The defending national champion Buckeyes are not the preseason favorites in the Big Ten, according to a survey by the Kings of the North Podcast.
The survey, which polled 54 media members, including 20 national writers and beat writers from Big Ten schools, predicted Penn State will sit atop the Big Ten standings. Penn State, which lost in the Big Ten championship last year, received 35 first-place votes. Ohio State’s 18 first-place votes were the second-most in the conference, while defending Big Ten champions, Oregon, received one first-place vote.
Penn State also received the most votes to win the Big Ten Championship Game with 30, and Ohio State wasn’t far behind, receiving 22 votes to win its first Big Ten title since 2020. Oregon received two votes to win its second straight Big Ten championship.
Although the Nittany Lions haven’t won the Big Ten since 2016, their placement atop the unofficial poll should come as no surprise. Not only did Penn State, which also ranked No. 1 nationally in ESPN’s post-spring way-too-early top 25, hire former Ohio State defensive coordinator Jim Knowles for the same position, but it is also bringing back quarterback Drew Allar, and All-Big Ten running backs Nicholas Singleton and Kaytron Allen.
Ohio State will be fueled by its own star returners like wide receiver Jeremiah Smith and safety Caleb Downs, who were projected by the survey to win the Big Ten’s Offensive Player of the Year and Defensive Player of the Year awards, respectively.
While Downs received 43 of 50 votes to win the conference’s defensive player of the year honor, Smith received 39 of 50 votes to win offensive player of the year.
Surveyors were asked to list three players for their offensive player and defensive player of the year awards, with first place worth three votes, second place worth two votes and third place worth one vote. Although sophomore quarterback Julian Sayin and redshirt junior linebacker Sonny Styles didn’t earn first-place votes for offensive player of the year and defensive player of the year, Sayin scored four points and Styles scored two points for each respective award.
