Ohio State Leads 2026 Big Ten Preseason Media Polls
Several media outlets have released unofficial preseason rankings for the 2026 Big Ten football season. Ohio State tops every poll, receiving the most first‑place votes in the CBS Sports poll, USA Today Sports Network poll and the Cleveland.com poll. Oregon is ranked second and Indiana third in all three surveys, while Michigan appears fifth in the Cleveland.com poll.
The polls are compiled by panels of journalists and are not official Big Ten releases. Indiana, the defending conference and CFP champion, also earned preseason individual honors with linebacker Rolijah Hardy named defensive player of the year and quarterback Josh Hoover named newcomer of the year. Cleveland.com notes its poll has correctly identified the conference champion four times between 2011 and 2025.
Entities: Big Ten Conference · Indiana Hoosiers · Michigan Wolverines · Ohio State Buckeyes · Oregon Ducks
Claims
What the coverage asserts, and how well corroborated each claim is across sources.
- [● 3 SOURCES] The preseason polls are unofficial and compiled by media members, not by the Big Ten Conference. (all three articles note the polls are unofficial)
- [○ 1 SOURCE] Indiana won the previous season's Big Ten championship and the College Football Playoff national championship. (IU football article)
- [○ 1 SOURCE] Michigan is ranked #5 in the Cleveland.com 2026 Big Ten preseason poll. (Cleveland.com poll)
- [● 3 SOURCES] Oregon is ranked #2 in the 2026 Big Ten preseason media polls. (multiple media polls (CBS Sports, USA Today, Cleveland.com))
- [○ 1 SOURCE] The Cleveland.com preseason poll correctly predicted the Big Ten champion four times between 2011 and 2025. (Cleveland.com poll article)
- [○ 1 SOURCE] Indiana linebacker Rolijah Hardy was named preseason Big Ten defensive player of the year and quarterback Josh Hoover was named preseason Big Ten newcomer of the year. (IU football article)
- [● 3 SOURCES] Indiana is ranked #3 in the 2026 Big Ten preseason media polls. (multiple media polls (CBS Sports, USA Today, Cleveland.com))
- [● 3 SOURCES] Ohio State is ranked #1 in the 2026 Big Ten preseason media polls. (multiple media polls (CBS Sports, USA Today, Cleveland.com))