Yahoo Sports' Preseason College Football Top 25: No. 4 Ohio State looks to both beat Michigan and win playoff games in 2026
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College football officially begins this month.
Now that it's mid-August, there are just days to go until Week Zero arrives, and since the season is quickly approaching, we're rolling out our preseason top 25.
After revealing our teams in the back half of our top 25, we continue our previews of the top 12 teams in the country with another team looking to get back to the national championship game after a quarterfinal loss in 2025.
Previously: Teams Nos. 13-25, No. 12 Oklahoma, No. 11 Alabama, No. 10 Texas A&M, No. 9 Ole Miss, No. 8 Texas Tech, No. 7 Miami,No. 6 Georgia, No. 5 Texas
No. 4 Ohio State
2025 record: 12-2
Odds to win national championship: +600
Odds to make College Football Playoff: -275
2025 in 100 words or less
Ohio State beat Michigan. The end.
OK, OK, we'll go a little deeper than that. The thorough 27-9 victory was not only the Buckeyes' first victory over the Wolverines since 2019, it was also the final game of the Sherrone Moore era after Moore was fired for an inappropriate relationship with a staffer less than two weeks after the regular season concluded.
However, that ended up being Ohio State's final win of the season. After entering the Big Ten title game 12-0, the Buckeyes lost 13-10 to the Hoosiers as Julian Sayin was sacked five times. The Buckeyes still got a top-four seed in the CFP and went to the Cotton Bowl, but Sayin was sacked five times again as Miami's defensive front dominated in a 24-14 win.
The QB
Julian Sayin
After a year behind Will Howard following his transfer from Alabama, Sayin made the first start of his career against Texas. That was certainly a game between inexperienced quarterbacks against very good defenses. After Sayin was 13-of-20 for 126 yards and a score, he proceeded to be one of the most efficient passers in the nation.
Sayin completed at least 70% of his passes in each of Ohio State's next nine games and was even 36-of-42 for 393 yards and four scores against Wisconsin. A week later, he had just three incompletions and threw for four touchdowns against Penn State. He finished the season 301-of-391 passing for 3,610 yards and 32 TDs with eight interceptions.
He finished fourth in the Heisman voting and his 77% completion percentage ranks third all time behind Bo Nix in 2023 and Mac Jones in 2020.
However, Sayin turned the ball over more at the end of the season. After two picks against Ohio in Week 3, Sayin threw one interception in the succeeding eight games. But he was picked off against both Michigan and Indiana and threw two interceptions against Miami in the Cotton Bowl. Ohio State scored 24 combined points in those two losses. The Buckeyes had scored at least 24 points in every game but that Week 1 win over Texas.
With a full year of starting experience under his belt, Sayin now knows what it's like to play in a pressure cooker at the end of the season and should be even better. He's the No. 5 favorite for the Heisman Trophy at 11-1 and his odds would be higher if Jeremiah Smith wasn't a Heisman favorite as well.
Non-QB to watch
WR Jeremiah Smith
There was no other option for this category. Smith is the best offensive player in the country who doesn't play quarterback. And even if you include quarterbacks, Smith might still be the best offensive player in college football.
Smith had 87 catches for 1,243 yards and 12 TDs as a sophomore in 2025 and was far from the reason Ohio State lost its final two games of the season. He had eight catches for 144 yards against Indiana and seven catches for 157 yards and a TD against Miami. His stats would have been even better had he not dealt with minor injuries in November and sat out the Buckeyes' blowout win over Rutgers.
Smith's odds of 12-1 are the highest to win the Heisman of any non-QB and he could post the best numbers of his career before he's a surefire top-five pick in the 2027 NFL Draft. While Carnell Tate is gone, freshman Chris Henry Jr. should make an immediate impact and Brandon Inniss could make a major leap.
Eric Edholm's 2027 NFL Draft prospect to watch
WR Jeremiah Smith
No school has produced more wide receiver talent than the Buckeyes have in recent years, and Smith might be their best product yet. At 6-foot-3 and 225 pounds, he's a physical marvel, and yet Smith moves like a man 20 pounds lighter. He explodes off the line, battles extremely well through contact and accelerates to top speed with breathtaking ease. Leading the Big Ten in receiving yards his first two years of college football, Smith is one of the most exciting WR prospects to come along in a few years. His teammate Tate went fourth overall a year ago, but most scouts who saw OSU last year believe Smith is the better long-term prospect.
College fantasy football player to watch
RB Bo Jackson
The man with the same name as the former Auburn star emerged as Ohio State's lead back in 2025.
Jackson was eased into action as a freshman; he didn't log a carry against Texas and had nine carries in each of Ohio State's next two games. But he rushed for over 100 yards in those contests and showed he was capable of handling a much larger workload.
Overall, Jackson finished with 179 carries for 1,090 yards and six scores. Until the College Football Playoff, Jackson didn't have a game over the second half of the season with fewer than 13 carries.
Isaiah West has been getting first-team reps early in fall camp, but Jackson also underwent an offseason shoulder procedure. Even if they end up splitting duties in 2026, Jackson is still a threat to surpass 1,000 yards again.
Biggest game
Oct. 17 at Indiana
Ohio State has no shortage of opponents who would qualify for this category. The visit to Texas in Week 2 is massive. But with the Buckeyes heading to Indiana after the Hoosiers won the Big Ten title game last year, that game is the obvious choice.
Ohio State hasn't won a full-season Big Ten title since the 2019 season. The Buckeyes have been the chasers for years and Indiana is now the team being chased. Given Ohio State's schedule, a win at Indiana might be imperative to get back to the Big Ten championship game.
Why Ohio State is at No. 4
You can make a case for any of our top five teams at any position in the top five, and we debated having Ohio State somewhere in the top three of our preseason rankings. The Buckeyes should easily have one of the best offenses in the country once again.
But how good will the defense be against a schedule that includes not only Texas and Indiana, but Oregon, USC and Michigan as well?
Ohio State is as equipped as any program in the country to replace three top-11 NFL Draft picks, but it's still really difficult to replace players like Arvell Reese, Sonny Styles and Caleb Downs even if you are Ohio State.
The Buckeyes' defense allowed fewer than 10 points and 220 yards per game in 2025. Those are numbers that will be nearly impossible to replicate even though Ohio State has allowed fewer than 13 points per game in each of the past three seasons.
The Ohio State defense won't be bad or even close to it. Matt Patricia showed that he's an excellent coordinator in his first year in Columbus and edge rusher Kenyatta Jackson and LB Jaylen McClain anchor a front seven that will still be elite. But given Ohio State's schedule, a step back from the defense will lead to a smaller margin for error.
Make no mistake, Ohio State is a playoff team. But the road to a second national title in three seasons is a difficult one.
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