Columbus, Ohio - The Ohio State Buckeyes will no longer be playing the Washington Huskies in 2024 and 2025 as part of the football program's major schedule changes!

"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," Ohio State athletic director Gene Smith said in a statement.

On Wednesday, the Buckeyes announced that their "home-and-home" series with the Huskies has been canceled in 2024 and 2025, and will be replaced with a pair of home games against opponents that have yet to be determined.

While the reason for the cancellation has not been disclosed, Smith did reveal that the schedule change was initiated on Ohio State's end.

The Buckeyes will pay Washington a $500,000 cancellation penalty by February 2025, per the deal.

"As a result of the cancellation, we will add an eighth home game for the 2024 season, affording us the opportunity to have the funding to pay the penalty and guarantee for that eighth opponent," Smith said.

Ohio State football will not play any non-conference road games in 2024 and 2025.

With the addition of USC and UCLA football in the Big Ten in 2024, Ohio State’s conference schedules for 2024 and 2025 have also yet to be determined.

While the Big Ten did announce those season conference schedules back in 2018, they will now need to be modified to accommodate the Trojans and the Bruins. The Big Ten is set to announce its 2024 football schedule in October.

Despite the changes to their 2024 and 2025 schedules, Ohio State football is still scheduled to play its home-and-home non-conference series against Texas, Alabama, Georgia, Oregon, and Boston College in future seasons.