{"id":423066,"date":"2026-01-22T14:49:40","date_gmt":"2026-01-22T14:49:40","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/423066\/"},"modified":"2026-01-22T14:49:40","modified_gmt":"2026-01-22T14:49:40","slug":"final-coaches-poll-ballots-eight-coaches-rank-ohio-state-3rd-miami-ohios-chuck-martin-ranks-buckeyes-10th-delawares-ryan-carty-forgets-osu","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/423066\/","title":{"rendered":"Final Coaches Poll Ballots: Eight Coaches Rank Ohio State 3rd, Miami (Ohio)\u2019s Chuck Martin Ranks Buckeyes 10th, Delaware\u2019s Ryan Carty Forgets OSU"},"content":{"rendered":"<p>\n                   Ohio State was ranked as the third-best team in the country for the 2025 season by eight voters in the Coaches Poll, but an in-state coach ranked the Buckeyes 10th while another coach left Ohio State off his ballot entirely.                <\/p>\n<p>\n\tWhile Ohio State didn\u2019t receive any first- or second-place votes in the end-of-season Coaches Poll after losing its final two games of the season to Indiana and Miami (Florida), eight coaches ranked the Buckeyes as the third-best team in the country on their final ballots, which were made public by <a href=\"https:\/\/www.usatoday.com\/story\/sports\/ncaaf\/2026\/01\/20\/college-football-coaches-poll-ballots-rankings-top-25\/88218259007\/\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\">USA TODAY<\/a> on Wednesday. Coaches who ranked the Buckeyes third included two Ohio State alumni (Luke Fickell and Alex Golesh) and three coaches who were in the Big Ten for at least part of last season (Fickell, James Franklin and Matt Rhule).\n<\/p>\n<p>\n\tMore than half of the 62 coaches who had ballots for this year\u2019s Coaches Poll ranked Ohio State as a top-five team, as four coaches ranked the Buckeyes fourth while 22 coaches \u2013 including Ryan Day \u2013 ranked the Buckeyes fifth. Day\u2019s top seven mirrored the top seven of the AP Top 25, as he ranked his own team behind the four teams that advanced further than Ohio State in the College Football Playoff: Indiana, Miami, Ole Miss and Oregon.\n<\/p>\n<p>\t\tRyan Day\u2019s Final Coaches Poll Ballot<\/p>\n<p>\t\t\t\tRANK<\/p>\n<p>\t\t\t\tTEAM<\/p>\n<p>\t\t\t\tRANK<\/p>\n<p>\t\t\t\tTEAM<\/p>\n<p>\t\t\t\tRANK<\/p>\n<p>\t\t\t\tTEAM<\/p>\n<p>\t\t\t\tRANK<\/p>\n<p>\t\t\t\tTEAM<\/p>\n<p>\t\t\t\tRANK<\/p>\n<p>\t\t\t\tTEAM<\/p>\n<p>\t\t\t\t1<\/p>\n<p>\t\t\t\tINDIANA<\/p>\n<p>\t\t\t\t6<\/p>\n<p>\t\t\t\tGEORGIA<\/p>\n<p>\t\t\t\t11<\/p>\n<p>\t\t\t\tBRIGHAM YOUNG<\/p>\n<p>\t\t\t\t16<\/p>\n<p>\t\t\t\tIOWA<\/p>\n<p>\t\t\t\t21<\/p>\n<p>\t\t\t\tHOUSTON<\/p>\n<p>\t\t\t\t2<\/p>\n<p>\t\t\t\tMIAMI (FLA.)