Ohio State leads the 2026 coaches poll while the AP Top 25 waits

Ohio State opened the preseason at No. 1 in the first AFCA Coaches Poll, but the AP Top 25 is still waiting for its first 2026 ballot. The difference matters: the coaches' list gives us a preseason expectation, not an AP movement report. With the regular season still three weeks away, the real changes this week came from camp, eligibility and draft evaluation.

The AP did not publish its 2026 preseason Top 25 during this coverage window. A preseason schedule published by Sports Illustrated says the AP ballot is expected Monday, Aug. 17, roughly two weeks after the coaches' poll. 1

That leaves no AP rises, drops, new entries or dropouts to report this week. The first 2026 college football games are scheduled for Week 0 on Aug. 29, so there were also no FBS scores, upsets or game performances to attach to a ranking change in the Aug. 2–9 window. 2

The available preseason baseline is the Coaches Poll. It should be read as a forecast, not as a substitute AP ballot.

The USA Today Sports/US LBM Coaches Poll put Ohio State first with 38 of 72 first-place votes. Indiana received 14 first-place votes despite ranking sixth, a reminder that the defending champion has a strong ceiling on the ballot but not the broadest week-one consensus. Oregon received six first-place votes, Georgia seven, Notre Dame five and Texas two. 3

Because this is the first preseason release, the list has no meaningful up-or-down movement yet. The useful comparison will come when the AP ballot arrives and when the teams play. 4

The conference count is also part of the preseason story: nine SEC teams, eight Big Ten teams, four Big 12 teams and three ACC teams made the list, with Notre Dame filling the remaining spot. 4

Ohio State's No. 1 ranking comes with a very specific set of unanswered questions. Ryan Day said the offensive line was his biggest concern after the first preseason practice. Four starters return, but Austin Siereveld moved from left tackle to right guard while Ian Moore got a look at left tackle. Day also named the tight end room, backup quarterback, receiver spots three through six, running back and the secondary as unresolved areas. 5

The most positive practice note was Isaiah West. Day said the running back had one of the best offseasons in the building and took first-team reps behind returning 1,000-yard rusher Bo Jackson. That is a camp observation, not game evidence, but it gives Ohio State another personnel thread to watch before its Sept. 5 opener against Ball State. 5

Indiana received a more concrete boost. Stephen Daley returned to practice after a season-ending knee injury suffered during the postgame celebration after the Big Ten championship. He is on a modified program with individual work only and no 11-on-11 action yet. Daley produced 5.5 sacks, two forced fumbles and a Big Ten-leading 19 tackles for loss during Indiana's title run. 6

His return also depends on the eligibility ruling that opened a fifth season for players from the 2022 graduating class; the NCAA has said it intends to appeal. Indiana still has not said whether Daley will be ready for the Sept. 5 opener against North Texas. 7

There was no college game in this window, so no prospect can honestly be labeled a game-performance riser or faller from Aug. 2–9. The useful evidence is the difference between two preseason evaluation lenses, published on different dates and asking different questions.

That split is the real story. Smith can be No. 1 on a talent board while receiving only a 1% chance of being the first pick because quarterbacks and premium defensive positions are more likely to control that selection. Moore and Manning are tied in ESPN's forecast, while Scouting Grade puts Smith ahead of both.

Scouting Grade also recorded six explicit moves in the updated board. The source gives the rank changes but does not attach a game, injury or scouting explanation to them:

Those are valid board movements, but they are not the same as a verified change in NFL evaluation. For the headline names, the evidence is still a preseason hold: Smith remains the most highly ranked non-quarterback in one board, while Moore and Manning remain the co-leaders in ESPN's first-pick forecast. 89

The next seven days contain no scheduled FBS games. The next ranking event is the AP's expected preseason ballot on Aug. 17; the first Week 0 games arrive Aug. 29, with Ohio State–Texas waiting on Sept. 12 as one of the first major tests for the preseason order. 1210

Until then, the coaches' poll is a useful starting line, not a verdict. Ohio State has the broadest preseason support, Indiana has a defensive piece working back toward availability, and the draft board is already disagreeing about whether the class belongs to a quarterback or Jeremiah Smith. The AP ballot and actual games will decide which of those signals survive contact with September.