The Ohio State football team has one of the best defenses and one of the best offenses in EA Sports College Football 26. The Buckeyes have the third-best offense and the fifth-best defense in the game. Defensively, that ranking seems a bit low for how much talent they have in the back seven.
Regardless, the Ohio State Buckeyes are getting plenty of respect in the new game. Jeremiah Smith is the only player with a 99 overall ranking, and he's just a sophomore. That's scary for the rest of college football. With him and Caleb Downs on the roster, the Buckeyes' overall ranking in the game was expected to be high.
Ohio State is expected to be a top-three team when the preseason polls come out next month. College Football 26 agrees with that assessment, ranking them third overall in the game. They have an 88 overall rating and are ranked behind two SEC schools.
The Ohio State football team is surprisingly ranked behind Alabama in College Football 26
Texas is the second-ranked team in the game. That makes sense, considering how talented they are despite losing their starting quarterback, running back, and top receiver. They have a lot of depth behind those guys to fill those spots, and Ohio State will find that out in Week 1.
Alabama being the top-ranked team in the game is something I just can't get behind. This is a roster that lost four games last year, including one in which they gave up 40 points to Vanderbilt. Sure, they return a lot of production from last year. But that production was part of the roster that lost four games.
Both Ohio State and Texas should be ranked ahead of them. Penn State should be, as well. That's the biggest flaw in the rating system from EA Sports in the second iteration of the game since it came back.