TUSCALOOSA, Ala. — Alabama and Ohio State announced a home-and-home football series between the two programs for the 2027 and 2028 seasons on Thursday.
“This series with Ohio State adds another outstanding non-conference opponent to our future football schedules,” said Alabama Director of Athletics Greg Byrne. “We are thrilled at the progress we’ve made in securing such quality home-and-homes that will provide tremendous opportunities for our team and an exciting game day atmosphere for our fans in the coming years.”
The first game will take place in Columbus on Sept. 18, 2027, with the Buckeyes coming to Tuscaloosa on Sept. 9, 2028. It is the first home-and-home meeting between OSU and Alabama.
“The addition of Ohio State to our future non-conference schedule shows the commitment our program and administration has to creating the best possible games for our players and fans,” Alabama head football coach Nick Saban said. “I have coached a lot of years in the SEC and Big 10 and Bryant-Denny Stadium and Ohio Stadium are two of the very best environments in college football. Non-conference series like Alabama-Ohio State are so important to the health of college football, and we are very pleased that we could get this series completed.”
Alabama and Ohio State have met on four previous occasions, all in neutral sites games. The first meeting came in the 1978 Sugar Bowl, which the Tide won 35-6. The two teams then opened the 1986 season at the Kickoff Classic at Giants Stadium in East Rutherford, N.J., with a 16-10 Alabama win. The Crimson Tide won the 1995 Citrus Bowl (24-17), while OSU was victorious in the 2015 Sugar Bowl (42-35).
With the addition of Ohio State, Alabama has added 10 home-and-home series to future schedules recently, including: Texas (2022 & 2023), Wisconsin (2024 & 2025), Florida State (2025 & 2026), West Virginia (2026 & 2027), Notre Dame (2028 & 2029), Georgia Tech (2030 & 2031), Oklahoma (2032 & 2033), Arizona (2032 & 2033) and Virginia Tech (2034 & 2035). The Crimson Tide also has a 2-for-1 home-and-home series with South Florida (2023, 2024 & 2026).
Along with playing Ohio State in 2027 and 2028, Alabama will also host West Virginia during the 2027 season and travel to South Bend, Ind., to play Notre Dame in 2028. Alabama opens the 2020 season with a neutral site game against Southern California on Sept. 5 and then travels to Atlanta in 2021 to face Miami (Fla.).
Future Home-and-Home Football Series
2022: at Texas (Sept. 10)
2023: Texas (Sept. 9), at USF (Sept. 16)
2024: USF (Sept. 7), at Wisconsin (Sept. 14)
2025: at Florida State (Aug. 30), Wisconsin (Sept. 13)
2026: at West Virginia (Sept. 5), USF (Sept. 12), at Florida State (Sept. 19)
2027: West Virginia (Sept. 4), at Ohio State (Sept. 18)
2028: at Notre Dame (Sept. 2), Ohio State (Sept. 9)
2029: Notre Dame (Sept. 1)
2030: at Georgia Tech (Aug. 31)
2031: Georgia Tech (Aug. 30)
2032: Arizona (Sept. 4), at Oklahoma (Sept. 11)
2033: at Arizona (Sept. 3), Oklahoma (Sept. 10)
2034: at Virginia Tech (Sept. 2)
2035: Virginia Tech (Sept. 1)
