How many games will Ohio State win? Who will take home awards? Our early 2026 predictions

Ohio State announced it will open preseason camp on Aug. 6, kicking off summer practices with three open sessions for fans who purchase tickets. That means we’re less than two months away from camp beginning and less than three months from Ohio State’s Sept. 6 opener against Ball State.

With the season inching closer, it’s time for the annual exercise of making early predictions, some of them bolder than others. Last year I went 2-for-5. I was right about Carnell Tate being a first-round draft pick and Julian Sayin winning the quarterback battle. I was off when I said Max Klare would break two tight end records, that Sonny Styles would be a Butkus Award finalist and the Buckeyes would win the Big Ten.

Let’s see if we can improve this season.

1. Jeremiah Smith wins the Biletnikoff Award and is a Heisman finalist

Is this bold? Smith is widely considered the best player in the country and will enter the season as the favorite to take home the Biletnikoff Award, given to the nation’s top receiver. Winning the Biletnikoff isn’t that bold, because there’s an argument to be made that he should’ve won a year ago after tallying 87 catches, 1,243 yards and 12 touchdowns. He finished behind USC’s Makai Lemon in the voting and may have done enough to win the award had he not missed one and a half games in November.

That award remains a goal for Smith, who has a chip on his shoulder this season on that front. I think Ohio State is going to publicly push Smith for the Biletnikoff, but in the process, it will land him on a lot of Heisman ballots after he finished sixth last year. The schedule will give Smith more chances to make plays in big games.

Ohio State plays five teams in Stewart Mandel’s post-spring Top 25. In two years against 12 AP-ranked opponents, Smith has tallied 64 receptions for 996 yards and nine touchdowns, so he doesn’t falter in the big lights. I think this is his year to bring home a lot of postseason hardware. Will he win the Heisman? It will take a special year to do that as a receiver, but a trip to New York is something I’d be willing to bet on.

2. Ohio State will host a Playoff game this December

The 2024 CFP game against Tennessee is still one of my favorite non-bowl atmospheres I’ve ever been in. The anxiety after the Michigan loss mixed with the first Playoff game at Ohio Stadium and an SEC opponent made for an intense primetime setting. I think Ohio State will be in the 5-8 seed range again this year to host a game after getting a bye last season.

Ohio State has the talent to be a top-four team when the postseason begins, but the schedule gives me some pause. If Ohio State is going to earn a bye in the postseason, it’ll need to have no more than one loss. I just can’t get behind the thought that Ohio State will go 11-1 with Texas, USC, Iowa, Oregon, Indiana and Michigan on the schedule.

As of now, I’m picking Ohio State to lose a close game in Austin in Week 2. I think that matchup is a coin flip, but I’m giving the nod to the home Longhorns, which means Ohio State would have to run the table against a loaded Big Ten schedule. I think it’s more likely that Ohio State is 9-3 than it is 11-1, but for the sake of these predictions, I think Ohio State finishes the season 10-2 and is the No. 5 or 6 seed.

If that happens, Ohio State fans should keep their fingers crossed for another night game. I’m also willing to go out on a limb and say that if Ohio State is 9-3, it should make the playoff, albeit not as a host.

3. Ryan Day earns first back-to-back wins vs. Michigan

Day got the four-game Michigan losing streak off his back with a 27-9 win in Ann Arbor last November. While it may seem like some of the pressure is off him, he still has not beaten Michigan at home as a head coach, losing 45-23 in 2022 and 13-10 in 2024 (the 2020 game was canceled).

Ohio State’s last win over the Wolverines at Ohio Stadium came in 2018. I think this is the year Ohio State gets back to its winning ways at home and gets back on a winning streak against the Wolverines.

I like Kyle Whittingham as a coach and think he’ll have success at Michigan, but I believe the ceiling for the Wolverines relies on quarterback Bryce Underwood making a big jump. It’s hard for me to get past watching him throw for 63 yards and one interception against the Buckeyes last year. While I don’t think Ohio State’s defense will be as good as it was a year ago, it will likely force Underwood to beat it. I lean toward Ohio State’s secondary for the win there.

4. Bo Jackson wins Big Ten running back of the year

Jackson put the entire Big Ten on alert last year against Michigan. He had a good freshman year, and that 117-yard performance was his best of the season. Ohio State leaned on him, especially down the stretch, and he handled the workload well in wearing down the Wolverines with 22 carries.

It was a good way to cap his stellar debut season, which showed off not just his good running vision, but his versatility in the passing game, as well.

Ohio State is going to rotate in the backfield this year with Jackson, Isaiah West and Ja’Kobi Jackson the likely trio, but Bo Jackson will be the lead back. If he shows continued growth as a pass blocker, Ohio State may find it hard to take him off the field.

The next step is becoming more explosive. There were a few times in the Indiana and Miami losses where he was just a missed tackle in the secondary away from scoring a long touchdown. He still led the Big Ten with 36 runs of 10 yards or more, and I expect the number of explosive runs to rise along with his workload. He was tied for 15th with six runs of at least 20 yards. With more reps, he has a chance to be Ohio State’s first Big Ten running back of the year since Ezekiel Elliott won the award in 2015.

5. Connor Hawkins makes 3 50-yard field goals, equaling OSU’s total since 2010

With Jayden Fielding gone, Ohio State needed to add a kicker in the transfer portal. Hawkins has the big leg the Buckeyes were looking for.

He made 18 of 22 field goals last season as a redshirt freshman at Baylor, including 3 of 4 from at least 50 yards. Ohio State hasn’t converted a 50-yard field goal since Blake Haubeil made one from 55 yards in 2019. In fact, Ohio State has made kicks from 50 yards or beyond just three times since 2010.

If Hawkins even equals his output from a year ago, he will be a massive weapon for the Buckeyes, especially late in games against a more difficult schedule. With that in mind, I’ll give him the nod to break this mark.

Do we want to go one step further? I think Hawkins will make at least one game-winning kick beyond 40 yards.