The 2025 College Football Playoff field includes Ohio State’s opponents from some of its most iconic victories of all-time as well as some of its most painful recent losses.
Ohio State has the chance to create a new chapter in its history against as many as three of those opponents in this year’s CFP, starting with a quarterfinal game on New Year’s Eve against whoever wins Saturday’s first-round game between Texas A&M and Miami.
As we wait for the CFP to begin Friday night and to find out Saturday afternoon who the No. 2 seed Buckeyes will be playing in the Cotton Bowl, we’re taking a look back at Ohio State’s history against all of the other 11 teams in this year’s playoff, starting with No. 1 seed Indiana all the way down to No. 12 seed James Madison.
#1 Indiana
All-Time Record: Ohio State 81-13-5
Ohio State fans don’t need a reminder of what happened the last time the Buckeyes played Indiana, as the Hoosiers beat Ohio State in the Big Ten Championship Game – earning the No. 1 seed in the CFP over Ohio State as a result – just two weeks ago in the first-ever postseason meeting between the Big Ten rivals.
Before that, Ohio State had dominated Indiana for more than three decades, winning 30 straight games against the Hoosiers dating back to 1991.
Ohio State could get a chance to avenge its Big Ten Championship Game loss if chalk prevails and the Buckeyes and Hoosiers both make it to the national championship game. The Buckeyes haven’t lost to the same team twice in one season since they were defeated by Wittenberg two times in 1894, and Ohio State has a 1-0 record when playing a team it already played earlier in the season in the CFP – which we’ll get to shortly.
#3 Georgia
All-Time Record: Georgia 2-0
Ohio State fans probably don’t need a reminder of what happened the last time the Buckeyes played Georgia, either. Despite taking a 38-24 lead into the fourth quarter of the 2022 CFP semifinal at the Peach Bowl, Ohio State suffered a 42-41 loss to the Bulldogs after their defense allowed two late touchdowns and Noah Ruggles missed a 50-yard field goal attempt wide left. Georgia went to blow out TCU, 65-7, in the national championship game.
The Buckeyes could have a chance to avenge that loss in the Fiesta Bowl, where Ohio State and Georgia – who will play either No. 6 Ole Miss or No. 11 Tulane in the quarterfinals – will meet if both win their quarterfinal games. Given what happened three years ago, there’s probably not any team other than Indiana that Ohio State would love to beat in this year’s CFP more than Georgia.
Ohio State’s only other game against Georgia came at the end of the 1992 season, when the Bulldogs handed John Cooper’s Buckeyes a 21-14 loss in the Citrus Bowl.
#4 Texas Tech
All-Time Record: Ohio State 2-0
Ohio State has played Texas Tech twice with both matchups coming in season openers.
The Buckeyes started the 1990 season with a 17-10 win over the Red Raiders at Ohio Stadium. They welcomed Texas Tech back to the Shoe for the season-opening Pigskin Classic in 2002; in its first of 13 regular-season games, the Buckeyes kicked off their first national championship season of the 21st century with a 45-21 win over the Red Raiders, a game highlighted by Maurice Clarett rushing for 175 yards and three touchdowns in his first game as a Buckeye.
#5 Oregon
All-Time Record: Ohio State 10-2
Once again, Ohio State fans probably don’t need a reminder of what happened the Buckeyes played this opponent – but Buckeye fans will welcome one this time around.
After losing to Oregon during the regular season last year, Ohio State avenged that loss in the CFP quarterfinal at the Rose Bowl. The Buckeyes took a 34-0 lead in the first half on their way to a 41-21 victory over the No. 1 seed Ducks – who, like Indiana this season, were the only unbeaten team entering last season’s CFP. It was the biggest statement performance in Ohio State’s four-game run to the national championship, establishing the Buckeyes as the clear favorite to win the first-ever 12-team CFP even though they still had two more games to win.
Oregon is the only one of the four teams that Ohio State beat in last season’s CFP that’s also in this season’s playoff.
Ohio State also defeated Oregon to win the inaugural four-team College Football Playoff in 2014-15, rolling to a 42-20 victory over the Ducks in the national championship game. Ezekiel Elliott ran for 246 yards and four touchdowns to lead the Buckeyes to the dominant victory, securing Ohio State’s second national championship of the millennium.
The Buckeyes won all of their first nine games against Oregon – also including Rose Bowl wins in 1958 and 2010 – before suffering their first two losses to the Ducks during the 2021 and 2024 regular seasons.
#6 Ole Miss
All-Time Record: 0-0
If Ohio State and Ole Miss both reach their semifinals, their matchup in the Fiesta Bowl would be the first-ever meeting between the Buckeyes and Rebels on the football field. Ole Miss is making its first CFP appearance this season, and the Rebels have never faced Ohio State in a regular-season game or bowl game.
#7 Texas A&M
All-Time Record: Ohio State 4-0
Ohio State has won all four of its meetings with Texas A&M, all of which came in the second half of the 20th century. The most recent meeting came at the end of the 1998 season in the Sugar Bowl, where the Buckeyes scored 21 first-quarter points on their way to a 24-14 win over the Aggies, with David Boston earning MVP honors after an 11-catch, 105-yard performance.
