Alabama will stay the course and play Ohio State in 2027 and 2028.
According to On3’s Brett McMurphy, the Crimson Tide have decided to keep the Buckeyes on their 2027 and 2028 schedules. The report comes after sources told On3 that Alabama canceled its two-game series with Oklahoma State in 2028 and 2029.
In a February interview with Eleven Warriors, Ohio State athletic director Ross Bjork said the Buckeyes looked forward to facing the Crimson Tide in Columbus in 2027 and Tuscaloosa in 2028. Bjork believes “high-level matchups” like Ohio State vs. Alabama benefit the sport and are the kinds of games fans want to see.
“We should not be afraid of that here at Ohio State. We need to embrace all opponents. We need to embrace high-level matchups,” Bjork said. “We’re driving value in this whole new era of college sports. Until somebody shows us a different model where those games will cost you either way, then we will look at it.
"But until then, these games are on the schedule. There are contracts in place that have been in place for a long, long time. We’re going to honor those contracts unless there’s another way, another model that somebody presents to us that says, ‘Hey, you shouldn’t play those games because it’s going to cost you in this category.’ Then we’re going to embrace these high-leverage matchups.”
Bjork pointed to Ohio State’s 2026 schedule as an example of elite competition preparing the Buckeyes for a championship run. Ohio State will battle Texas in nonconference play before facing conference opponents such as Iowa, Indiana, USC, Oregon and Michigan this fall.
“I think it prepares you for what the rest of the Big Ten looks like, and then it prepares you for the postseason and what that looks like. You need to see teams that you match up with throughout the year. Ohio State’s always going to embrace these kinds of matchups,” Bjork said. “These games were put on the schedule for a reason. Both institutions embraced it at the time. Again, until somebody shows us a different model, we need to go in and embrace these games and win. That’s the goal: win all these games and make sure we come out on top.”
