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2026 Ohio State

6–⁠1 (4–⁠0 Big Ten), coached by Ryan Day. The season’s Wikipedia article records 5–⁠1, over six games to the seven on file here.

Schedule and results

Ohio State in 2026, game by game: won vs. Ball State 56–3; lost at No. 4 Texas 23–24; won vs. Kent State 59–3; won vs. Illinois 42–19; won at No. 14 Iowa 31–14; won vs. Maryland 45–16; won at No. 5 Indiana 19–15+56−1Won 56–3 vs. Ball State+53Ball StateLost 23–24 at No. 4 Texas-1No. 4 TexasWon 59–3 vs. Kent State+56Kent StateWon 42–19 vs. Illinois+23IllinoisWon 31–14 at No. 14 Iowa+17No. 14 IowaWon 45–16 vs. Maryland+29MarylandWon 19–15 at No. 5 Indiana+4No. 5 Indiana
Each game’s margin, wins above the line and losses below.
DateOpponentResultElo
Sep 5vsBall StateW 56–⁠391%
Sep 12at4TexasL 23–⁠2448%
Sep 19vsKent StateW 59–⁠390%
Sep 26vsIllinoisW 42–⁠1977%
Oct 3at14IowaW 31–⁠1453%
Oct 10vsMarylandW 45–⁠1691%
Oct 17at5IndianaW 19–⁠1538%
Oct 31atUSCPreview60%
Nov 7vsOregonPreview70%
Nov 14vsNorthwesternPreview81%
Nov 21atNebraskaPreview69%
Nov 28vsMichiganPreview79%

Elo: a pregame chance from scores alone.

AP poll, week by week

  1. Wk 1: 1
  2. Wk 2: 1
  3. Wk 3: 6
  4. Wk 4: 7
  5. Wk 5: 5
  6. Wk 6: 5
  7. Wk 7: 4
Record
6–⁠1
Conference
4–⁠0 shared first in Big Ten
AP now
No. 4 in the week 7 poll; peak No. 1
Points
275–⁠94
Coach
Ryan Day
Elo
1795 +73 this season
SP+ rating
29.5 No. 1 of 138; offense No. 1, defense No. 1, special teams No. 100
SRS
21.7 No. 6 of 138 in FBS
Returning
68% of last season’s EPA, No. 27 of 136
Recruiting class
No. 4 roster talent No. 5 in FBS
Offensive coordinators
Arthur Smith and Keenan Bailey
Defensive coordinators
Matt Patricia and Tim Walton
Captains
Brandon Inniss, Kenyatta Jackson, Jaylen McClain, Payton Pierce, Julian Sayin and Austin Siereveld
Offense
Pro spread
Defense
4–⁠2–⁠5

How good, play by play

  • Offense11th of 138
  • Defense9th of 138
  • Offense, opponent-adjusted14th of 138
  • Defense, opponent-adjusted8th of 138
EPA per playSuccessExplosivenessFBS rank
Offense0.2849%1.3111th of 138
Defense-0.0935%1.149th of 138
Opponent-adjusted0.21 off
-0.01 def		49% off
37% def		—14th off
8th def

Passing and running

Pass successDepth of targetDeep throwsLine yardsStuffed
Offense57%11.0 yds16%3.3014%
Defense34%9.1 yds13%2.7019%
How these are measured

Play-weighted averages over games against FBS opponents; raw numbers, not adjusted for the strength of the opponent. EPA (expected points added) measures how much each play changed the expected score; success rate counts plays that kept the offense on schedule; explosiveness is the average EPA on successful plays. Lower is better on defense. Ranked by EPA per play among teams that were FBS that season. The opponent-adjusted row (offense / defense) is CollegeFootballData.com’s WEPA, which accounts for who each team played. Passing and running: depth of target is how far downfield passes traveled in the air; deep throws are the share thrown deep, of the passes whose depth and direction the play-by-play describes (about half); line yards are the running yards per carry credited to the blockers; stuffed is the share of carries stopped at or behind the line. The defense’s line is what its opponents did. From CollegeFootballData.com, 2025 on.

Drives and havoc

Points per trip inside the 40Average startHavoc
Offense4.9own 3214% allowed
Defense2.9own 2418% caused

CORE rating 23.8, 6th of 138 (offense 12.3, defense -11.5).

