The Ohio State football program always seems to be in the mix for the national championship when the season ends. Year after year, they play well enough to make the College Football Playoff. They did that last year, but they fell to Miami in the Cotton Bowl before they could play for a second straight national title.
This year, the Buckeyes lost a lot of the defensive leaders that they had a year ago. They lost four first-round picks, including perhaps the best defensive player in the country. Offensively, they should be better than they were a year ago, especially with Julian Sayin in his second year as a starter.
With all of that being the case, there are still some other talented teams across the country. The Ohio State Buckeyes have plenty of talent, but where will they debut in the preseason polls? Are they still good enough to claim a spot in the top three or the top five?
Predicting where Ohio State deserves to be ranked in the preseason polls
It's highly unlikely that the Buckeyes will be the preseason number one team in the country. Even though Matt Patricia is back, they lost a lot of talented guys on defense. Still, they deserve to be in the top five of the polls. In fact, it would be shocking if they were not in the top three.
The only two teams that are definitively better than them in the preseason polls are Oregon and Texas. Texas likely gets the nod because of how much hype Arch Manning has, even though the Buckeyes shut him down easily a year ago. The Ducks have Dante Moore returning, even though he could have been a top-five pick in the 2026 NFL Draft.
There is a shot that Georgia could be ranked ahead of Ohio State, just based on some SEC hype. That would be surprising, however. Ohio State should be ranked third or higher. Miami and Notre Dame will be close to them in the top five, too.
Ohio State could be ranked at the top early on in the season
No matter where the Buckeyes end up in the preseason polls, they have a really good opportunity to end up as the top team in the country very early on in the year. They will be taking on the Longhorns in the second week of the year, in what will be a night game.
Winning that game would give Ohio State the best case to be named the number one team out of anyone else. They would clearly have the top resume early on with a win at Texas at night. Of course, it doesn't matter where Ohio State starts the season: it matters where they finish.
Winning some games early will help build the confidence of what is a young team on the defensive side of the ball. Of course, the Buckeyes could afford a loss early. With how tough the schedule is, they will have plenty of opportunities to get resume-helping victories.
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