Early 2026 Ranking

[NOYDB]

 

[Catch1lion]

Saw that and it's not the end all, but a good way to go into the fall.

 

[psuno1]

OSU #1 what a shock. #14 for PSU pretty good for being un ranked at the end of 2025.

 

[Itraindogs]

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Way too early, but OSU has no business being rated #1. 1. Their offensive line play was garbage and were exposed by both Indiana and Miami. Bowen also struck out in the portal so huge question mark. 2. Wide receiver play will take a step back. They are counting on Henry to start as a freshman, so if he is not college ready they will line up a bunch of transfers across from Smith. 3, Defense loses a ton, most notably Downs and Reese. Not sure how this qualifies them as #1. On paper ND (who I am not a fan of) is far superior.

 

[Warlerski]

OSU #1 what a shock. #14 for PSU pretty good for being un ranked at the end of 2025.

I would not rate OSU #1. Its weaknesses were exploited in their last 2 games. OSU should be no better than #5 if that.

 

[84lion]

Michigan no. 11 - really?

If I were Indiana (and possibly Miami), I'd be posting that in the locker room. Indiana bested OSU and Oregon, yet is ranked behind OSU and just ahead of Oregon. Granted, their team will change...but that applies to all the other major suspects as well.

I think LSU is getting too much "Kiffin love" and Ole Miss is not getting enough respect. No major love here for Bama, but putting them as the 7th best team in the SEC when they did, after all, make the CFP is a bit eyebrow-raising.

"Way too early" -

 

[KingLando]

Way too early, but OSU has no business being rated #1. 1. Their offensive line play was garbage and were exposed by both Indiana and Miami. Bowen also struck out in the portal so huge question mark. 2. Wide receiver play will take a step back. They are counting on Henry to start as a freshman, so if he is not college ready they will line up a bunch of transfers across from Smith. 3, Defense loses a ton, most notably Downs and Reese. Not sure how this qualifies them as #1. On paper ND (who I am not a fan of) is far superior.

Yeah but they're projecting Sayin to take a step forward and they still have the best WR in the game.
They lost their last two but should have beat Indiana (or at least sent it to OT) and people seem to be ignoring the bye teams losing because of the long layoff.
Ohio State Georgia and Texas are 1-3 for me in some order. Texas might flop again but they have the talent.

 

[EricLAllen]

If Ryan Day hires a yes man OC and goes back to calling plays himself, they're way overrated.

 

[Bvillebaron]

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That poll and $1.00 will get me a soda out of the machine at work. I think pre-season polls are totally meaningless.

 

[psuno1]

I would not rate OSU #1. Its weaknesses were exploited in their last 2 games. OSU should be no better than #5 if that.

There Schedule is tough next year @Texas @Iowa @USC @IU and Oregon and UM at home. Here is to losing half of those games.

 

[Phlebitis]

It starts getting pretty murky at 11.

 

[psuno1]

If Ryan Day hires a yes man OC and goes back to calling plays himself, they're way overrated.

Hope he dose that.

 

[TheWizardofCamelot]

Ah, the annual "OSU will take a step back this year" discussion.

IMO:
I'd pick these 4 as sure fire top teams - Georgia, Oregon, OSU, Notre Dame

Next tier because a lot of unknowns: IU, Texas, Miami

Last tier: everyone else.

Side note(s) - do people think VTech is a ranked team next year? I'd consider it a big win if they went .500. Franklin infused some talent but mostly in the FR/SO classes. I think they'll be in a battle with UMD to start the year.

I have a hard time believing we have a top-15 team. Maybe we could slip into the top 25 by year end but 8-4 or 9-3 feels like my ceiling next year.

 

[DukeCorey21]

Wow they have VT as the second best in ACC. That seems like a stretch.

 

[WVilleLion23]

Fuel up unrealistic expectations for nany fan bases. 17 of 25 are B1G and SEC.

 

[Zenophile]

Turning down the Pinstripe Bowl just keeps paying dividends.*




*Pitt is not ranked

 

[WVilleLion23]

I don’t give a damn about those rankings. This season showed most of them won’t be close to accurate.

 

[Wrakk]

Ive seen OSU as high as #1, and as low as #7. This is some of the reason I like a wider playoff. Let em figure it out on the field.

 

[CyphaPSU]

If this past season has taught us anything, then it's "who cares what they say?" before the season starts. By the time we got to the second half of PSU's first game we already kind of knew there were some concerns you don't expect from the #2 ranked team in the nation. Sometimes Week 1 is merely a first draft that can undergo a lot of corrections, but it's not always the case that everything gets fully addressed. Turned out those flaws never corrected between Week 1 and Week 2 and became fatal for a championship run when the schedule got serious.

I'd rather keep our ranking and expectations low and see what Campbell and company can do to raise those expectations as the season goes on. Momentum means a lot in the rankings that count later in the year.