Rick Neuheisel is sticking with Ohio State when it comes to the Big Ten title race in 2026.
With the preseason AP poll putting the Buckeyes and Oregon atop the national picture, and defending national champion Indiana checking in at No. 6, the conference looks loaded at the top. Ohio State and Oregon both reached the College Football Playoff last season and are on track to get back there for a third straight year, while Indiana returns to the spotlight after its championship run despite losing several key offensive pieces to the NFL draft.
That setup leaves the Big Ten with a pair of heavyweight regular-season showdowns that could decide everything: Ohio State at Indiana and Oregon at Ohio State.
CBS Sports’ college football analysts weighed in on who they expect to take the conference, and Neuheisel went with the Buckeyes.
"Give me Ryan Day and the Buckeyes," Neuheisel said. "They're a consistent team, and Julian Sayin as a freshman, 77%? Come on, give me the Bucks."
Ohio State’s offense gives that pick real teeth. Neuheisel pointed to Sayin’s accuracy, the presence of 1,000-yard rusher Bo Jackson, and Jeremiah Smith as the focal point at receiver. Smith is coming off a season in which he established himself as college football’s most dominant wideout.
The Buckeyes also had plenty of draft departures to replace on both sides of the ball, but the expectation is that they’ll reload rather than rebuild. Matt Patricia’s 2025 defense entered the year with plenty of uncertainty and still ended up producing draft-level talent, and former blue-chip receivers Chris Henry Jr. and Brandon Inniss are expected to help take some of the pressure off Smith.
Ohio State’s recent Big Ten track record has been uneven compared with the standard it set earlier in the decade. The Buckeyes won four straight conference championships from 2017 through 2020, but 2020 remains their last Big Ten title.
A three-year stretch of losses to Michigan from 2021 through 2023 kept Ohio State out of the Big Ten Championship game in the final years of the Big Ten East and West setup. Michigan entered the 2024 meeting in Columbus at 6-5 and left with a 13-10 win, a result that sent Penn State to the conference title game instead of Ohio State.
The Buckeyes finally punched back with an undefeated regular season in 2025 to secure their place in the Big Ten Championship, though they were edged 13-10 by eventual national champion Indiana after missing a game-tying field goal from 27 yards out with 2:48 remaining.
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