For the first time since 2015, Ohio State will enter a college football season as the nation’s consensus No. 1 team.

The Buckeyes claimed the top spot in both major preseason polls, receiving 40 first-place votes in the Associated Press Top 25 and 38 in the US LBM Coaches Poll. Oregon landed at No. 2 in both rankings, placing a pair of Big Ten programs atop the college football landscape entering the 2026 season.

Ohio State collected 1,672 points in the AP poll, finishing ahead of Oregon’s 1,597. Georgia, Notre Dame and Texas completed the AP top five. In the Coaches Poll, the top three remained the same, while Texas and Notre Dame occupied the fourth and fifth positions.

2026 AP Preseason Top 25

RK	Team	REC	PTS	TREND
1	Ohio State(40)	0-0	1672	NR
2	Oregon(14)	0-0	1597	NR
3	Georgia	0-0	1513	NR
4	Notre Dame(6)	0-0	1510	NR
5	Texas	0-0	1483	NR
6	Indiana(8)	0-0	1440	NR
7	Miami(1)	0-0	1379	NR
8	Texas A&M	0-0	1131	NR
9	Ole Miss	0-0	1102	NR
10	Oklahoma	0-0	1047	NR
11	LSU	0-0	988	NR
12	Texas Tech	0-0	983	NR
13	Alabama	0-0	904	NR
14	USC	0-0	839	NR
14	BYU	0-0	839	NR
16	Michigan	0-0	718	NR
17	Washington	0-0	501	NR
18	Penn State	0-0	482	NR
19	SMU	0-0	434	NR
20	Tennessee	0-0	394	NR
21	Utah	0-0	304	NR
22	Iowa	0-0	260	NR
23	Houston	0-0	252	NR
24	Louisville	0-0	194	NR
25	Missouri	0-0	117	NR

Ohio State received 40 of the 69 available first-place votes. Oregon received 14, followed by Indiana with eight, Notre Dame with six and Miami with one.

2026 Coaches Poll

Ohio State’s Preseason No. 1 History

The ranking marks the ninth time Ohio State has opened a season at No. 1 in the AP poll. That ties the Buckeyes with Alabama for the second-most preseason No. 1 appearances, trailing only Oklahoma’s 10.

Ohio State last began a season in the top spot in 2015, coming off its national championship run through the inaugural College Football Playoff.

The Buckeyes will now attempt to become the 12th team to begin and finish a season ranked No. 1 since the AP preseason poll debuted in 1950. Alabama was the last team to accomplish it in 2017.

Ohio State has finished No. 1 in the AP poll six times, winning national championships in 1942, 1954, 1968, 2002, 2014 and 2024.

Big Ten Makes Preseason Poll History

Ohio State and Oregon occupying the top two positions also creates a significant moment for the Big Ten.

It is the first time since 1961 that two Big Ten teams have held the top two spots in the preseason AP poll. That season, Iowa opened at No. 1 and Ohio State was No. 2. The Buckeyes eventually completed an 8-0-1 season and finished second behind Alabama in the final poll.

This is only the second time in AP poll history that the Big Ten has started a season with the country’s top two teams.

Across all conferences, it is the first preseason poll featuring two teams from the same league at Nos. 1 and 2 since Oklahoma and Nebraska represented the Big Eight in 1987.

Oregon’s No. 2 placement is also the highest preseason ranking in program history. The Ducks had previously opened at No. 3 on four occasions.

The rankings continue an extraordinary period for the Big Ten, which has produced the last three national champions: Michigan in 2023, Ohio State in 2024 and Indiana in 2025. No conference has won four consecutive College Football Playoff championships, but the preseason polls indicate that the Big Ten will have multiple programs capable of extending that streak.

Defending national champion Indiana begins the season at No. 6 in both polls. The Hoosiers received eight first-place votes from AP voters and 14 from the coaches—the second-highest total in the Coaches Poll.

The Big Ten placed eight teams in the AP Top 25:

● No. 1 Ohio State

● No. 2 Oregon

● No. 6 Indiana

● No. 14 USC

● No. 16 Michigan

● No. 17 Washington

● No. 18 Penn State

● No. 22 Iowa

The Southeastern Conference leads all conferences with nine ranked programs. The Big 12 has four ranked teams, while the Atlantic Coast Conference has three.

No Group of Six program appears in the preseason AP Top 25.

Expectations Are Clear in Columbus

Ohio State’s place atop both polls is hardly a surprise. The Buckeyes return one of the country’s most dangerous offensive cores, beginning with quarterback Julian Sayin and wide receiver Jeremiah Smith.

Sayin enters his second season as Ohio State’s starter after becoming the most accurate passer in college football in 2025 and finishing as a Heisman Trophy finalist. Smith has already established himself as one of the most productive receivers in the sport, leading the country in receiving yards and touchdown catches over the last two seasons.

Running back Bo Jackson adds another proven option after rushing for more than 1,000 yards during his freshman season. Together, Sayin, Smith and Jackson give Ohio State a potentially devastating combination at quarterback, receiver and running back.

The larger questions surround a defense replacing eight starters for the second consecutive year. Ohio State attacked those losses through the transfer portal, however, and at least six transfers are expected to start or play significant roles.

Talent should not be the issue. The challenge will be developing chemistry and getting the new pieces comfortable before the schedule intensifies.

No Shortage of Ranked Opponents

Ohio State will have plenty of opportunities to prove whether it deserves the No. 1 ranking.

Six teams on the Buckeyes’ schedule appear in the preseason AP Top 25, beginning with a Sept. 12 road trip to face No. 5 Texas. Ohio State will also travel to defending national champion and sixth-ranked Indiana while welcoming No. 2 Oregon to Ohio Stadium.

Iowa, USC and Michigan provide three more ranked Big Ten opponents.

The Oregon matchup is currently the only regular-season game featuring the top two teams in the preseason rankings. Whether both programs can retain those positions long enough to create a No. 1-versus-No. 2 showdown in Columbus remains to be seen, but it immediately becomes one of the defining games on the national schedule.

Preseason rankings do not award championships, and Ohio State learned that lesson in 2015. That team returned an overwhelming amount of talent from a national championship roster but struggled to consistently meet its enormous expectations before falling short of the Big Ten Championship Game and College Football Playoff.

The 2026 Buckeyes now face a similar challenge.

Ohio State has the quarterback, skill players and overall roster to win another national championship. The voters and coaches agree that no team enters the season with a stronger collection of talent.

Now the Buckeyes must carry the weight that comes with being No. 1.