Last week I looked at Ohio State’s 2011 schedule.

Check it out if you haven’t already, but in summary, there are plenty of intriguing and challenging games awaiting the Buckeye’s this year.

As difficult as the season will be, if Coach Fickell and company take care of business, they are fully capable of winning every game based on talent alone. That is not to say that it will be easy, quite the opposite, but it is entirely within the realm of possibility.

To achieve a perfect record that will take the Bucks to the first ever Big Ten championship game in Indianapolis and beyond, the team will need focus, a bit of luck, and help from some unexpected places.

That unexpected help will come from Ohio State’s opponents themselves.

With the addition of Nebraska to the conference, the grind of the Big Ten will be especially difficult this season (and presumably into the future as well), and Ohio State could be in the perfect position to reap the benefits.

In many of Ohio State’s biggest games, the opposing team will be coming off a nasty match-up in the week or weeks before. Catching teams that are emotionally and physically exhausted would obviously be an advantage.

At the same time, the Buckeyes schedule sets up relatively nicely in terms of “rest” weeks in-between the challenges.

Here is a closer look at opponent’s schedules in the weeks leading up to their match-up with the Buckeyes.

Akron, September 3rd

Opponents Schedule: @ Ohio State

Being the first game of the season, there obviously aren’t any games leading up to this one for Akron to worry about.

Quitting the offseason cold turkey at Ohio State will be challenging enough for the Zips, and outside help is not a concern in this one.

Toledo, September 10th

Opponents Schedule: New Hampshire, @ Ohio State

New Hampshire is not likely to distract Toledo in any significant way, but once again, that shouldn’t be a problem for the good guys.

@ Miami (FL), September 17th

Opponents Schedule: @ Maryland, Bye, Ohio State

Those crafty Hurricane schedulers fit a bye week in prior to the matchup this year for a little extra rest and preparation time.

Get ready for the heavy tinted scarlet glasses on this one, but with a new head coach, only one game worth of live action could be a bad thing for the Hurricanes.

Traveling to Maryland will be an intriguing opening game as well. At the very least, it should provide Miami with a bit of a challenge.

The perfect scenario would be a poor performance from the Canes (4 interceptions from their starting QB, for instance) resulting in an extra week of uncertainty and speculation for Al Golden and his team to deal with during the bye.

That scenario, on top of the limited live action, could be doubly beneficial for the Buckeyes.

Colorado, September 24th

Opponents Schedule: California, Colorado State, @ Ohio State

Colorado is currently in major rebuilding mode, so outside help will likely be unneeded.

However, California should be a tremendous challenge in the opener, and Colorado State is a major in-state rivalry for them to deal with in week two.

The first road game of the year being half way across the country, against the Buckeyes, following two legitimate opponents is obviously not the ideal scenario for any team to deal with, much less one with serious problems like Colorado.

Michigan State, October 1st

Opponents Schedule: @ Notre Dame, Central Michigan, @ Ohio State

This one actually sets up pretty nicely for Michigan State.

At Notre Dame will obviously be a challenge, but regardless of what happens in that one, Central Michigan can’t be described as anything but a warm-up game that sets the Spartans up nicely for their trip to Columbus the next week.

Being at home is a nice break for the Buckeyes, but with players still facing suspensions, I maintain that this will be one of the tougher challenges of the season.

@ Nebraska, October 8th

Opponents Schedule: @ Wyoming, @ Wisconsin, Ohio State

At Wyoming shouldn’t be a big deal, but the cumulative effect of two straight games on the road before hosting the Buckeyes could be advantageous for Ohio State.

That is getting pretty far out there in terms of provable advantages, but Nebraska visiting Camp Randall the week before will definitely be one.

Wisconsin should provide a physical battle for four quarters, which will hopefully make a lasting impression on the Huskers. At the very least, Nebraska won’t be able to look ahead to the Buckeyes a week early.

Now that I have said that, watch the Badgers lose in a laugher, embarrassing the Big Ten yet again, and allowing the Huskers to roll into their game with the Buckeyes.

@ Illinois, October 15th

Opponents Schedule: Northwestern, @ Indiana, Ohio State

You can’t get a much easier lead up than this, even though Northwestern has made drastic improvement under Fitzgerald and should provide more of a challenge than I am giving them credit for.

Zook being Zook, I wouldn’t put it past Illinois to struggle on the road against Indiana either.

The bottom line in this one is that it is hard to know what to expect from the Illini coming into this game, and given its position on the schedule, I believe it is the biggest trap game of the year for Ohio State.

Wisconsin, October 29th

Opponents Schedule: Indiana, @ Michigan State, @ Ohio State

Indiana isn’t a big deal, but Sparty will provide a nice hurdle for Wisconsin to worry about prior to traveling to Columbus.

Mark Dantonio can do his old team a big favor by roughing up the Badgers a bit and shaking their confidence.

The Buckeyes will be coming off a bye week for this 8 PM kickoff, and it should be one of the more intense games of the year regardless of what goes down in the weeks leading up to it.

Indiana, November 5th

Opponents Schedule: @ Iowa, Northwestern, @ Ohio State

After what is sure to be a physical, emotionally charged game against Wisconsin, there is no better conference team for the Buckeyes to wind down against than Indiana.

There are no cupcakes on the conference schedule for the Hoosiers, and Iowa and Northwestern will likely both be major challenges for them to worry about.

Either way, like the MAC teams, outside assistance isn’t a concern for this one.

@ Purdue, November 12th

Opponents Schedule: @ Michigan, @ Wisconsin, Ohio State

Purdue will be battered and bruised when they host Ohio State after back-to-back difficult road trips leading up to the game.

Considering what the Buckeyes still owe Purdue after their last visit, this one should be fun to watch.

Penn State, November 19th

Opponents Schedule: Bye, Nebraska, @ Ohio State

For the first of two straight weeks, Nebraska will be given the sacred duty of roughing up Ohio State’s next opponent.

Who knows what the Nittany Lions will do on the field this year, but playing them at home will be a plus.

@ Michigan, November 26th

Opponents Schedule: @ Iowa, @ Illinois, Nebraska, Ohio State

Once again, Nebraska should do a nice job softening up the Wolverines in preparation for the Buckeye’s visit.

On top of that, at Iowa and at Illinois won’t be cakewalks either.

Putting the finishing touches on a four game losing streak for the Wolverines would be a beautiful way to end the regular season.

Losing streak or no, it would be a shock if Michigan weren’t limping severely by the time the Buckeyes visit after that stretch.