As the season approaches, you circle certain games on the calendar as ones to look forward to with a little extra anticipation.

At the same time, there are other less exciting games that you are almost guaranteed to get alumni tickets for.

And then there are the games in the middle of the excitement spectrum, but even some of those have been moving up the scale recently.

The Buckeyes have been fortunate enough to become entangled in some competitive conference match-ups this decade that are almost always heated affairs.

All in all, there are plenty of intriguing games this season that fans can look forward to.

Even the less-than-intriguing contests will have their own significance since just getting back on the field will be a great relief to Buckeye Nation.

Here is an early look at Ohio State’s schedule, categorized by level of interest and excitement for your convenience.

 

Warm Ups

These are the games that you hope your friend that is dumb enough to get married in the fall is at least considerate enough to schedule on one of these weekends.

You’ll still be angry about sitting at a reception rather than in front of a television to catch the game live (best case scenario, TV at the reception), but as long as there is an open bar you can handle watching the game on DVR a few hours late.

The chances of a loss are slim to none, but football is football, and we will all still be watching.

Akron, September 3rd

Being the first game of the season, the contest against Akron will have special significance for many fans, but that won’t have anything to do with the opponent.

Outside of being the first chance to watch a real game, there is not much to draw eyeballs to television sets here.

Akron is 0-15 against Big Ten schools and 0-2 against Ohio State; that zero in the win column isn’t likely to change anytime soon

Interestingly enough, despite the lack of intrigue, this game will be broadcast by ESPN (noon kickoff), which makes me wonder if that network’s offseason crusade against all things Buckeye may simply be a quest for ratings.

After all, everyone loves to watch (and root against) the villain of college football; regardless of how fact based their spiral into villainy may or may not have been.

Ah, those whacky ESPN clowns and their devious agendas.

Toledo, September 10th

The Toledo game is similar to Akron in many ways, although it may be slightly less interesting given that it is not the first game of the year.

Unlike Akron, however, Toledo has hilariously defeated Penn State (2000) and Michigan (2008) within the past decade. The Rockets have also (less hilariously) defeated Purdue (2010) and Minnesota (2001), so they do have experience knocking off Big Ten competition.

Despite this, the Buckeyes don’t have much to worry about here, and the Rockets should provide a nice warm up for the trip to Miami (FL) the next week.

It will be broadcast on the Big Ten Network, so find a favorite local bar to watch at or switch service providers in preparation (if you are unfortunate enough to not have the BTN already).

Indiana, November 5th

Indiana always provides a nice break in the midst of the Big Ten schedule, and this year should be no different.

Situated at the tail end of a stretch consisting of Michigan State, @ Nebraska, @ Illinois, and Wisconsin, the contest against the Hoosiers provides a bit of respite after a daunting stretch of games.

It seems a bit disrespectful to categorize Indiana with the MAC schools, but then again, they are 9-67-4 against Ohio State for a reason.

Indiana’s last victory against the Buckeyes came in 1988 (the last non-loss came from a tie in 1990) and that is extremely unlikely to change this season, particularly on the muddy banks of the Olentangy.

Trap Games

These are the much talked about trap games, and not coincidentally the teams here represent some of Ohio State’s worst surprise losses and major near-loss scares over the past few seasons.

A large majority of the time the Buckeyes will win these games walking away, but any missteps or lapses in focus and the results could get ugly, particularly on the road.

Luckily, most of the players on this year’s team were around for the last major upset against Purdue in 2009 and for the near-loss scare against Illinois last season.

Those memories will still be fresh in most players’ minds, which should prevent the lack of focus that turns these games into problems in the first place.

Colorado, September 24th

Colorado is not like the other trap games listed here in that they are not a Big Ten opponent and the game will be played at home.

On paper, the Buckeyes are clearly the more talented team, but the lack of familiarity between the two teams could be dangerous.

Being the fourth game of the season also raises some red flags, as Ohio State could still be working out some early kinks, particularly on offense.

In a way, it is exciting to be matched up against a BCS opponent rather than a MAC school this early in the season; especially since (barring a major disaster) the Buckeyes should come away with a victory.

@ Purdue, November 12th

The Boilermakers have been surprisingly competitive against the Buckeyes over the past decade, winning 3 games and losing by surprisingly small margins numerous other times.

In fact, the only recent “blowout” victory by the Buckeyes in this series was last year’s 49-0 thrashing.

Traveling to West Lafeyette before a final stretch against Penn State and Michigan is another good example of a trap game scenario, and the Buckeyes could get caught looking ahead.

At the same time, most of the Buckeyes on the squad were a part of the embarrassing fiasco that resulted from their last road game against Purdue, and that should help produce another dominating performance from the good guys.

@ Illinois, October 15th

The Buckeyes survived a scare in Champaign last season and they will be headed on the road to face the Fighting Illini again this year.

A #1 ranked Buckeye squad was also upset by Illinois late in 2007, so there is a bit of a history here.

Ron Zook and his teams have proven to be more than capable of surprising opponents over the years- if they can coast under the radar heading into a game.

Being crammed between Nebraska and Wisconsin on Ohio State’s schedule could provide just the radar cover they need, which makes this contest the epitome of a trap game.

Being the second week in a row on the road doesn’t help matters for the Buckeyes.

Players and coaches like to say “one game at a time”, and this week will be a great opportunity to put that philosophy into practice, particularly with a bye week on the schedule immediately afterwards in which they can turn their full attention to Wisconsin.

 

The Heart of the Big Ten

These are the games where Big Ten championships are won and lost.

