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There will be a 2020 Ohio State Football season at Land-Grant Holy Land

It may not happen quite the way people thought it would, but the Buckeyes will play their full schedule this season thanks to the magic of video games.

NCAA Football: Michigan at Ohio State Joe Maiorana-USA TODAY Sports

What if instead of arguing daily about when Ohio State football should come back, we could just watch the Buckeyes play all their originally scheduled opponents this fall?

What if we could still see Justin Fields compete for a Heisman trophy this season? What if we could still witness Chris Olave complete his metamorphosis from three-star prospect into first round NFL draft pick? What if we could still watch Built Ford® Tuf Borland lead the Ohio State defense as the only three-time defensive captain in school history?

What if the COVID-19 pandemic — and while we’re at it, injuries and Kevin Warren — simply didn’t exist?

The universe is what you make it, so we made a college football universe where all of this can take place.

Personally, I don’t want to accept that our reality won’t include Ohio State football for the next three months of Saturdays. As the saying goes in Hang On Sloopy, “it’s called tradition,” and I intend on doing whatever I can to keep that tradition alive.

So I dug up my copy NCAA Football 14 — the last college football video game ever made (for now) — installed a 2020 roster update, tweaked the sliders to reflect as close to an authentic college football viewing experience as possible, and set up a channel to stream it on.

In other words...

Land-Grant Holy Land will be streaming the (virtual) 2020 Ohio State Football Season on Twitch!

The idea is to stream a virtual broadcast of each game that was on Ohio State’s original 2020 schedule. The order won’t quite be the same, and the home/away designation will be off for some conference match-ups, but here’s what our adjusted schedule will look like for the fall:

Bowling Green was the original opponent set to open Ohio State’s season, but due to virtual scheduling conflicts, Buffalo will take their place instead this coming Saturday. Fortunately, Oregon can still make it for the following weekend.

Each week, we will have a preview of Ohio State’s match-up that includes all the other story lines, important details, and hilarious upsets from around the college football universe that houses the Buckeyes’ 2020 season. We will also have game recaps, and we will do our best to provide replays of the stream itself as well as clips on our social media platforms.

That’s a lot more Buckeye football than you probably thought you were getting this soon! Justin Fields sure seems happy about it:

Assuming Ohio State earns a trip to the Big Ten Championship, we will also stream that game on December 5th. From there, our own College Football Playoff committee will determine the four teams that qualify for a shot at the National Championship. The game was created back in the days of the BCS system, so we will have to get a little creative for those matchups.

But we’re getting ahead of ourselves. The important thing is, you’re going to get an Ohio State football season starting this weekend, just like you were supposed to all along. And with the exception of the BYE at the end of this month, you’ll have a Buckeye game to look forward to on Saturdays every week for the next three months. Before you know it, you’ll be watching Chris Olave embarrass Michigan for the second time in Ohio Stadium:

Not only will you have the chance to watch all the big-name starters leave their mark on college football, but you’ll also get to witness the rise of new Buckeye legends as well. Zach Harrison will be the latest to step into the Buckeyes’ spotlight for premier pass rushers. Sevyn Banks will finally wear the number seven on his jersey! Plus, an entire platoon of underclassmen receivers from Garrett Wilson to Mookie Cooper can’t wait to make Big Ten defenses look foolish all season long:

So come follow our Twitch channel LandGrantHolyLand, and keep an eye out on our Twitter for updates throughout the season. We’ll have a preview of the Buffalo game later this week, and yours truly will call the game live at noon ET this Saturday.

Come get your Buckeye football fix! We can’t wait to tune in with you!