Every Ohio State season now comes with a companion event: OhioTate's self-imposed punishment bets, one attached to every game on the Buckeyes schedule. Lose the bet, pay the price. Face tattoos, name changes, 300-mile walks home — the list has escalated every year, and Big Cat has made it very clear he's not letting the tradition die quietly.
Hey @OhioTate when are you releasing your game by game Ohio State bets? One of my favorite things in the world. #CantWait
OhioTate answered with a post framing his own predicament as a hypothetical: he's told his mom and fiancee he's done making these bets, and then his boss goes and publicly asks for more — in a year where Ohio State's schedule includes road games at Texas and Indiana plus a home matchup against Oregon. That's not filler on the slate. Ohio State visits No. 5 Texas on September 12 to complete the home-and-home series, then travels to No. 6 Indiana on October 17 before hosting No. 2 Oregon on November 7, per Ohio State's official 2026 schedule release.
Big Cat's reaction to seeing that schedule laid out says it all — he clocked the Texas, Indiana and Oregon gauntlet and basically admitted even he underestimated how brutal this could get for Tate's body and reputation.
@OhioTate Oh fuck, that’s their schedule? Wow
Tate isn't waiting for kickoff to start floating punishment ideas, either. He's already workshopping one for the #OhiosTateLossPunishments tag: smoking an entire pack of cigarettes, despite never having smoked one in his life. He's out here referencing black lung photos from 5th grade health class and genuinely asking whether it's even survivable — which is either great bit-building or a real sign he's already bracing for a loss.
I’ve never smoked a cigarette in my life How bad would it be if I smoked an entire pack? Would it stay with me? Is it even possible? I don’t know anything about cigarettes I remember those black lung photos in 5th grade Health class. They looked bad! #OhiosTateLossPunishments
The appeal here is obvious: Ohio State is a legitimate playoff-caliber program most years, which means Tate's bets rarely stay hypothetical for long. Add in road trips to two top-10 programs and a home game against Oregon, and the sample size for punishment content just went way up. Big Cat clearly knows it, which is exactly why he's out here publicly campaigning for the full slate to drop before Week 1.
Whether the full punishment list actually gets released — and whether Tate's mom and fiancee sign off on round after round of it — remains to be seen. But between the schedule difficulty and Big Cat's endorsement, this is shaping up to be the rowdiest year yet for Ohio State's most chaotic unofficial fan tradition.