COLUMBUS, Ohio — Ohio State football’s 2026 schedule is difficult.

The Buckeyes will face six teams that finished the 2025 season in the AP Top 25, including reigning national champion Indiana and College Football Playoff semifinalist Oregon.

That difficulty raises a question from those in Columbus: should the Big Ten reconsider how far in advance it determines conference opponents? Ohio State athletics director Ross Bjork believes the answer is yes.

“It is what it is,” Bjork said on Buckeye Talk. “You’ve got to embrace it. That’s what we do here at Ohio State. Can’t be afraid, but in the future, balance, equity and things like that — if there is more parity in college football, then I think you’ve got to look at recent standings and things like that.”

Conference opponents are currently determined four years in advance.

Indiana, as an example, was 2-10 with no conference wins in 2021. Illinois was 5-7. Southern Cal, while still not in the Big Ten, was 4-8.

“We shouldn’t set schedules four years out,” Bjork said. “We should have a yearly recalibration. You’re always going to protect your rivalry games, things like that. But look how the NFL does it. They get it right.”

Last season, Ohio State’s schedule wound up easier than expected, highlighted by Penn State falling short of preseason expectations. However, the Buckeyes dealt with logistical difficulties, including a stretch of four games to open Big Ten play in which three were on the road.

Ohio State’s only back-to-back road games this year — Oct. 17 at Indiana and Oct. 31 at USC — are separated by a bye week, though that raises another discussion.

Most college football teams only have one bye week this season after back-to-back years of two open dates. The schedule quirk is reliant on Labor Day, with 2026 having 13 Saturdays between Labor Day weekend and Thanksgiving weekend.

Bjork also hopes to see that change.

“We should have a 14-week schedule every year where you have two bye weeks,” Bjork said. “We only have one bye week. I don’t understand what the difference is between playing on Aug. 31 one year versus Aug. 29 another year, but we can’t do that because that’s Week 0. That’s another conversation about the calendar.”