Ohio State is the projected favorite to win the Big Ten and Jeremiah Smith is the consensus choice to win Big Ten Offensive Player of the Year across a trio of unofficial Big Ten preseason polls.
Since the Big Ten doesn’t compile an official preseason poll, three media entities – The Bill and Doug Show, cleveland.com and USA TODAY – all released their unofficial Big Ten preseason polls, compiled from votes from media members around the country, on Monday.
Ohio State was projected to finish first in the conference in all three polls, though Oregon received one more first-place vote (20) than Ohio State (19) in the Bill and Doug Show poll, which included 16 national writers and 30 Big Ten beat writers (including me).
The full projected standings from the Bill and Doug Show poll, including the average projected finish for each team from first to 18th:
Projected Big Ten standings
1. Ohio State (19), 1.74
2. Oregon (20), 1.82
3. Indiana (7), 2.64
4. USC, 5.02
5. Michigan, 5.94
6. Washington, 6.38
7. Penn State, 6.48
8. Iowa, 7.82
9. Illinois, 9.38
10. Minnesota, 11.12
11. Nebraska, 11.56
12. UCLA, 12.24
13. Wisconsin, 12.50
14. Northwestern, 13.98
15. Maryland, 15.24
16. Michigan State, 16.02
17. Rutgers, 16.18
18. Purdue, 17.74
Smith was a landslide choice to win Big Ten Offensive Player of the Year, as the Ohio State wide receiver earned 33 of the 46 first-place votes in the Bill and Doug Show poll. Oregon quarterback Dante Moore finished second with nine first-place votes, while Ohio State quarterback Julian Sayin finished third with three first-place votes.
The full Offensive Player of the Year voting results from the Bill and Doug Show poll, with each player receiving three points for every first-place vote, two points from every second-place vote and one point for each third-place vote they received:
Big Ten Preseason Offensive Player of the Year
1. Jeremiah Smith, Ohio State WR, 112 (33)
2. Dante Moore, Oregon QB, 62 (9)
3. Julian Sayin, Ohio State QB, 46 (3)
4. Josh Hoover, Indiana QB, 9 (1)
5. Jayden Maiava, USC QB, 7
6. Demond Williams Jr. Washington QB, 5
7. Charlie Becker, Indiana WR, 3
8. Nick Marsh, Indiana WR, 2
9. Carter Smith, Indiana LT, 1
9. Bryce Underwood, Michigan QB, 1
9. Savion Hiter, Michigan RB, 1
There’s far less consensus on who will be the Big Ten Defensive Player of the Year. Each of the three polls picked a different winner for that award; Oregon defensive tackle A’mauri Washington received the most votes in the Bill and Doug Show poll, Minnesota defensive end Anthony Smith was picked as preseason defensive player of the year by cleveland.com and Indiana linebacker Rolijah Hardy earned preseason defensive player of the year honors from USA TODAY.
Among 41 voters in the Bill and Doug Show poll, 12 different players received at least one first-place vote for Big Ten Defensive Player of the Year, with 19 different defenders receiving at least one vote overall. Washington beat out Smith for first place by only one voting point, with Oregon safety Koi Perich finishing just one point behind Smith for third.
Ohio State defensive end Kenyatta Jackson Jr. was the only Buckeye to receive a first-place vote, tying for seventh in the overall voting, though Ohio State safety Jaylen McClain, defensive tackle Eddrick Houston and linebacker Payton Pierce also received votes.
Big Ten Preseason Defensive Player of the Year
1. A’Mauri Washington, Oregon DT, 37 (10)
2. Anthony Smith, Minnesota DE, 36 (8)
3. Koi Perich, Oregon S, 35 (4)
4. John Henry Daley, Michigan DE, 23 (4)
5. Rolijah Hardy, Indiana LB, 22 (3)
6. Brandon Finney, Jr., Oregon CB, 17 (2)
7. Matayo Uiagalelei, Oregon DE, 14 (2)
7. Kenyatta Jackson, Ohio State DE, 14 (1)
9. Tyrique Tucker, Indiana DT, 13 (2)
10. Zach Lutmer, Iowa S, 9 (2)
11. Teitum Tuioti, Oregon DE, 7 (2)
12. Jyaire Hill, Michigan CB, 5 (1)
13. Isaiah Jones, Indiana LB, 3
14. Jaylen McClain, Ohio State S, 2
14. Eddrick Houston, Ohio State DT, 2
16. Daniel Wingate, Maryland LB, 1
16. Payton Pierce, Ohio State LB, 1
16. Jamari Sharpe, Indiana CB, 1
16. Mason Posa, Wisconsin LB, 1
The Bill and Doug Show also asked voters to predict how many Big Ten teams would make the 2026-27 College Football Playoff. Just over half of the voters have four Big Ten teams making the CFP, while all but one of the others (Doug Lesmerises himself, who has five or more Big Ten teams making the CFP) predicted the Big Ten will get three teams in the playoff.
How many Big Ten teams will make the playoff?
4: 25
3: 20
5 or more: 1
2: 0
My personal ballot for the Bill and Doug Show poll:
Projected Big Ten order of finish
1. Oregon
2. Ohio State
3. Indiana
4. Michigan
5. Penn State
6. USC
7. Washington
8. Illinois
9. Iowa
10. Wisconsin
11. UCLA
12. Nebraska
13. Michigan State
14. Minnesota
15. Northwestern
16. Rutgers
17. Purdue
18. MarylandBig Ten Offensive Player of the Year
1. Jeremiah Smith, Ohio State WR
2. Julian Sayin, Ohio State QB
3. Dante Moore, Oregon QB
Big Ten Defensive Player of the Year
1. Matayo Uiagalelei, Oregon DE
2. Jaylen McClain, Ohio State S
3. Koi Perich, Oregon S
How many Big Ten teams will make the CFP?
3 (Oregon, Ohio State and Indiana)
