Ohio State Opens Preseason No. 1 as Smith's Heisman Case and Schedule Scrutiny Mount

Ohio State opened as the preseason No. 1 team in the country heading into the 2026 college football season, a designation the Buckeyes have grown accustomed to but one that carries its own historical caveat. Since 1978, the Coaches Poll's preseason No. 1 has produced fewer eventual national champions than the preseason No. 2 team — a pattern that has renewed debate over whether the top ranking is a reward or a burden.

Ohio State's consistency makes the program a defensible choice atop the preseason rankings, but the 2026 schedule offers little margin for error. The Buckeyes face what analysts have described as arguably the most difficult slate in the country, with four of their five road games coming against ESPN FPI top-25 opponents. ESPN analyst Heather Dinich identified a three-game stretch — at Indiana on Oct. 17, at USC on Oct. 31, and home against Oregon on Nov. 7 — as the sequence most likely to define the team's playoff prospects.

Sept. 12 at Texas, Oct. 3 at Iowa, Oct. 17 at Indiana and Oct. 31 at USC — to earn true road wins against what are likely to be CFP top-25 teams. Two losses can be overcome, but a third dips into dangerous territory.

— ESPN analyst Heather Dinich

Smith's Case as the Nation's Best Player

Wide receiver Jeremiah Smith enters the season as the consensus top player in college football, a standing that Fox Sports analyst Joel Klatt defended emphatically on his podcast. Klatt pointed to Smith's 29 touchdowns in 29 career games, his 15.7 yards-per-catch average, and his 6-foot-3, 225-pound frame as evidence that no defensive scheme has a reliable answer for him. In Ohio State's two-game 2025 postseason run, Smith caught seven passes for 157 yards and a touchdown against Miami, even as the Buckeyes were eliminated in the first round of the CFP.

Jeremiah Smith is the best player in college football. He was the best player in college football a year ago. He's 6'3, 225 pounds. He's physical, he's fast, he's great catching the football. He's got 29 total touchdowns in just 29 career games. And I'm telling you right now: if you watch the film, Julian Sayin left four, five, six touchdowns on the board, and almost all of them were to Jeremiah Smith.

— Fox Sports analyst Joel Klatt

The limiting factor for Smith — and for the offense as a whole — may be the offensive line. Quarterback Julian Sayin was sacked or pressured frequently in the final two games of 2025, a problem that analysts believe suppressed Smith's production. With tackle Tegra Tshabola gone, the protection unit faces elevated scrutiny heading into what could be a Heisman-caliber season for Smith. Head coach Ryan Day, speaking at Big Ten Media Days, acknowledged that the 2026 roster presents a distinct set of challenges and opportunities that cannot be directly compared to prior seasons, signaling that the program is approaching the year on its own terms rather than leaning on recent championship pedigree.