Heading into the 2026 season, the Ohio State Buckeyes are viewed by many as one of the leading candidates to win the national championship. With the talent they bring back on the offensive side of the ball, they are impossible to ignore when talking about winning it all.
Despite losing Carnell Tate, the Buckeyes still have seven returning starters from a year ago. With all of that talent, Ohio State has an expectation to win its second national title in three years. The coaches have now spoken, and they think Ohio State is the best team in the country.
Ohio State gets top ranking in the first Coaches Poll
According to the Coaches Poll, the Scarlet and Gray are the best team in the Country. They begin the season in that top spot for the first time since 2015. They received by far the most first-place votes, earning 38 of them. The next closest team has 14 of them, and that's Indiana.
Behind the Buckeyes are Oregon, Georgia, Texas, Notre Dame, Miami, and Indiana to round out the top six. Four other Big Ten teams are in the poll, as well. USC sits 14th, TTUN is 16th, Penn State is 17th, and Iowa is 22nd in the preseason poll. That means almost half of the teams in the Big Ten are in the top 25.
It's pretty clear that the rest of the coaches in the county respect what Ryan Day has returning this season, despite losing four first-round picks. The rest of the coaches must believe that Day can still coach his team to have a massive season for the second year in a row.
Last season, Ohio State started out 12-0 in the regular season before losing the final two games of the year. The Buckeyes have a much tougher schedule heading into this year. They play Texas, Indiana, USC, and Iowa all on the road. They also have Oregon and Michigan at home.
Ohio State has a chance to get revenge for a poor 2015 season
Back in 2015, Ohio State was a unanimous number one team for the first time in history. After winning the national championship in 2014, they were expected to be even better in 2015. However, a rotating quarterback room doomed them, and Tim Beck's inability to run the ball against Michigan State was their ultimate downfall.
Instead of making the College Football Playoff, they missed out because of losing to Michigan State. This is the first time since that season that they are a preseason number-one team. Now, they have a chance to avenge how poorly that season played out, now that they have a no-doubt starter at quarterback.
If they win the national title this year, they will have certainly earned it. Playing a top-10 schedule in the country won't be fun, but it will be entertaining for fans all season long. Ohio State has the opportunity to prove to the rest of the country that they have a dynasty built in Columbus.
Add us as a preferred source on Google