The season is still seven months away, but Ohio already knows its opponents for the 2017 season.
The non-conference teams, Hampton, Purdue, Kansas and UMass, were announced in advance. Those games will take place Sept. 2, 8, 16 and 30, respectively. Ohio hosts Hampton and Kansas and will travel to Purdue and UMass.
The full slate of opponents for the 2017 @OhioFootball schedule have been announced...dates to come at a later date #BleedGreen pic.twitter.com/Hp2Veqh6B0
— Ohio Bobcats (@OhioBobcats) January 23, 2017
The announcement came Monday for the conference teams that Ohio will play, too. Ohio will play the typical eight Mid-American Conference games, four at home and four on the road.
At home, Ohio will host Kent State, Miami, Central Michigan and Toledo. On the road, Ohio will face Akron, Bowling Green, Buffalo and Eastern Michigan.
Dates and times for those games will be announced at a later date.
Ohio will play all of the MAC East schools, per usual, and will play three MAC West teams. The Bobcats schedule, at first glance, doesn't seem to be an easy one.
Toledo finished 9-4 and was in contention for the MAC West title up until the final week. Eastern and Central Michigan both made a bowl game, and back in the East, Miami was one of the hottest teams in college football over the last six weeks. The RedHawks were the only college football team in FBS history to start 0-6 and finish with a 6-6 record.
Buffalo and Kent State finished 2-10 and 3-9, respectively, but that appears to be where the "cupcake" games stop. The combined record last season of Ohio's future opponents was 42-58, but that can be attributed to poor seasons from Kent State, Buffalo and Bowling Green, all of which expect to have a rebound season.
The Bobcats are coming off a MAC East title in 2016. Ohio's last conference title was in 1968.