Before that, Ohio State faced Texas A&M in the 1987 Cotton Bowl, earning a 28-12 win over the Aggies that was highlighted by a Chris Spielman interception return touchdown. Ohio State has also hosted Texas A&M at Ohio Stadium for a pair of season openers, a 17-0 shutout in 1963 and a 56-13 rout in 1970.
#8 Oklahoma
All-Time Record: 2-2
Like Indiana and Georgia, Oklahoma is another team Ohio State fans would take extra satisfaction in seeing the Buckeyes beat after what happened the last time the Buckeyes played the Sooners.
One year after Ohio State earned a 45-24 win in Norman, a game in which Noah Brown caught four touchdown passes from J.T. Barrett, Oklahoma returned the favor in Columbus. Seven years before Michigan famously planted its flag at the center of Ohio Stadium, Sooners quarterback Baker Mayfield became a Buckeye villain when he planted an Oklahoma flag at the 50-yard line after leading the Sooners to a 31-16 win in the Shoe.
All four meetings between Ohio State and Oklahoma have taken place in the regular season, with the road team winning all four matchups. The Buckeyes beat Oklahoma 24-14 in 1983 in Norman, while Oklahoma beat Ohio State 29-28 in the first meeting between the teams in 1977 in Columbus.
#9 Alabama
All-Time Record: Alabama 4-1
Ohio State has played Alabama twice in the College Football Playoff, winning once and losing once.
The Buckeyes lost their most recent meeting with the Crimson Tide. In the national championship game to end the 2020 season. Alabama rolled to a 52-24 victory, shredding Kerry Coombs’ defense for 621 yards.
Ohio State’s first CFP game against Alabama, however, is one of the most iconic victories in program history. Having lost all of its previous three games against the Crimson Tide, Ohio State – as the No. 4 seed in the first-ever CFP – upset Nick Saban’s top-seeded squad, 42-35, in the CFP semifinal at the Sugar Bowl.
After falling into an early 21-6 deficit, Ohio State seized control of the game with a series of thrilling plays that included a trick-play touchdown pass from Evan Spencer to Michael Thomas, a 47-yard touchdown pass from Cardale Jones to Devin Smith and a 41-yard interception return touchdown by Steve Miller. Ezekiel Elliott gave the Buckeyes a 42-28 lead with just 3:24 to play with his 85-yard run through the heart of the south, and Ohio State held on from there to punch its ticket to the national championship game.
That’s Ohio State’s only win against Alabama in five tries, but it’s certainly the first game that comes to mind when any Buckeye fan thinks about playing the Crimson Tide.
#10 Miami
All-Time Record: Ohio State 3-2
When we ranked Ohio State’s top 25 games of the quarter-century earlier this year, Ohio State’s aforementioned win over Alabama came in as the Buckeyes’ second-greatest victory since 2000. The only win that topped it came against the team seeded one spot below Alabama in this year’s CFP.
More than 20 years later, Ohio State’s win over Miami in the BCS National Championship Game to end the 2002 remains arguably the most iconic game in OSU football history. Going against a team that had won 34 straight games dating back to 2000, Ohio State outlasted the Hurricanes, 31-24, in a back-and-forth double-overtime thriller.
After falling into an early 7-0 hole, Ohio State scored 17 straight points in a stretch that was highlighted by Maurice Clarett forcing a Sean Taylor fumble after an interception in one of college football’s all-time great hustle plays. The Hurricanes battled back to tie the game at 17-17, then nearly won the game in the first overtime when the ball went off Chris Gamble’s hands on a fourth-down play – until Miami cornerback Glenn Sharpe was called for pass interference. After tying the game on a touchdown run by Craig Krenzel and taking the lead on a touchdown run by Clarett, Ohio State won the game in the second OT when Cie Grant hit Ken Dorsey to force an incomplete pass on 4th-and-goal from the 1-yard line, securing the national championship and the first-ever 14-0 season in college football history for the Buckeyes.
Officially, that’s Ohio State’s last victory against Miami, though the Buckeyes also beat the Hurricanes 36-24 in 2010, a win that was later vacated in the NCAA record books due to “Tattoogate” sanctions. The Hurricanes won their most recent matchup with Ohio State in 2011, defeating the Buckeyes 24-6 in a game where Joe Bauserman and Braxton Miller combined to complete only four passes.
Miami also defeated Ohio State 23-12 in the 1998 Kickoff Classic, while the Buckeyes blanked the Hurricanes 10-0 in the first-ever meeting between the two teams at Ohio Stadium in 1977. But the national championship game is the game everyone will be thinking back on if Ohio State and Miami meet again in this year’s Cotton Bowl.
#11 Tulane
All-Time Record: Ohio State 1-0
Ohio State beat Tulane 49-6 in the first and to this point only meeting between the Buckeyes and the Green Wave in 2018. Dwayne Haskins completed 21 of 24 passing attempts for 304 yards and five touchdowns to lead the Buckeyes to a blowout victory at Ohio Stadium.
#12 James Madison
All-Time Record: 0-0
Ohio State has never played a football game against James Madison, which isn’t surprising considering the Dukes are in just their fourth year in the FBS. James Madison previously played at the FCS level before making the jump to the FBS when it joined the Sun Belt in 2022.
