Ohio State Football Preview 2026: Can the Buckeyes Find Another Gear?

Ohio State is college football's top superpower program under Ryan Day.

Alabama blinked, and Georgia is close, but no, Ohio State is the biggest dog in the biggest conference, and if you're going to win a national title, you need to get it out of the way.

Indiana won the national title, and Curt Cignetti is the hottest coach on the planet - and for good reason. But if you want to really be a powerhouse, win 11 or more games in 13 of the next 14 seasons - the outlier was the 7-1 2020 team that played for the national title - and go an insane 82-12 like Day has.

Ohio State Has the Talent, But That Alone Won't Win the National Championship

There's absolutely nothing overrated about the Buckeyes right now. There are no knocks, there are no blips.

There's no stray loss to Purdue or some bad day against Nebraska - the only true misfire was to an 8-5 Michigan team in 2024, and the Buckeyes went on to win the national title.

Last year's team missed a field goal in a 13-10 Big Ten Championship loss to Indiana, which, in the end, turned out to be a meaningless exhibition. The 24-14 loss to Miami in the College Football Playoff Quarterfinals - that's the problem.

It was Indiana's season, and it had the best college football team, but Ohio State had the most talent and the best parts in place. It didn't have that desperation the 2024 team had.

2025 Indiana and Miami did - they played like the hunters.

It's not fair to say the Buckeyes looked satisfied after Day finally won his national title, but they played like they knew they were better than everyone else, so they coldly and methodically dispensed of everything in its path.

But that didn't work when it finally got punched in the mouth. The Buckeyes didn't deal with the slightest semblance of adversity after the final stop against Texas in Week 1, and it showed.

No one liked to acknowledge it at the time, but the loss to Michigan was the best possible thing that could've happened to the 2024 team. Those Buckeyes came out of that roaring after getting punched in the gut.

This year's team will experience that. The schedule is too tough to get through unscathed, there will be landmines to sidestep, and there's real building to do on the defensive side.

This will be one of Day's hardest coaching jobs yet. He has the best team in America, and he has to sell his guys that no one believes they can get it done.

- 2026 Ohio State Schedule Analysis

Ohio State Quick Hits

• Head Coach: Ryan Day (8th full season: 82-12)
• Best Case / Worst Case: Win the national championship/Don't win the national championship (and lose to Michigan)
• Key Player: Julian Sayin, QB Soph.
• 2025 Record: 12-2
• Biggest Question: Can the Buckeyes reload fast on defense to deal with Texas and a brutal schedule?

Ohio State Key 2025 Stats

• Total Offense: Ohio State 5,916 yards, Opponents 3,067
• Time of Possession: Ohio State 33:07, Opponents 26:51 
• Scoring: Ohio State 468, Opponents 130 

Offense

No coordinator has more pressure on his shoulders than Arthur Smith. To be the OC of this team, your job is to make a potentially all-time great offense totally unstoppable.

Ohio State has an unfair roster of offensive talent returning.

This was an ultra-efficient attack that was second in the nation in third down conversions, No. 1 in completion percentage, and until the Big Ten Championship, always turned it on when it had to.

But now it has to be even better against the elite teams, but when it comes to personnel and NFL-level playmakers ... yeeeesh.

What’s Working

Where's the hole in the starting 11? The Buckeyes have a Heisman finalist at quarterback in Julian Sayin.

He's throwing to Jeremiah Smith, who almost certainly would've been the No. 2 overall pick and, at worst, top five - had he been eligible for this year's draft. 

There's a 1,000-yard back in Bo Jackson, working behind a tremendous line that gets almost everyone back, and any slight issues - like tight end - were addressed through the portal.

Sayin now knows what he's doing after a year of starting time. He was just fine in the opener against Texas, wasn't bad in the losses to Indiana and Miami, and finished the season completing an absurd 76.7% of his throws with 32 touchdowns and eight picks, and now it's time to let it rip. More on that in a moment.

It always falls flat whenever you venture into Greatest Anything of All-Time territory, but Jeremiah Smith is right there with the best wide receivers college football has ever seen.

He's 6-3, 223 pounds with 4.3ish speed - he's too physical and too fast for everyone else. 

In two seasons, he caught 163 passes for 2,558 yards and 27 touchdowns with two rushing scores. 

Against Indiana, he caught eight passes for 144 yards. In the loss to Miami, he only made seven catches for 157 yards and a score.  