A trip inside the 40 is a drive that reaches the opponent’s 40-yard line; points per trip is how many it scored on average (allowed, on defense). Average start is where drives began (the defense’s line is where its opponents started). Havoc is the share of plays ending in a tackle for loss, a forced fumble, an interception or a pass broken up. CORE is CollegeFootballData.com’s context- and opponent-adjusted rating (points better than an average team; lower is better on defense). From CollegeFootballData.com.

Leaders

Passing yardsJulian Sayin QB2,007 yds
Passing touchdownsJulian Sayin QB19 TD
Rushing yardsBo Jackson RB516 yds
Rushing touchdownsJa’Kobi Jackson RB6 TD
Receiving yardsJeremiah Smith WR984 yds
Receiving touchdownsJeremiah Smith WR12 TD
TacklesEarl Little II S38 tkl
SacksKenyatta Jackson DE3 sacks
InterceptionsJaylen McClain S2 INT

Top recruits in the 2026 class

Chris Henry Jr. WR★★★★★No. 14
Cincere Johnson LB★★★★★No. 16
Jay Timmons CB★★★★★No. 25
Jerquaden Guilford WR★★★★No. 45
Khary Wilder DL★★★★No. 52
Sam Greer OT★★★★No. 53
Blaine Bradford S★★★★No. 74
Jordan Thomas CB★★★★No. 104

247Sports composite rankings via CollegeFootballData.com; national rank in the class.

The 2026 class by position

SignedStarsRating
Quarterbacks13.00.886
Running backs14.00.907
Receivers53.60.925
Offensive line53.40.908
Defensive line63.70.912
Linebackers44.30.937
Defensive backs63.80.924
Athletes and specialists23.50.888
Whole class303.70.917

High-school signees by position group, with their average stars and 247Sports composite rating (out of 1), via CollegeFootballData.com. Athletes are signees with no set position.

Roster 119

The 2026 roster

119 players, with numbers, heights, hometowns and each player’s 2026 line; 66 have a stat line. See the roster

Transfers in 17

The 2026 portal
James Smith DL★★★★from Alabama
Terry Moore S★★★★from Duke
Earl Little II S★★★★from Florida State
Qua Russaw DE★★★★from Alabama
Hunter Welcing TE★★★★from Northwestern
Dominick Kelly CB★★★★from Georgia
Cameron Calhoun CB★★★from Alabama
Christian Alliegro LB★★★from Wisconsin
Ja’Kobi Jackson RB★★★from Florida
John Walker DL★★★from UCF
Kyle Parker WR★★★from LSU
Devin McCuin WR★★★from UTSA

And 5 more, lower-rated or unrated.

Transfers out 38

Quincy Porter WR★★★★to Notre Dame
Tegra Tshabola OL★★★★to Kentucky
Mylan Graham WR★★★★to Notre Dame
Faheem Delane S★★★★to LSU
Jelani Thurman TE★★★to North Carolina
Lincoln Kienholz QB★★★to Louisville
Aaron Scott Jr. CB★★★to Oregon
James Peoples RB★★★to Penn State
C.J. Hicks DE★★★to South Florida
Jarquez Carter DL★★★to Miami
Bodpegn Miller WR★★★to Washington
Bryce West CB★★★to Wisconsin

And 26 more, lower-rated or unrated.

2026 Big Ten standings

Conference page
TeamConf.OverallAP final
UCLA4–⁠06–⁠0
Ohio State4–⁠06–⁠1
USC3–⁠16–⁠1
Indiana3–⁠16–⁠1
Iowa2–⁠15–⁠1
Northwestern2–⁠15–⁠1
Oregon2–⁠14–⁠2
Minnesota2–⁠14–⁠2
Wisconsin2–⁠14–⁠2
Nebraska2–⁠25–⁠2
Purdue2–⁠23–⁠4
Michigan1–⁠24–⁠2
Illinois1–⁠23–⁠3
Rutgers1–⁠22–⁠4
Washington1–⁠34–⁠3
Penn State0–⁠43–⁠4
Michigan State0–⁠42–⁠5
Maryland0–⁠42–⁠5

Ordered by conference winning percentage, then conference wins. Division splits and tiebreakers aren’t applied.