Ohio State will host four Big Ten opponents in Columbus this season. The Big Ten Conference announced its wrestling schedule this week, and the Buckeyes will face eight conference opponents in all, with two of the team's toughest tests coming at home.
Michigan and Iowa will travel to Columbus on back-to-back weekends in mid-January; Maryland will visit two days after the Hawkeyes, and Indiana will come to Covelli Center for Ohio State's regular-season finale Feb. 13.
| Date | Opponent | Location |
|---|---|---|
| Nov. 7 | North Carolina | Columbus, Ohio |
| Nov. 14 | Ohio Intercollegiate Open | Cleveland, Ohio |
| No. 19 | Virginia Tech | Blacksburg, Va. |
| Nov. 23 | Notre Dame College | Columbus, Ohio |
| Dec. 3-4 | Cliff Keen Las Vegas Invitational | Las Vegas |
| Dec. 12 | Pittsburgh | Columbus, Ohio |
| Jan. 8 | Michigan State | East Lansing, Mich. |
| Jan. 14 | Michigan | Columbus, Ohio |
| Jan. 21 | Iowa | Columbus, Ohio |
| Jan. 23 | Maryland | Columbus, Ohio |
| Feb. 4 | Penn State | State College, Pa. |
| Feb. 6 | Rutgers | Piscataway, N.J. |
| Feb. 11 | Minnesota | Minneapolis, Minn. |
| Feb. 13 | Indiana | Columbus, Ohio |
| Mar. 5-6 | Big Ten Wrestling Championships | Lincoln, Neb. |
| Mar. 17-19 | NCAA Wrestling Championships | Detroit, Mich. |
In total, the Buckeyes will wrestle a dozen dual meets and two open tournaments, with seven meets contested at home. The season kicks off Nov. 7 at home versus North Carolina with the Big Ten schedule getting underway after New Year's with a Jan. 8 trip to face Michigan State in East Lansing.
Three of Ohio State's non-conference opponents hail from the Atlantic Coast Conference – Pittsburgh and Virginia Tech join the Tarheels on the Buckeye schedule. With Michigan, Iowa and Penn State all on the schedule, too, it's a challenging schedule for a team that finished No. 9 at the NCAA Wrestling Championships in March and has aspirations of getting back into trophy contention this year.
With 9 of 10 presumed starters ranked in InterMat's Top 25 at their respective weight classes, the talent necessary to reach that goal is certainly on the roster. With the probable debut of home-grown phenoms Carson Kharchla and Paddy Gallagher, and the potential of Cuban wunkerkind Anthony Echemendia moving down to 133, there are a number of interesting storylines to follow this season.
Ohio State has won three of the last seven Big Ten titles and finished in the top three at the NCAA Championships in five of the last six years.
