College football pundit shares shocking Ohio State football ranking amid 2026 off-season originally appeared on The Sporting News. Add The Sporting News as a Preferred Source by clicking here.
It’s late January, and college football analysts are already predicting what next season may look like.
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Former ESPN analyst David Pollack is already locked into the immediate future and is zeroing in on the five best teams he could see overtaking the preseason discussions come August.
Even though the Indiana Hoosierswon the national championship against the Miami Hurricanes Monday night, Pollack opted not to put them in his personal preseason rankings.
Instead, one of two Big Ten teams Pollack is dead set on rebounding is the Ohio State Buckeyes as his No. 2 team. The other is the Oregon Ducks at No. 3, who return quarterback Dante Moore.
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“From what I saw from Julian Sayin [in 2025], I’ve 100 percent got Ohio State in my Top 5,” Pollack said on “See Ball Get Ball.” “Is 4 Jeremiah Smith still there? Ok, offense is going to be easy. Bo Jackson is back, the offensive line is back. Chris Henry Jr., I played with his dad; he looks like the next freak (at OSU), so that’s another 1-2 punch [at receiver]. They’re going to lose a lot of guys, but I trust Ohio State to be back in the Top 5.”
Luckily for Pollack, every player he mentioned is projected to return to Columbus. The Buckeyes are only a year removed from winning a national title, so it certainly isn’t out of the question for them to be back in the mix again this fall and for years to come.
Similar to other teams around the league, the Buckeyes are now trying to live up to the blueprint the Hoosiers have set for themselves after completing an undefeated season.
Even though it’s unclear if the Hoosiers can maintain this level of dominance, the Buckeyes certainly want to prove they can return to the top of college football.
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Come August, they’ll have a clean slate to make it happen. Motivation or not, Pollack has the Texas Longhorns and quarterback Arch Manning as the team to beat in college football next season.
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Both teams reunite in Austin next year for what should be a game to remember Saturday, Sept. 12.