While it is unlikely that Ohio State will overlook any of these teams, particularly given recent history and budding rivalries, an untimely injury or turnover can and has sent many a team’s title hopes packing during the mid-season grind.

If Fickell and company can win these games, they will be well on their way to establishing that the Buckeyes are still the best in the Big Ten.

Catching all of these teams at home will be a plus.

Michigan State, October 1st

Under head coach Mark Dantonio, the Spartans have clearly been on the upswing in the Big Ten, even earning a share of the conference crown last season for the first time since 1990.

Michigan State will be the first conference opponent this year, and it won’t be an easy game by any means.

The Spartans have taken to a bruising running style that Wisconsin has had success with against Ohio State, and the two teams haven’t met on the field since 2008, so there will be a bit of unfamiliarity involved as well.

The talent is clearly getting better in East Lansing, but they still shouldn’t be a match for the Buckeyes on the field, at least not this year.

Still, you can’t take any team lightly, and Ohio State will be without several of their best players due to suspensions, making this one of the more challenging games on the schedule.

Penn State, November 19th

Ohio State and Penn State have battled head to head for much of the past decade, sharing conference crowns in 2005 and 2008 and creating one of the more heated annual match-ups in the process.

Despite several hotly contested years and plenty of bad feelings between the two schools, Penn State hasn’t been able to maintain the consistent level of success that is required to make them one of the conference’s elite programs.

Their inability to establish themselves as an annual title contender annoys Penn State fans to no end and provides a constant source of motivation for the team. This underdog, underappreciated mentality makes them dangerous on an annual basis.

Conference officials are obviously trying to cultivate a rivalry between the two schools by putting Ohio State and Penn State in the same division, and being the second to last contest means that Big Ten title game berths could be hanging in the balance.

Those possible title hopes, plus the recent history between the two teams, means that this will likely be yet another hard fought contest on the Buckeyes schedule and yet another game to circle on the calendar.

Wisconsin, October 29th

Out of all the teams in the Big Ten, Wisconsin has been the most consistent thorn in Ohio State’s side over the past decade. Last year’s loss at Camp Randall is obviously the most recent example of this obnoxious trend.

Revenge will certainly be on the mind of players and fans when the Badgers come to town at the end of October and the Horseshoe will be rocking for this 8 PM ET kickoff on ABC.

In fact, this game could easily be bumped into the ‘prime time’ category due to the recent history of the series and the time, but that would have messed up my neat groups of three, so here we are.

The Buckeyes will be coming off a bye week prior to this contest, which has generally not been as helpful to the Buckeyes as one might think. However, given the results from last season, the team should be able to use the extra week of preparation to its fullest before exacting their revenge.

Prime Time

This is the big show, the reason that players come to Ohio State.

The nation’s eyes will be on the Buckeyes for these games, and performing well in them will confirm that despite an offseason from hell, the Buckeyes are, in fact, not dead.

Making it through the grind of a Big Ten schedule can be tough, but performing on the biggest stage and winning at the highest level is what takes the Buckeyes from a Big Ten power to an elite national program year after year.

Coach Fickell’s ability to prepare for and win these games could make or break his future as the head coach at Ohio State.

Catching all of these teams on the road will be a tremendous challenge.

@ Miami (FL), September 17th

This will be the first major challenge for Ohio State in 2011, and it comes in only the third game of the season.

Additionally, being broadcast on ABC at 8 PM ET means that this game will receive a lot of hype and a lot of viewers, many of whom will likely not be cheering on the Buckeyes.

Performing well here will send a message early in the year that despite the offseason, Ohio State means business in 2011.

Miami (FL) will be under first year head coach Al Golden, so they may be facing some transition growing pains of their own, but you know the talent will always be there for the Hurricanes and you can never take them lightly.

In many ways, this game will set the tone for the 2011 season, particularly with how the new quarterback (whoever it may be) will handle the pressure of a nationally broadcast night game on the road.

The implications are large, and I’m sure no one will be missing this one.

@ Nebraska, October 8th

This game is huge for several reasons.

First, because it will be Ohio State’s chance to welcome Nebraska into the Big Ten.

Second, because it will be the first game back from suspension for several of Ohio State’s biggest stars.

Integrating the suspended players back into the starting lineup will be one of the major challenges of the season, and doing it on the road against Nebraska will be a tall order for new head coach Luke Fickell.

Nebraska will be coming off an away game at Wisconsin immediately prior to this matchup, so hopefully the Badgers don’t lay their annual egg and welcome the Huskers into the conference in the proper bruising fashion.

That should help the Buckeyes in this contest.

Either way, this will be another major road test for the Buckeyes and one of the premiere games of the entire year. It will be broadcast at 8 PM ET on ABC so mark your calendars and plan your road trip or start saving up for that new flat screen now.

@ Michigan, November 26th

‘The Game’ will be the main attraction this season just like every other season.

Win it and the off season will be a much more pleasant one regardless of any other circumstances. We won’t even talk about the alternative.

The recent goings-on in Michigan land under Brady Hoke will add a little extra flame to the fire… not that that is ever necessary, but it does add some extra anticipation if nothing else.

It will be interesting to see if the Wolverines roll or limp into this game.

After all, despite the optimism up north that comes with a new coaching hire, they are still recovering from the Rodriguez era and his many sub-par recruiting classes filled with dozens of slot dots.

And Brady Hokes is still a sub .500 career coach with exactly three winning seasons under his belt (and exactly one season of double digit wins). We have seen the Wolverine faithful get excited over a new coaching hire before… with hilarious results.

Regardless, throw the records out the window, this game will set the tone for the greatest rivalry in sports in the post-Tressel era, and that alone makes it the biggest game of the year.