Major College Football Program Ranks Top 5 Among Teams Facing the Most Pressure in 2026

Ohio State Buckeyes head coach Ryan Day walks to the field. | Samantha Madar/Columbus Dispatch / USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images

The Ohio State Buckeyes won the national championship in 2024, giving head coach Ryan Day his first national championship.

They followed that up by going 12-0 in the 2025 regular season, and looking like a team ready to go back-to-back for the first time since the Georgia Bulldogs went back-to-back in 2021 and 2022.

However, Ohio State would fall 13-10 to the Indiana Hoosiers in the Big Ten championship, and then 24-14 to the Miami Hurricanes in the Buckeyes' first game of the College Football Playoff.

Now, as the Buckeyes head into the 2026 season, they are facing intense pressure. That's at least what college football analyst Brooks Austin believes.

He ranked Ohio State as the fourth team on a list of teams facing the most pressure in 2026, behind only the Texas Longhorns, Oregon Ducks and Notre Dame Fighting Irish.

Ohio State receiver Jeremiah Smith celebrates after catching a pass. | Samantha Madar/Columbus Dispatch / USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images

"Here's why I'm going to make the case for Ohio State being under a little bit more pressure at three [fourth on the list] as opposed to Georgia at three [fifth]," Austin said on 'The Film Guy Network.'

"Which one of these football teams has a quote-unquote transcendent once-in-a-generation type of talent? It's Ohio State, right? So, like, we have arguably the I mean statistically he's on the verge of being the greatest wide receiver in the history of college football... I think it's Ohio State because of how good and transcendent and generational, whatever adjective you want to use, there for Jeremiah Smith. I'm going to put them at No. 4."

Austin does make a fair point. When you have a generational talent like Jeremiah Smith, who might go down as the best wide receiver in Ohio State history, and maybe college football history, you need to win and not waste those seasons.

Smith has had 163 catches for 2,558 yards and 27 touchdowns in his first two seasons in Columbus. He played a big part in them winning a national championship in 2024.

But here is where the disagreement is. It's hard to win multiple championships in a three to four-year window. Winning one already makes the Smith era a success. Winning two would just be the cherry on top.

Also, while Smith is a generational talent, he is not a quarterback. Meaning, he plays a position that is reliant on many other factors, from quarterback play to offensive line play to the running game and even the other receivers around him. That means he can't just take over a game by himself as a quarterback can.

That's why there shouldn't be any pressure on Ohio State this season, other than the usual pressure that comes with being a Blue Blood. That kind of pressure will always be there, no matter who is taking the field at Ohio Stadium.