The Ohio State Buckeyes have canceled an upcoming home-and-home series with the Washington Huskies, leaving fans of both teams disappointed. The two teams were scheduled to face off in Seattle in 2024 and Columbus in 2025, but the Buckeyes have now decided to cancel the series.
Ohio State Athletic Director Gene Smith cited the need for an additional home game in 2024 and the ability to pay the penalty and guarantee for that eighth opponent as the reasons for the cancelation. The penalty for the cancelation is $500,000, which must be paid by February 2025.
Washington Athletic Director Jennifer Cohen expressed her disappointment in Ohio State’s decision, saying, “We are very disappointed that our student-athletes, staff and Husky Nation won’t get to experience these two games with Ohio State. Everyone has had these dates circled for a number of years and we were looking forward to these opportunities to compete against the Buckeyes.”
Ohio State’s decision to cancel the series leaves Washington without a non-conference game against a Power Five opponent until it hosts Michigan in 2028. Michigan was supposed to visit Husky Stadium in 2020, but the game was canceled due to the COVID-19 pandemic. UW then traveled to Ann Arbor in 2021 as initially scheduled.
The cancelation of the Washington series also opens up a potential opportunity for Ohio State to travel to the West Coast in 2024. With UCLA and USC now both members of the Big Ten, the Buckeyes could face either of those schools that season.
Ohio State has non-conference home games scheduled with Southern Mississippi and Western Michigan in 2024, as well as Texas and UConn in 2025. With the cancelation, the Buckeyes now have openings for non-conference home games in both of those seasons.
The Big Ten’s 2024 schedule won’t be revealed until October, so the Buckeyes and their fans will have to wait a few more months to find out who they will face in the upcoming season.
