Ohio State plays Cincinnati, Florida Atlantic, Miami Ohio, and Rutgers. Wow, what a tough OOC schedule. They will be, on average, favored by 30 in those games.
One minor correction, though. Rutgers is actually a conference game for OSU now. The Big Ten wanted access to the NYC TV market, so they added a school that really doesn’t belong in the conference. Maryland was added for DC access — but they’re at least a legit basketball school.
psst Rutgers is in the big ten.
Comparing Alabama’s schedule to Ohio State’s is unfair for a number of reasons. Both teams focus on scheduling to make as much money as possible, but use different methods.
Alabama: Profits are maximized through home games and a neutral site game (most often close to home in Atlanta). The last time Alabama played 5 away games and the last time they played an away game out of conference was 2011. Their schedule is easy because they do not schedule the home-and-home games required by any program with even a little self-respect. Their next home and home games are against Texas in 2022 and 2023. An eleven year stretch without playing more than 4 away games in any season, and zero out of conference away games, is an advantage.
Ohio State: Profits are maximized through home games and the Big Ten Network, which requires (relatively) stronger regular season schedules. The Big Ten schedules 9 Conference games (including Rutgers) compared to 8 in the SEC and ACC. That helps the Big Ten Network make boatloads of money, but it also locks in 5 conference games on the road every other year.
The Big Ten distributed $54 million per school last year, while the SEC distributed $43.7 million. And, Alabama and Ohio State each got neutral site game money in 2018. Both big winners in the money game, which is the game that matters the most to them.