Ohio State Tops 2026 College Football Rankings, Surpassing 2025 Champion Indiana

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Ohio State Tops 2026 College Football Rankings, Surpassing 2025 Champion Indiana

The Indiana Hoosiers finished the 2025 season on top of the sport, becoming the first team in college football history to go 16-0 since Yale did it all the way back in 1894.

The Hoosiers defeated the Miami Hurricanes 27-21 in the CFP National Championship game last Monday and were unanimously voted No. 1 in the final Associated Press poll.

Indiana racked up 1,650 points, with Miami ranking second at 1,584 points, and Ole Miss wrapping up the top three with 1,492 points.

On Monday, On3’s Nick Schultz shared an updated “Way-Too-Early Top 25 Composite” ranks for the 2026 season, compiled from aggregating nine national outlets On3, Crain & Cone, ESPN, CBS Sports, USA Today, The Sporting News, Yahoo! Sports, FOX Sports.

According to a weighted point system (25 points for No. 1, 24 for No. 2,…) based on the rankings of those nine platforms and their experts, Indiana will not enter the 2026 season at the top of the sport.

Ohio State Buckeyes head coach Ryan DayAdam Cairns/Columbus Dispatch / USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images

Instead of the reigning champions, it is the Ohio State Buckeyes who lead the way by earning 210 points, edging Indiana (204) by six despite the Hoosiers receiving more first-place votes (four to Ohio’s two), with the Buckeyes projected as the No. 1 team based, for the most part, on their elite returning core.

“Star wide receiver Jeremiah Smith and quarterback Julian Sayin will be back, as will running back Bo Jackson,” Schultz wrote. “Ohio State will also have a new offensive coordinator on staff after making a splash, hiring former Atlanta Falcons head coach Arthur Smith for the role.”

Sayin was the nation’s most accurate passer last season, Smith is widely regarded as college football’s top player, and Jackson already put up 1,090 yards and scored six touchdowns (on top of adding 200 receiving yards and a receiving touchdown) as a true freshman last year.

Ohio State finished 2025 with the No. 5 in the final AP ranks and must make up for the loss of key defensive players, including projected NFL Draft first-rounders Kayden McDonald, Arvell Reese, Caleb Downs and Sonny Styles, as well as wide receiver Carnell Tate.

That said, the Buckeyes have landed elite portal transfers this cycle, including former Alabama DL James Smith and EDGE Qua Russaw, Northwestern TE Hunter Welcing, plus Florida State S Earl Little Jr.

Indiana, meanwhile, checks in at No. 2 in On3’s composite ranks. The Hoosiers lost multiple standouts to the NFL, including receiver Omar Cooper Jr. on Monday and quarterback Fernando Mendozaon Friday, but return several players while bringing in the nation’s No. 7 transfer class.

Texas (203 points), Georgia (200), and Oregon (193) round out the top five in the composite. Oregon, which lost twice to Indiana last season but gets elite quarterback Dante Moore back, earned two first-place votes. Texas and Georgia each also return high-upside QBs in Arch Manning and Gunner Stockton, respectively.

Indiana and Ohio State will face each other in Week 4 of the 2026 college football season, with the matchup between the Hoosiers and the Buckeyes scheduled for Oct. 17 at Memorial Stadium in Bloomington, IN.

Related: Curt Cignetti, Indiana Lose Wide Receiver to NFL Draft After College Football Season

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This story was originally published by Athlon Sports on Jan 26, 2026, where it first appeared in the College Football section. Add Athlon Sports as a Preferred Source by clicking here.

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