The Ohio State Buckeyes are falling all over the place in the way-too-early Top-25s
The worst tradition in all of sports is the ESPN notification as the National Championship game hits triple-zeroes and the new Champion is crowned. About one minute after that, everyone's phone lights up with an ESPN notification with the first "Way Too Early Top-25 Rankings."
You bet I clicked on it.
While highlights of Indiana quarterback Fernando Mendoza graced my TV, my phone glowed with the 2026 rankings, and the Buckeyes were all over the place.
First, ESPN had the Buckeyes ranked at No. 6, the lowest that they have been in a long while. While Ohio State is returning its top-3 offensive weapons in quarterback Julian Sayin, wide receiver Jeremiah Smith, and running back Bo Jackson, it is losing a lot on both sides of the football. Couple that with a ridiculously tough schedule, and ESPN believes they will be chasing down a couple of teams to get to the top.
In front of the Buckeyes are the Indiana Hoosiers at No. 1, followed by Texas, Notre Dame, Georgia, and Oregon.
Over on On3, the Buckeyes were in a totally different position.
The writers over there voted that the Buckeyes are the top team in America heading into 2026. Chris Low of On3 cited that the Buckeyes electric offensive weapons, along with them retaining their top three offensive linemen has their stock up.
They are slotted in first over Georgia, Texas, Notre Dame, Indiana, and Oregon at No. 6.
While these are just engagement farming pieces and reasons for debates and arguments online, they tell a story about the national perception of next year's Ohio State Buckeyes.
No one knows what to expect from this team. The 2025 version of the Buckeyes was expected to be an elite team that often looked better than their 2024 team. They battled Indiana tough before being bullied by Miami to end their season.
Then, they went into the portal and had a slow start to acquiring players, but finished decently by adding several depth pieces that were veteran-type players.
Will Ohio State come out of the gates strong in 2026 and do what they were supposed to do in 2025, or will they continue the struggle that they ended the year with? None of the experts are sure, and only time will tell what the Buckeyes will bring to the table in 2026.