Ohio State may have slipped in the Associated Press poll for two straight weeks, but the betting market still isn’t backing away from the Buckeyes.
At the moment, Ohio State remains the favorite to win the 2026 national championship, sitting at +500. Texas is right behind at +550, with Georgia close at +600.
Notre Dame comes next at +650, followed by Miami at +750 and Indiana at +800. The rest of the top 15 features LSU (+1700), Ole Miss (+1900), Alabama (+2700), Oregon (+2700), Tennessee (+3300), Florida (+3300), Texas Tech (+3500), USC (+5000) and Penn State (+5500).
That makes Ohio State the odds-on pick to claim its second national title in the last three years, even with the top of the board packed tightly together.
The Buckeyes also show up prominently in the Heisman Trophy market, and Jeremiah Smith is the biggest non-quarterback name on the board. The Ohio State junior wide receiver is fourth overall at +850.
Julian Sayin, Ohio State’s third-year quarterback and a Heisman finalist last season, is tied for ninth at +3000. He’s joined there by Gunner Stockton of Georgia and Jayden Maiava of USC.
The top of the Heisman odds is crowded with quarterbacks. Ole Miss quarterback Trinidad Chambliss leads the way at +340, followed by Miami’s Darien Mensah at +420 and Mississippi State’s Kamario Taylor at +750.
Arch Manning of Texas and Notre Dame’s CJ Carr are tied at +1200. Josh Hoover of Indiana and Keelon Russell of Alabama sit at +2500, while Lincoln Kienholz of Louisville and Dante Moore of Oregon are tied at +5500.
Ohio State’s 2026 schedule has already produced some early results, including wins over Ball State, Kent State and Illinois, plus the loss at Texas. The Buckeyes beat Ball State 56-0 on Sept. 5, fell 24-23 at Texas on Sept. 12, and handled Kent State 59-3 on Sept. 19.
What’s left is a Big Ten-heavy run through the fall: Illinois on Sept. 26 at 12 p.m. ET on FOX, at Iowa on Oct. 3 at 3:30 p.m.
ET on CBS, Maryland on Oct. 10 with kickoff sometime between 3:30-8 p.m. and TV still to be determined, at Indiana on Oct. 17, an off week on Oct. 24, at USC on Oct. 31, Oregon on Nov.
7, Northwestern on Nov. 14, at Nebraska on Nov. 21, and Michigan on Nov. 28 at 12 p.m. ET on FOX.
In Other News...
Ohio States NFL Pipeline Put On Another Show In Week Two
Ohio States NFL pipeline kept rolling in Week Two, with a familiar mix of Buckeyes making noise in key spots around the league. Jaxon Smith-Njigba was the headliner for Seattle, piling up nine catches for 155 yards and three touchdowns, while TreVeyon Henderson gave New England a jolt with a 39-yard touchdown run in his first game of the season.
Chris Olave was part of the same productive wave in New Orleans, where his chemistry with quarterback Tyler Shough stood out as he ranked among the leagues top receivers. For Ohio State, it was another reminder that the schools pro footprint is not just deep, it is still producing game-changing stretches every week. [Read more 🡒]
Ohio States Playoff Picture Could Shift Fast With These Week 4 Games
A busy Week 4 could shake up the College Football Playoff conversation quickly, and Ohio State is watching the ripple effects as much as anyone. The schedule is dotted with games involving the kinds of teams that tend to populate the bracket discussion by November, from Tennessee and Texas to Ole Miss, Florida, Iowa, Michigan, Texas A&M and LSU, and each result carries some weight in how the national picture starts to settle.
For the Buckeyes, the value is not just in what happens on their own path, but in how these other contenders are judged when the first real sorting begins. A win here or a stumble there can alter the margin for error, change how victories are viewed down the line and nudge one team up while pushing another into a tougher spot, which is why this stretch feels a little bigger than a normal September slate. [Read more 🡒]
Ohio States Next Wave Is Starting To Show Up Early
Ohio State has reached the end of its nonconference slate and turns now to Big Ten play against Illinois, but the early part of the season has already offered a few encouraging signs about the next group coming up behind the veterans. Through the first three games, five players in particular have started to make themselves part of the conversation, showing up in different spots on both sides of the ball and giving the Buckeyes a better sense of their depth as the schedule tightens.
Jay Timmons, Jason Moore, JaKobi Jackson, Riley Pettijohn and Khary Wilder have each flashed in ways that line up with the preseason buzz around them, whether it has been through steady defensive work, quick development or snaps that suggest bigger roles could be ahead. The challenge now is whether that early promise can carry from September into the heart of conference season, where every mistake gets magnified and every new contributor has to prove the first impression was only the start. [Read more 🡒]