What Needs Work

Ohio State, let me introduce you to a good friend - fourth gear. The best way to describe last year's Buckeye attack was clinical.

The team was always up early, the best defense in the nation was always going to hold up, and the offense didn't have to extend itself after getting by Texas in the season opener.

For the most part, it was 11 straight games of relative cruise control, and then when it finally had to turn it on in the clutch, it couldn't do it against Indiana or Miami.

This year, unapologetically crank it up on every drive - there's no need to play it cool with a defense that will clean up any mess.

The overall depth is a wee bit questionable. This is totally nitpicking with future star power up and down the board, but this really, really matters if something happens to Sayin.

The receiving corps loaded up with new recruits and great options from the portal, and the running backs are deep. 

However, the developed depth on the offensive line isn't quite there, and top backup quarterback option Tavien St. Clair has just two career passes.

The ground game will be used more. Arthur Smith comes over from the Pittsburgh Steelers, and he'll want to take some of the pressure off the passing attack by pounding teams into submission.

Again, the line is outstanding - even with a little bit of shifting - and there's a good young stable of backs ready to do more behind Jackson.

It's not a coincidence that the Buckeyes lost both times they failed to hand it off more than 26 times.

Player to Watch

Chris Henry Jr., WR Fr.
Normally you'd fill in the prerequisite "it's not fair to put the pressure on ..." thing, but if you're the best wide receiver recruit in the country, and Ohio State sees it, then yeah, get fired up. 

And no, it isn't fair to expect anyone, no matter how good, to be the next Jeremiah Smith, or Jaxon Smith-Njigba, Carnell Tate, Marvin Harrison Jr., Emeka Egbuka, or Garrett Wilson. But that's the expectation with Henry.

The 6-5, 195-pound son of the late NFL receiver by the same name will get the job on the outside stretching the field while everyone tries to stop Smith.

Defense

Defensive coordinator Matt Patricia is still around.

He didn't have to rebuild last year's defense, but he did have to replace a whole host of heart-and-soul types who were the driving forces to winning the national title.

What’s Working

The portal helped fix a slew of potential issues. Defensive tackle was one of them, so Ohio State reached into the portal and took out Alabama starter James Smith along with UCF's John Walker.

Who'll possibly replace last season's amazing pass rushers? Alabama's Qua Russaw will be in the rotation with the parts already in place.

The safeties will still be fantastic. There might not be a Caleb Downs around, but the safety combination of Terry Moore (Duke) and Earl Little Jr. (Florida State) is special.

Moore missed last year hurt, but made 71 stops with four picks and seven tackles for loss in 2024. Little Jr. made 76 tackles with four interceptions last season.

Jaylen McClain didn't get the recognition with Downs around, but he made 53 tackles and broke up three picks.

Ohio State's defense in the red zone. It's not an exaggeration to suggest that the Buckeye red zone defense won the team the 2024 national title - the goal line stand culminating with a scoop and score against Texas in the CFP Semifinals was an all-timer. 

That defense allowed teams to score just 60.5% of the time when they got in the red zone. Last year, the Buckeyes were No. 1 in the nation, allowing teams to score just 66.7% of the time.

What Needs Work

Even for Ohio State, replacing Sonny Styles, Arvell Reese, and Caleb Downs is hard. These were three of the top 11 picks in the 2026 NFL Draft for a reason.

That's the cost of doing business if you're this program - you replace superstar next-level players with more superstar next-level players, but those three are different.

Downs (Dallas Cowboys) plays the game two steps ahead of everyone else.

Reese (New York Giants) is a freakish pass rusher who'll be turned loose right away, and Styles will be a rock in the middle of the Washington Commanders linebacking corps.

Don't cry too much about the linebacking corps losing Styles and Reese. (Okay, maybe a few tears.)

The linebackers overall will be good - of course - but as of now, there aren't any early first-round picks in the bunch.

Christian Alliegro (Wisconsin) was one of the top linebackers in the portal - 124 career tackles - and Payton Pierce should be ready for a starring role coming off a 44-stop 2025.

How fast can everyone grow up? Ohio State doesn't rebuild, but only two main starters are back from last season.

The portal helped, but all eyes will be on a whopper of a recruiting class with plenty of too-young talent ready to fold into the mix.

Linebacker Cincere Johnson is the best of the bunch, and edge rusher Khary Wilder, safety Blaine Bradford, and corner Jay Timmons might be too good to keep off the field.

