UW Huskies football series vs Ohio State canceled by Buckeyes
Feb 15, 2023, 2:07 PM | Updated: 6:10 pm
UW Huskies coach Kalen DeBoer during a game against Colorado on Nov. 19, 2022. (Photo by Steph Chambers/Getty Images)
(Photo by Steph Chambers/Getty Images)
The UW Huskies’ planned home-and-home football series against the Ohio State Buckeyes has been called off.
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The games, which were set to be played in 2024 and 2025, were canceled by Ohio State, according to a press release from the University of Washington athletic department.
“The Buckeyes have informed UW they will no longer be playing the games,” the press release states.
The statement also said “OSU has acknowledged it will abide by the terms of the contract, including any liquidated damages.”
“We are very disappointed that our student-athletes, staff and Husky Nation won’t get to experience these two games with Ohio State,” UW director of athletics Jennifer Cohen said in the release. “Everyone has had these dates circled for a number of years and we were looking forward to these opportunities to compete against the Buckeyes. We are in the process of finding new opponents for the 2024 and 2025 seasons and will provide an update as soon as we have one.”
In a press release, Ohio State athletic director Gene Smith said the school will pay a $500,000 cancellation fee to Washington by February 2025. The cancellation will allow Ohio State to add an additional home non-conference game in 2024, which would give the Buckeyes eight games in Columbus, though it leaves the school needing to fill a date that was a scheduled home game in 2025 against the Huskies.
“We initiated the cancellation,” Smith said. “I have the utmost respect for the University of Washington and for director of athletics Jennifer Cohen, and this was a very difficult call to make.”
The canceled Washington-Ohio State series was initially announced in April 2017, with Ohio State to come to Husky Stadium for a Sept. 14, 2024 contest, and the Huskies to go to Ohio Stadium on Sept. 13, 2025.
The UW Huskies went 11-2 in 2022, their first season under head coach Kalen DeBoer and with Michael Penix Jr. at quarterback, winning seven straight games to end the year including the annual Apple Cup against Washington State (51-33) in Pac-12 play and the Alamo Bowl over Texas (27-20). Washington was ranked No. 8 in the final Associated Press top 25 poll of the season and is seen as a team on the rise and potential College Football Playoff contender in 2023.
Ohio State was also 11-2 last season, including 8-1 in the Big Ten to place second in the conference, and finished the year ranked No. 4 in the AP poll.
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