(Marvin Fong, The Plain Dealer)
COLUMBUS, Ohio -- Imagine the unanimous No. 1 team in the nation in a top-five showdown last September.
It might have been exactly what the 2015 Ohio State Buckeyes needed, but it wasn't there. Now the 2016 Buckeyes will face that kind of early test, whether they are ready or not.
The schedule Ohio State will face in 2016 is significantly more difficult in every way than the 2015 schedule. It's a schedule that ideally the Buckeyes would flip-flop with last year.
The bored, at times overly confident veteran team of 2015 could have used national title contender Oklahoma early on and more challenges in the Big Ten.