RESOLVING THE LEDGER
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See the full story · 1 sourcesOhio State is No. 1 in the preseason US LBM Coaches Poll .
It was the first time since 2015 that the coaches voted the Buckeyes as their top team entering the season.
The Buckeyes are not without questions this year, as they must manage heavy roster attrition on defense and confront one of the more daunting schedules in the country, but they maintain perhaps the best quarterback and receiver pairing in the country with Julian Sayin and Jeremiah Smith.
The dynamic duo helped to make Buckeyes most decisive preseason favorite in several years with 104 votes separating them from second-ranked Oregon. It was the widest gap at the top of the poll since Georgia began 2023 in contention for a third straight national title with a 133-point gap over Michigan.
The Buckeyes, who totaled 1,741 vote points, received 38 out of a possible 72 first-place votes, in the poll released on Aug. 4.
Indiana , the defending national and Big Ten champion , saw the second-most first-place votes with 14, but opinions appeared split on the Hoosiers as they ended up at just No. 6 in the preseason poll. Georgia at No. 3, Texas at No. 4 and Notre Dame at No. 5 rounded out the top-five following the Buckeyes and Ducks.
Six of Ohio State's opponents for the regular season are in the top-25 — No. 2 Oregon, No. 4 Texas, No. 6 Indiana, No. 14 USC, No. 16 Michigan and No. 22 Iowa.
Buckeyes coach Ryan Day was one of the participating coaches for a fourth straight season, but ballots for him and other coaches are not made public until the end of the year.
The Associated Press’ preseason top-25, which includes the rankings of media members as college football’s other major poll, is due to be released on Aug. 17.
2026 preseason US LBM Coaches Poll
Ohio State
Oregon
Georgia
Texas
Notre Dame
Indiana
Miami
Texas A&M
Oklahoma
Mississippi
Alabama
Texas Tech
LSU
USC
BYU
Michigan
Penn State
Tennessee
Washington
SMU
Utah
Iowa
Clemson
Houston
Missouri
Joey Kaufman covers Ohio State football for The Columbus Dispatch. Email him at [email protected] and follow him on @joeyrkaufman on X.
This article originally appeared on The Columbus Dispatch: Ohio State football opens No. 1 in Coaches Poll for first time since 2015
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