In the eternal war for bragging rights, Ohio State just armed its fans with the ultimate weapon: a new ranking that proves its dominance across both football and basketball. If you want a clean performance report, you go to the AP Poll. And when you do that, you’ll find the Buckeyes sitting at the head of the table. 

Ohio State topped the rankings for the most combined appearances (football and basketball) at #1 in the AP poll. This dominance is built on consistency, with the football program’s 120 appearances at No. 1 (second all-time) and the basketball team’s 37 (tied for 10th) combining for an unmatched 157 weeks atop the two biggest college sports.

When you look at Ohio State through the football lens, the Buckeyes have appeared in the AP preseason poll in 73 of the 77 seasons since it debuted in 1950. They missed only four years in 1966, 1967, 1979, and 1988. Nobody else in the country sits close. Oklahoma trails behind with 68, followed by USC (63), Notre Dame (62), and Alabama (60). Ohio State’s 37 straight years of appearing on the AP poll proves how elite they’ve always been. For comparison, the second longest streak is far behind at 29 years.

In 2025, Ohio State began like the elite team they are. Ryan Day’s team opened the season ranked No. 3 and knocked off preseason No. 1 Texas in Week 1. Then the Buckeyes set a record as the second-longest single-season No. 1 run in school history by sitting 11 straight weeks atop the AP Top 25. The only longer stretch came in 2006 when they held the top spot for 15 weeks before losing the BCS title game to Florida.

The Buckeyes’ run at No. 1 came to an end against a surging Indiana team. The Hoosiers, who had already climbed to No. 2 after a narrow win over Penn State, delivered the ultimate heartbreak by defeating Ohio State at the Big Ten championship game and claiming the top spot for themselves.

While it stings, that loss only added fuel heading into the next season, and the Buckeyes are already projected among elite contenders. 

Ohio State’s way-too-early playoff projection

It’s early, but projections are already coming in as the 2026 roster takes shape, and unsurprisingly, Ohio State is right in the mix. On3’s Brett McMurphy believes that the Buckeyes are one of the top four seeds alongside Notre Dame, Georgia, and Miami in the 12-team CFP.

While McMurphy’s projection included a host of other contenders like Texas and Oregon, the Buckeyes’ primary challenge will be navigating their own daunting schedule.

Ohio State is set to meet seven ranked opponents in its 2026 schedule. They’ve got back-to-back games against Illinois and Iowa lined up, followed by a three-game stretch against powerhouses like Indiana, USC, and Oregon.

If the Buckeyes overcome that and land in the top four, McMurphy’s bracket would set them up for a second-round matchup against either Oklahoma or Texas Tech. And if Ryan Day runs this roster through that schedule and through a 12-team playoff, it would further cement Ohio State’s status as the most elite program in college football.