Big Ten · Columbus, Ohio
Ohio State Football
2026 college football program hub
The short version
Ohio State football in 2026
Ohio State is 4-1 through 5 completed games: 4 wins, 1 loss.
Latest confirmed result: Ohio State beat Iowa Hawkeyes, 31-14, on Saturday, October 3, 2026.
Ohio State plays next against Indiana Hoosiers on Saturday, October 17, 2026, on the road. The kickoff time is TBD. TV coverage is TBD.
Program center
Ohio State football pages
2026 season
Big Ten football
4-1 current recordHead coach
Ryan Day
Leading the Ohio State Buckeyes through the 2026 season.
Program profile
Columbus, Ohio
Ohio State
In pictures
OSU on game day
Program background · Reviewed 2026-09-03
Preseason No. 1
Ohio State opens 2026 at the top of the AP Top 25, taking 40 of the 69 first-place votes — the first time the program has led the preseason poll since 2015. Oregon follows in second, and the gap between them is the narrowest the poll has produced in years.
That billing comes with a caveat the Buckeyes know well. Being No. 1 in August guarantees nothing: Alabama in 2017 is the most recent preseason top-ranked team to finish the year with a national title. Ohio State's 2025 season ended in the College Football Playoff quarterfinal, one round short of defending the championship won in 2024.
Program background · Reviewed 2026-09-03
An NFL staff in Columbus
The most striking thing about this team is who is coaching it. Ryan Day's staff is led by two former NFL head coaches: Arthur Smith on offense and Matt Patricia on defense. Smith arrives after 17 years in the NFL, including three seasons as head coach of the Atlanta Falcons and two running the Pittsburgh offense, replacing Brian Hartline, who left to become head coach at South Florida.
Ohio State expanded from ten full-time assistants to twelve, adding a dedicated special teams coordinator in Robby Discher so every unit has its own coordinator alongside a position coach. The assistant coaching budget rose above $15 million, the largest ever assembled by a college program. Day's argument is a recruiting one: players who intend to reach the NFL are coached here the way they would be there.
Program background · Reviewed 2026-09-03
What to watch in 2026
The offense returns its core — quarterback Julian Sayin, receiver Jeremiah Smith, and running back Bo Jackson — into a new scheme. Smith built one of the NFL's most punishing rushing attacks in Tennessee, so the question is how much that changes a unit Day has always shaped around the pass.
The defense is the harder rebuild. Patricia's first year in Columbus produced one of the best defenses in the country, but Arvell Reese, Caleb Downs, and Sonny Styles have all moved on, and replacing that production is the season's central task.
The schedule offers no hiding place. The Buckeyes travel to Austin in Week 2, visit Indiana and USC either side of the only bye, host Oregon on November 7, and close at home against Michigan on November 28 — a rivalry that has defined how Ohio State seasons are remembered for a century.
Explore
More on OSU
Players
Roster
Published player records by position group, with available class years, measurements, and hometowns.
Staff
Coaches
Ryan Day and the published staff directory.
Numbers
Season stats
Confirmed results, points scored and allowed, and per-game scoring averages.
Archive
Program history
Championships, milestones, and the program’s history.
League
Big Ten
The rest of the conference and how the title race is shaping up.
Nearby
Teams in Ohio
Other programs in the same state, if you follow more than one.
FAQ
OSU frequently asked questions
What is the OSU 2026 football record?
Ohio State is 4-1 through 5 completed games: 4 wins, 1 loss.
When does OSU play next?
Ohio State plays next against Indiana Hoosiers on Saturday, October 17, 2026, on the road. The kickoff time is TBD. TV coverage is TBD.
Who coaches Ohio State?
Ryan Day is the head coach.
What conference does OSU play in?
Ohio State competes in the Big Ten.
Is Ohio State ranked No. 1 in 2026?
Yes, in the AP preseason poll released August 17, with 40 of 69 first-place votes. It is the program's first preseason No. 1 since 2015 and its ninth overall. Oregon sits second with 14, and Indiana, Notre Dame and Miami also drew first-place votes.
What was Ohio State's record last season?
12-2, going 9-0 in Big Ten play. Both losses came late: 13-10 to Indiana in the Big Ten Championship Game, then 24-14 to Miami in the Cotton Bowl, a College Football Playoff quarterfinal. The Buckeyes were attempting to defend the title won in 2024.
Why is Ohio State considered a national title contender?
Because the offense returns its three most productive players behind a veteran line, and because the program has recruited and retained at a level almost no one matches. The counterweight is a defense that lost four first-round picks and a schedule with six ranked opponents, which is why the preseason ranking is closer to a question than a verdict.
What is Ohio State's biggest weakness in 2026?
Experience on defense. The 2025 unit finished among the best in the country and then lost most of what made it that, so a young front and secondary have to prove themselves quickly against an unusually hard early schedule.
How many national championships has Ohio State won?
Eight recognised national titles, the most recent in 2024. That championship was the first of three straight won by Big Ten programs, with Indiana taking the 2025 title.
Last updated
Published by Football Schedules Hub. Sources and editorial standards · Report a correction