Greg McElroy names two toughest matchups on Ohio State schedule, excludes Michigan

When examining the Ohio State football schedule, ESPN college football analyst Greg McElroy saw at least two games tougher than the Buckeyes' biggest rivalry game.

Ohio State has multiple marquee games on the schedule, but for McElroy, there are two tests that will be much tougher than the others. He made that statement on the latest episode of his show, Always College Football .

"Ohio State, 16th-ranked strength of schedule in the preseason. Their two toughest games, pretty obvious to me. Yes, they're road games, and yes, the defending champion is not one of them."

This is a bold statement by McElroy after Michigan has won the last three vs. Ohio State, but he just has two other Big Ten foes as tougher challenges this fall.

"All due respect to Michigan, I think Michigan heading to the Horseshoe is more manageable given what Michigan is bringing back than having to go to Oregon and to Penn State," he added.

Ohio State has road matchups with the Ducks and Nittany Lions. In McElroy's eyes, those teams already rank ahead of Michigan, which is coming to Columbus.

"I have Oregon ranked ahead of Michigan this year. I have Penn State ahead of Michigan. So I think those two games are tougher than the one they'll play in the final game of the regular season."

But that game and others will still provide opportunities for resume wins, should the Buckeyes need them after dropping one or two of the Penn State/Oregon matchups.

"You still have a win against Iowa, you still have a win against Michigan," McElroy continued. "Even if you lost your two toughest games, Oregon and Penn State, both on the road, you still have two wins against teams that are likely in the top 25, and Michigan might very well be a top 15 in the preseason."

Ohio State's schedule is very strong, but that means room for error and plenty of chances for marquee wins.

Related: Joel Klatt Reveals Why Georgia’s Not No. 1 in Preseason College Football Rankings

Related: Joel Klatt Names Big Ten Quarterback That’s a ‘Clone’ of Patrick Mahomes