Ohio State is back where it has not been in more than a decade: sitting atop the preseason AP Top 25.
The Buckeyes were named the No. 1 team in Monday’s preseason poll, ending an 11-year stretch without that distinction. The last time Ohio State opened at No. 1 was in 2015, when it was fresh off a national championship run.
This is the ninth time Ohio State has claimed the preseason top spot, tying Alabama for the second-most all time. Oklahoma holds the record with 10 preseason No. 1 selections.
Ohio State earned 40 of the 69 first-place votes.
Oregon landed at No. 2, the highest preseason ranking in school history, after collecting 14 first-place votes. The Big Ten’s presence at the top of the poll made history as well: it’s the first time since 1961 that the conference has held the nation’s top two spots, and only the second time that has ever happened.
That setup gives Ohio State a preseason poll loaded with heavyweight matchups. Three top-10 teams are on the Buckeyes’ 2026 schedule, including Oregon, Texas and Indiana.
Texas, Ohio State’s Week 2 opponent, came in at No. 5.
Indiana, the defending national champion, is ranked No. 6.
The rest of the top 25 is packed with familiar power names. Georgia is No. 3, followed by Notre Dame at No.
- Miami sits at No.
7, Texas A&M at No. 8, Ole Miss at No. 9 and Oklahoma at No.
- LSU is No.
11, Texas Tech No. 12 and Alabama No. 13.
BYU and USC are tied at No. 14, with Michigan at No. 16, Washington at No. 17 and Penn State at No.
- SMU is No.
19, Tennessee No. 20, Utah No.
21, Iowa No. 22, Houston No.
23, Louisville No. 24 and Missouri No. 25.
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For Ohio State fans, the intrigue is less about one August game than the broader trend of former Buckeyes getting off to strong starts in the NFL preseason. Klare is now part of that group, and his early usage naturally invites a second look at the mismatch between his skill set and the way he was deployed in college. The question hanging over his next step is whether this was just a crisp debut or the first sign of a bigger opportunity ahead. [Read more 🡒]