Colin Cowherd names the top college football programs of today. Where is Ohio State?

USA Today

2 days ago

College football has seen more changes than the price of gas these days, and there doesn't seem to be an end in sight. In order for the best programs to keep up, they have to embrace Name, Image and Likeness, the transfer portal, direct revenue sharing, and anything else that comes their way. Oh, and you still better have a good coaching staff and be able to recruit among the best.
Ohio State showed that it can compete in that environment last season by taking home the College Football Playoff national championship in the inaugural 12-team playoff, but can it continue to do so in the future? There's a further expanded playoff most likely on the way, along with many other changes that are still to come, so it'll be important for the Buckeyes to get out ahead of everything to continue to be one of the very best in the country.
Colin Cowherd recently discussed this very topic and tried to come up with the college football programs positioned the best moving forward. He used the same metrics and things that teams have to embrace and be creative with in the ever-changing environment we're in. With all of that in mind, Cowherd likes where Ohio State is, so much so that when rattling off the five best college football programs right now, he chose the Buckeyes as No. 1 with a close second-place going to Georgia.
Beyond that, he likes Texas, Oregon, and Notre Dame to round out his top five, then threw in Alabama at No. 6, followed by Penn State and Michigan. Have a listen and watch yourself to hear Cowherd heap praise on Ohio State as the best program in college football today and in the near future.
Even though we've seen Ohio State struggle landing some of its extreme priorities this year in the 2026 class, it is still recruiting at a high level with everything in place to continue to be one of the best college football programs nationally, just like it has been for years.
And yes, for once, Cowherd agrees.
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