COLUMBUS, Ohio -- Ohio State's 2013 schedule should be even easier than it was in 2012, with Nebraska, Michigan State, Central Florida, Miami (Ohio) and Alabama-Birmingham replaced by Northwestern, Iowa, San Diego State, Buffalo and Florida A&M.

Here's what the Buckeyes will face, with each team listed with their record this season and ranked 1 (highest) to 12 (lowest) in the difficulty of the challenge.

(10) Aug. 31 Buffalo (4-8): Entering his fourth season, coach Jeff Quinn has gone from two wins to three to four, so maybe the Bulls are looking at 5-7. Junior linebacker Khalil Mack was the only Bull to make first-team All-MAC, and redshirt freshman QB Joe Licata led Buffalo to three wins in its last four games after he took over. They could be better, but this shouldn't be a great MAC team, and the Bulls lost this year's opener at Georgia, 45-23.

(1) Sept. 7 San Diego State (9-3): The Aztecs should return nine starters on both offense and defense. In their first year in the Big East, they should contend for that league's title and its automatic BCS bid. What's that mean? It means this could be the Buckeyes' toughest game of the regular season.

(8) Sept. 14 at Cal (3-9): First-year coach Sonny Dykes should open up the offense after leading the top scoring team in the nation at Louisiana Tech, averaging 51.5 points per game. But he needs to find a quarterback, and leading receiver Keenan Allen left school for the NFL, where he's expected to be a first-round pick. Dykes told reporters this week he prefers a non-conference schedule that would allow the Bears to build momentum for Pac-12 play. As for playing Northwestern and Ohio State, Dykes was quoted by the San Jose Mercury News as saying "I couldn't be in favor of that."

(12) Sept. 21 Florida A&M (4-7): The FCS-level school is known more for its entertaining band, which has been dealing with the fallout of a hazing death of a member in 2011. Otherwise, this will be a game for the Buckeyes to play the backups before Big Ten play.

(5) Sept. 28 Wisconsin (8-5): At least the Buckeyes know who the coach will be, with the Badgers hiring Utah State coach Gary Andersen. All he has to do is replace All-American RB Montee Ball and leading tackler Mike Taylor, find a quarterback and completely recast the Badgers. Wisconsin will be coming off games at Arizona State and against Purdue.

(3) Oct. 5 at Northwestern (9-3): These teams will meet for the first time since 2008. After losing to the Wildcats in 2004, this was the team that Jim Tressel loved to beat up on, winning by a combined score of 205-34 between 2005-08. The Wildcats should return seven starters on offense and six on defense, and with second-team All-Big Ten running back Venric Mark and quarterback Kain Colter, the Wildcats should put up some points. This should be closer than 51-10.

(9) Oct. 19 Iowa (4-8): The Buckeyes won tight games with good Hawkeye teams in their last two meetings, winning by just three points in 2009 (in overtime) and 2010. In the next two seasons, Iowa went 11-14 overall and 6-10 in Big Ten play. Disappointing QB James Vandenberg is graduating, so the Hawkeyes get to start over there. Kirk Ferentz has said he's optimistic entering his 15th season in Iowa City. But probably not about this Columbus trip.

(6) Oct. 26 Penn State (8-4): Defensive standouts Mike Mauti, Gerald Hodges and Jordan Hill will be gone, along with QB Matt McGloin. The Nittany Lions had more talent and were better than people thought in 2012, but every year they'll feel their NCAA-mandated scholarship reductions a little more. This should be the first step in the coming drop-off.

(7) Nov. 2 at Purdue (6-6): First-year coach Darrell Hazel, the former Tressel assistant and Kent State coach, could have the Boilermakers looking like Columbus Northwest depending on his coaching staff. The fired Danny Hope worked some voodoo on the Buckeyes, with wins in 2009 and 2011, and he should have won again in 2012. The Boilermakers, who will be coming off a bye, might be better in every game of the season with Hazell in charge except the Ohio State game.

(11) Nov. 16 at Illinois (2-10): Will Tim Beckman still be the coach by this game? The Illini crumbled in his first season in 2012, going winless in the Big Ten. ESPN reported junior DL Akeem Spence, their best defender, is planning to leave for the draft. There's not a lot of reasons to expect a turnaround in Champaign.

(4) Nov. 23 Indiana (4-8): While Wisconsin and Purdue adjust to first-year coaches, there's a chance third-year coach Kevin Wilson, now the dean of the Leaders Division, could have the second-best team. QB Tre Roberson will be back after breaking his leg in 2012, and the Hoosiers still had the Big Ten's most prolific passing game. Most key players return, and if Indiana can play any defense, the Hoosiers could be a pain.

(2) Nov. 30 at Michigan (8-4): Who will the Wolverines be without Denard Robinson? When Robinson got hurt, at times they showed they could move the ball with QB Devin Gardner. The Buckeyes didn't face RB Fitz Toussaint, who suffered a serious leg injury. He could be back or could redshirt. If junior tackle Taylor Lewan turns pro, he'll be the fourth offensive line starter that needs to be replaced. If the Buckeyes get here at 11-0, the Wolverines will have plenty of reason to play their best game of the year.

Dec. 7 at Indianapolis, Big Ten Championship: The Buckeyes should get their first shot at the conference title game in its third year. Nebraska or Michigan State, who aren't on the regular-season schedule, would be interesting opponents. Or a rematch with Michigan?