that pit them in huge showdowns. This has included several massive road games over the last decade. While Week 7's matchup with No. 3 Oregon is now a […]

Ian Valentino — National College Football Writer
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Ohio State Buckeyes head coach Ryan Day waits to take the field against Iowa Hawkeyes during the NCAA football game at Ohio Stadium
Kyle Robertson/Columbus Dispatch-USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images

The Ohio State Buckeyes have been no stranger to facing tough opponents throughout the regular season. Unlike their SEC counterparts, the Buckeyes have embraced challenging out-of-conference games that pit them in huge showdowns. This has included several massive road games over the last decade.

While Week 7's matchup with No. 3 Oregon is now a Big Ten conference game, it's a marquee moment for the program. It has us thinking about the Buckeyes' toughest road games since 2014, so we've ranked the top-five matchups in that time span.

Does this year's Ohio State vs. Oregon matchup rank first?

Hardest Ohio State Road Games Since 2014

5. At No. 9 Penn State (2018)

The No. 4 Buckeyes went into Happy Valley and rallied in the fourth quarter behind Dwayne Haskins for a 27-26 win. Trace McSorley gave everything he had in this heavyweight bout, totaling 461 yards. Between a career game from McSorely and KJ Hamler, plus a costly interception, the Buckeyes barely survived the whiteout.

The Nittany Lions ended up losing two of its next four games and finishing only 9-4. But this hostile crowd and a heroic performance from McSorely made it as dramatic and intimidating as road games get.

4. At No. 14 Oklahoma (2016)

The matchup that came one year before Baker Mayfield famously went into Columbus and planted the Oklahoma flag in the middle of Ohio Stadium set the stage for the quarterback's Heisman Trophy campaign. It was a revenge game for the 45-24 beatdown he suffered at home the year before. While the game's margin was three touchdowns, this was still a high-quality opponent.

The Sooners lost in Week 1 against a very good Tom Herman-led Houston team that went 13-1. They also lost to Ohio State in Week 3. But that was it, and the Sooners ripped off 10 straight wins to end the season.

Mayfield led the team to scoring at least 34 points in every remaining game. The running back duo of Joe Mixon and Samaje Perine combined for 2,334 yards and 22 touchdowns, and both are still in the NFL now. DeDe Westbrook and Mark Andrews were Mayfield's primary pass-catchers.

Future NFLers Ogbo Okoronkwo and Neville Gallimore led a decent but far from elite defense. Nevertheless, the Buckeyes handled this very dangerous squad in a hostile environment.  

3. At No. 5 Michigan (2021)

The end of Michigan's eight-game losing streak and the start of its recent dominance came in 2021. Jim Harbaugh's Wolverines destroyed the Buckeyes over the second half, running through and around every defender possible. The final 42-27 score was a humiliating one for Ohio State.

This Michigan team was not quite as good as the 2023 team, but the stakes were tremendously high. Even though Michigan lost to Michigan State in late October, thanks to this head-to-head win, they earned a spot in the Big Ten title game. The Wolverines pulverized Iowa before losing in a blowout to Georgia in the Orange Bowl.

Meanwhile, Ohio State missed the playoff and narrowly beat Utah in the Rose Bowl. This was an exciting year for the Buckeyes as C.J. Stroud emerged as a star, but the losses to Oregon and Michigan proved they weren't playoff-caliber anyways. 

2. At No. 3 Oregon (2024)

Here we are. While the 2021 Wolverines were a tough team, that still felt more like a reckoning moment for Michigan compared to the pre-game expectations where Ohio State was favored by one touchdown. In this game, Ohio State is favored by a field goal.

The Buckeyes are the better team on paper and in advanced analytics, but this is a long trip in a new place. Depending on what happens with Penn State in the coming weeks, a Big Ten title game appearance could be on the line here. In turn, this will effect the College Football Playoff seeding.

With so much on the line and the narrow projected margin, this is the second-biggest road game for the Buckeyes over the last decade. 

1. At No. 3 Michigan (2023)

This is probably Ohio State's toughest loss outside of the missed field goal against Georgia to end the 2022 season. Michigan was outright better and played a near-flawless game. J.J. McCarthy completed 16-of-20 passes, Michigan pulled out multiple trick plays, and Kyle McCord was a pumpkin at quarterback for the majority of the game.

Overmatched and lacking confidence, the Buckeyes were behind the eight-ball from the jump. This was a daunting matchup entering, and proved to be as difficult as it gets in The Game.

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