LOOK: Buckeyes Send 'B1G' Welcome to Newly Added Big Ten Schools
The beginning of the "Big Eighteen", and the end of the Pac-12 as we all knew it, has officially arrived. Though nothing is for certain regarding the fate of the latter conference now that only four teams remain, change is imminent.
But that's not the Ohio State Buckeyes' problem.
Coach Ryan Day and company won't have to worry about the fate of Cal, Oregon State, Stanford or Washington State moving forward, though one of the more likely options seems to be a merger with the Mountain West conference. Instead, they'll just need to worry about their new conference rivals.
USC, UCLA, Oregon and Washington are now set to enter the fold, bringing with them talent and strong markets to help the Big Ten become even more prominent, and while that's generally a great thing for all parties involved, it does present more hurdles for the Buckeyes to jump if they want to continue to be amongst college football's top teams.
That didn't stop them from sending a warm welcome to the most recent conference additions, however, as the Ohio State Buckeyes' official X, formerly known as Twitter, account shared a message Friday evening:
The Buckeyes have played both Oregon and Washington before, though most Ohio State fans will fondly recall one of their team's more recent matchups against the Ducks.
On Jan. 12, 2015, Ezekiel Elliott ran wild for four touchdowns to offset Oregon's Marcus Mariota's 333 passing yards and two touchdowns in the National Championship game, giving the Buckeyes their most recent CFP title — and a memory to forever immortalize in Columbus.
Ohio State's series history with Washington isn't as grandiose as Oregon, but the Buckeyes do hold a 9-3 overall record against the Huskies, the most recent coming during the Rose Bowl in 2019. Combining that with their 9-0 record over the Ducks, and Ohio State seems to be the better team.
That could change when both schools take on the Big Ten, but like all other expectations, Ohio State won't be satisfied with anything less than a win when they see either team on its schedule.
Until then, however, the Buckeyes seem to be content with a friendly social media gesture.
You can follow Matt Guzman on Twitter and Instagram
Be sure to stay locked into BuckeyesNow all the time!
Join the BuckeyesNow community!
Subscribe to the BuckeyesNow YouTube channel
Follow BuckeyesNow on Twitter: @BuckeyesNow_FN
Follow BuckeyesNow on Instagram: @BuckeyesNow_FN