Ohio State Debuts at No. 12 in the First College Football Playoff Rankings of the 2026 Season - Eleven Warriors
By Google News Sports ·
The CFP selection committee ranked Ohio State No. 12 in its first rankings of the 2026 season. The Buckeyes are also No. 10 in the Coaches Poll and No. 11 in the AP Poll this week.
The committee considers Ohio State the nation's 12th-best team, trailing Miami, Georgia, Utah, Indiana, Alabama, Kentucky, Texas, UCLA, BYU, Ole Miss and Notre Dame.
If the season ended today, Ohio State would miss the CFP, as the highest-ranked Group of Five team earns an automatic playoff berth.
Ohio State is 6-2 through nine weeks of the 2026 college football season. The Buckeyes' six victories have come against Ball State, Kent State, Illinois, No. 19 Iowa, Maryland and No. 4 Indiana. Their two losses came against No. 7 Texas and No. 20 USC, both on the road.
Ohio State ranks No. 2 in both Bill Connelly's SP+ and ESPN's College Football Power Index (FPI). According to the FPI, the Buckeyes have the nation's No. 9 strength of record and No. 10 strength of schedule. Ohio State's remaining strength of schedule ranks No. 24 nationally, with No. 23 Oregon, Northwestern, Nebraska and Michigan still on the regular-season schedule.
Originally published by Google News Sports