Ohio State football enters the 2026 season with massive expectations after a 2025 campaign that ended with consecutive losses to Indiana in the Big Ten Championship and Miami in the College Football Playoff. The Buckeyes return quarterback Julian Sayin for his second year as a starter, wide receiver Jeremiah Smith for his third and likely final college season, and 1,000-yard rusher Bo Jackson. Ohio State also brings back four of five starters on the offensive line, giving the Buckeyes one of the most talented rosters in college football.

With the offseason dead period in full swing, I thought it would be a fun exercise to ask AI platform Grok to simulate Ohio State’s 2026 season from start to finish. This is artificial intelligence, and it can’t predict the future, but the results paint a picture worth discussing during a quiet stretch on the calendar.

Grok’s simulation has the Buckeyes going 12-1 before the playoff

The simulation opens with Ohio State rolling past Ball State 52-10 in Week 1, a game where the defense forces turnovers and the Buckeyes dominate the line of scrimmage. Week 2 brings a road trip to Texas, and Grok has the Buckeyes losing 35-28 to the Longhorns. A loss that early in the year wouldn’t be devastating, but it would set the tone for how Ohio State handles the rest of its schedule.

From there, the Buckeyes rattle off wins. A 56-7 blowout of Kent State precedes a 45-14 home victory over Illinois to open Big Ten play. The simulation has a grind-it-out 27-20 road win at Iowa, the kind of trap game that could trip up Ohio State if the Buckeyes aren’t locked in. A 49-17 win over Maryland follows before the big one: a revenge game at Indiana, where Grok projects a 38-24 Ohio State victory to avenge the Big Ten Championship loss.

After a bye week, the simulation sends Ohio State to USC for a 41-28 win in a high-scoring affair before a massive home showdown with Oregon. Grok has the Buckeyes winning 33-30 in overtime against the Ducks in what would be a heavyweight quarterback matchup between Sayin and Dante Moore. Ohio State then takes care of business against Northwestern and Nebraska before beating Michigan 31-24 at home.

The simulation projects Ohio State and Oregon meeting again in the Big Ten Championship, with the Buckeyes winning 35-28 to claim the conference title and enter the College Football Playoff at 12-1 with a No. 2 seed and a first-round bye.

A championship run through the College Football Playoff

Grok’s playoff bracket has Ohio State beating Penn State 42-21 in the quarterfinals before a rematch with Arch Manning and Texas in the semifinals. The Buckeyes survive a 34-31 thriller against the Longhorns to advance to the national championship, where they face an undefeated Georgia team. The simulation has Ohio State winning 28-24 in a defensive battle, with Sayin leading a game-winning drive to cap the Buckeyes’ title run.

Projected statistical leaders for the Buckeyes

The simulation projects Sayin completing 64.8% of his passes (285 of 440) for 3,450 yards, 35 touchdowns, and nine interceptions. Jackson carries the ball 245 times for 1,250 yards and 14 touchdowns, while the team totals 2,400 rushing yards.

Smith rewrites Ohio State’s record book in the simulation with 82 receptions, 1,420 yards, and 16 touchdowns. Wide receiver Brandon Ennis breaks out with 55 receptions for 780 yards and seven touchdowns. On defense, Wisconsin transfer Christian Allegro leads the team with 112 tackles, while Alabama transfer Quay Rusall records 11.5 sacks. Both would represent major transfer portal wins for the Buckeyes.

This is all speculative, and AI simulations are far from gospel. Still, the exercise highlights just how loaded Ohio State’s roster projects to be heading into 2026, and the pieces are in place for a special season in Columbus.