Player to Watch

Kenyatta Jackson, DE Sr.
It's not that the 6-6, 265-pound pass rusher was forgotten about, but it was hard to stand out on last year's loaded defensive front.

He tied Reese for second on the team in sacks with 6.5, came up with 28 tackles, and made 11 tackles for loss. Now he's the star pass rusher to work around.

Keys to the Season

• Be more fearless on offense - let all the stars cook.
• Hope for the transfers to be up to speed right away on defense.
• Keep quarterback Julian Sayin healthy.

Player Who Needs To Shine

Ian Moore, OT Soph.
The 6-6, 312-pounder saw a little time in almost every game last season, and now he'll get the first look at the left tackle gig protecting Sayin's blind side.

If he can handle it, 14-game starting tackle Austin Siereveld will likely kick inside to the open spot at right guard, and the show goes on.

Biggest Concern

Third down stops against the top teams.
The Buckeyes were tenth in the nation in third down stops, allowing teams to convert just 31% of the time.

Penn State did the best job against the Buckeyes, converting 53% of its chances in the 38-14 loss. You can guess who had the other top days - Indiana converted 46% of its tries, and Miami 50%.

No one else got close to 40%.

What were the three worst third-down days in the 2024 national title season? The loss to Michigan (50%), the loss to Oregon (43%), and the win over Indiana (43%).  

Biggest Game

at Texas, September 12
Obviously there's only one real Biggest Game when it comes to Ohio State, but before dealing with Michigan, there are epic showdowns against Indiana, USC, Oregon, and in Week 2 ... Texas.

The Longhorns losing at Ohio State last year cost them a playoff spot. The pressure will be epic on the Buckeyes if they don't pull this off in Austin.

Transfer Portal

Ohio State has to hit on its portal signings. It doesn't need the depth from its top guys; it needs instant stars.

The offense is fine, but on defense, there's a problem if the eight major transfers aren't special.

But when it comes to projections, there's no question that Ohio State not only grabbed just about everyone it needed, it took real good starters away from Power Four schools.

Best Signing

James Smith, DT (Alabama)
With Smith, it's not like the Buckeyes got a disgruntled backup looking for a chance to see some playing time.

It got a 6-2, 314-pound Jimmy Five-Star-caliber talent who was just starting to grow into his immense potential when he bolted to Columbus.

Over the last two seasons, he made 48 tackles with 3.5 sacks and ten tackles for loss, but his job will be to eat up space on the inside next to UCF tackle John Walker. 

Biggest Loss

Lincoln Kienholz, QB (Louisville)
Ohio State is on a heater of a quarterback succession run, and elite young options are waiting in the wings.

However, the Buckeyes would've been sleeping a little better this season if the new Louisville starting quarterback - who spent three years in the Ohio State system - was the main backup option.

Other Names to Know

• Qua Russaw, EDGE (Alabama)
• Connor Hawkins, PK (Baylor)
• Devin McCuin, WR (UTSA)

CFN Season Prediction

This is where this gets a little sticky.

Ohio State will likely be No. 1 - or at worst, in the top three - in all the preseason polls, and it's all because the offense is so amazing.

However, as good as last year's team was, it feasted off the most favorable Big Ten schedule reasonably possible, missing Indiana (until the Big Ten Championship), Oregon, Iowa, and USC. 

That's not to say the Buckeyes wouldn't have beaten all of them, but it wasn't that brutal a run after facing Texas in the opener.

That all changes this year.

CFN Prediction: 11-1

Missing Penn State, Minnesota, and Washington is nice and all, but there's no Michigan State, Purdue, Rutgers, UCLA, and Wisconsin on the slate - five teams that didn't go bowling.

What the Buckeyes do get is a trip to Indiana, followed up by a trip to USC, followed up by a home game against Oregon.

The Big Ten season opens with Illinois, which shouldn't be too bad, but going to Iowa the week after will be a fight no matter what.

There's a date at Nebraska, which probably isn't a big deal, except that Michigan is the week after.

And on September 12th, Ohio State goes to Texas.

For almost any other team, this is a 6-6 slate at generous best. 

But even with the concerns, Ohio State doesn't lose to just anyone - the two teams it lost to last season played each other for the national title.

This year, though, there are more games against the elite, and the Buckeyes can't lose more than two of them.

Related: Ohio State Football 2026 Schedule Outlook and Analysis