Episode Details

Ohio State Primetime LIVE 98: Should the Buckeyes Be #1? Hosts: Garrison Gaddy & Riley Burnett | Presented by FanDuel | OhioStateVOCFB

Intro (0:31)

Welcome to Ohio State Primetime Live. Garrison and Riley recap the usual asks: like/share/subscribe and check vocfb.com/shop for hats, koozies, and tees.

Ohio State No. 1 in the Preseason AP Poll (1:03)

Ohio State opens the 2026 season ranked No. 1 for the first time since 2015. The Buckeyes received 41 first-place votes. Oregon got 14, Indiana 8, Notre Dame 6, and Miami 1. Georgia received zero. No SEC team earned a first-place vote.

Both hosts were surprised. Garrison expected Ohio State at No. 2 or 3 at best. Riley attributed the ranking to overall roster talent, returning production, and the incoming freshman class. They agreed any of the top seven teams could reasonably be argued as No. 1, but winning last year’s championship should not automatically confer the preseason top spot.

Other Ranking Thoughts (4:07)

• Texas A&M at No. 8 is too high. Garrison called himself a “full-blown Texas A&M hater,” citing a soft conference schedule last year and Marcel Reed’s turnover issues.
• LSU at 11 is boom-or-bust with Lincoln Riley.
• USC at 14 and Michigan at 16 felt reasonable; Alabama’s drop outside the top 10 (ending a seven-year streak) was understandable given what they have to prove.
• Back half of the poll: SMU 19, Tennessee 20, Iowa 22, Louisville 24. They’ll be cheering for Louisville.

Ohio State’s Daunting Schedule (8:36)

The official slate starts with No. 1 Ohio State at No. 5 Texas in Week 2 (night game, 6:30 p.m. local). Both teams get a Week 1 tune-up first (Ohio State vs. Ball State at home). Texas camp reports (via Boog and others) described Arch Manning still missing throws, two interceptions in a scrimmage, and a Ryan Wingo drop. Garrison still likes Ohio State by at least a touchdown.

Later notable games:

• Illinois (Illibuck rivalry)
• At No. 22 Iowa (tough venue, possible night game; they recalled Oregon’s struggles there last year)
• Maryland (homecoming)
• At No. 6 Indiana
• At USC (starting center lost for the season; backup has never taken a snap at the position)

Ohio State is currently a 1.5-point underdog at Texas (total 47.5). Hosts like the number and expect to know the over/under fate by the end of the first quarter.

Ranking the Six Ranked Matchups by Importance (16:16)

Garrison (most to least important):

1. Oregon
2. Michigan
3. Indiana
4. Texas
5. USC
6. Iowa

He called the Oregon game the biggest for the Big Ten and the national landscape.

Riley: Iowa 6th (talent gap at skill positions), Texas next (non-conference road night game), then USC, Indiana (revenge for last year’s Big Ten title game), Michigan (heart over head), Oregon as the biggest conference/national game. Four of the six are on the road.

They agreed the Michigan game remains “the game” inside the programs but Oregon carries more weight on a larger scale.

Chris Canty’s Miami Triplets Take (22:29)

Canty argued Miami’s QB-RB-WR trio (Darian Mensah, Mark Fletcher, Malachi Toney) is better than Ohio State’s (Julian Sayin, Bo Jackson, Jeremiah Smith).

Hosts rejected it strongly:

• Jeremiah Smith is not comparable to Toney (X vs. slot; significant talent gap).
• Sayin is a far better decision-maker than Mensah.
• Bo Jackson outproduced Fletcher on fewer carries (6.1 ypc vs. 5.5) and is a better receiving back. Jackson also had a 22-carry game vs. Michigan, something neither Quinshon Judkins nor TreVeyon Henderson did the year before.
• Volume stats favor Miami because Duke/Miami played from behind more often.