<\/p>\n<p>\t\t\t\t7<\/p>\n<p>\t\t\t\tTEXAS TECH<\/p>\n<p>\t\t\t\t12<\/p>\n<p>\t\t\t\tNOTRE DAME<\/p>\n<p>\t\t\t\t17<\/p>\n<p>\t\t\t\tVANDERBILT<\/p>\n<p>\t\t\t\t22<\/p>\n<p>\t\t\t\tGEORGIA TECH<\/p>\n<p>\t\t\t\t3<\/p>\n<p>\t\t\t\tMISSISSIPPI<\/p>\n<p>\t\t\t\t8<\/p>\n<p>\t\t\t\tALABAMA<\/p>\n<p>\t\t\t\t13<\/p>\n<p>\t\t\t\tTEXAS<\/p>\n<p>\t\t\t\t18<\/p>\n<p>\t\t\t\tUSC<\/p>\n<p>\t\t\t\t23<\/p>\n<p>\t\t\t\tMICHIGAN<\/p>\n<p>\t\t\t\t4<\/p>\n<p>\t\t\t\tOREGON<\/p>\n<p>\t\t\t\t9<\/p>\n<p>\t\t\t\tOKLAHOMA<\/p>\n<p>\t\t\t\t14<\/p>\n<p>\t\t\t\tUTAH<\/p>\n<p>\t\t\t\t19<\/p>\n<p>\t\t\t\tARIZONA<\/p>\n<p>\t\t\t\t24<\/p>\n<p>\t\t\t\tILLINOIS<\/p>\n<p>\t\t\t\t5<\/p>\n<p>\t\t\t\tOHIO STATE<\/p>\n<p>\t\t\t\t10<\/p>\n<p>\t\t\t\tTEXAS A&amp;M<\/p>\n<p>\t\t\t\t15<\/p>\n<p>\t\t\t\tVIRGINIA<\/p>\n<p>\t\t\t\t20<\/p>\n<p>\t\t\t\tTULANE<\/p>\n<p>\t\t\t\t25<\/p>\n<p>\t\t\t\tNORTH TEXAS<\/p>\n<p>\n\tDespite being ranked in the top five by a majority of coaches, however, Ohio State finished sixth in the final Coaches Poll behind Georgia, in part due to two extreme outliers.\n<\/p>\n<p>\n\tMost responsible for Ohio State finishing out the top five was Delaware\u2019s Ryan Carty, who left Ohio State off of his final ballot entirely. Delaware assistant athletic director Ed LeFurge III <a href=\"https:\/\/www.dispatch.com\/story\/sports\/college\/football\/2026\/01\/21\/ryan-carty-delaware-ohio-state-college-football-poll\/88283605007\/?gnt-cfr=1&amp;gca-cat=p&amp;gca-uir=true&amp;gca-epti=z116662p119850c119850d00----v116662d--35--b--35--&amp;gca-ft=31&amp;gca-ds=sophi\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\">told the Columbus Dispatch<\/a> that Carty\u2019s omission was an \u201cerror,\u201d not an intentional snub of the Buckeyes.\n<\/p>\n<p>\n\tThat said, Fickell left Georgia off of his ballot \u2013 presumably also by accident \u2013 which effectively canceled out Carty\u2019s omission in terms of where the Bulldogs ranked in comparison to the Buckeyes.\n<\/p>\n<p>\n\tA more intentional slight seemingly came from Miami (Ohio)\u2019s Chuck Martin, who ranked Ohio State 10th. Martin not only put the Buckeyes behind Indiana, Miami, Mississippi, Georgia and Oregon, but also ranked Texas A&amp;M, Alabama, Notre Dame and Oklahoma above the team two hours northeast of Oxford.\n<\/p>\n<p>\n\tGeorgia, on the other hand, wasn\u2019t ranked lower than seventh on any ballot except Fickell\u2019s. Just two coaches ranked Georgia seventh (Texas Tech\u2019s Joey McGuire and Pittsburgh\u2019s Pat Narduzzi) while five coaches ranked Ohio State seventh (Syracuse\u2019s Fran Brown, Florida Atlantic\u2019s Zach Kittley, Tulsa\u2019s Tre Lamb, Tulane\u2019s Jon Sumrall, Western Michigan\u2019s Lance Taylor).\n<\/p>\n<p>\n\tGeorgia also received one second-place vote (the only team other than the Miami Hurricanes to receive a second-place vote, as Indiana received every first-place vote), as Air Force\u2019s Troy Calhoun ranked Georgia second, Ohio State third and Oregon fourth with Miami fifth.\n<\/p>\n<p>\n\tGeorgia received only one third-place vote, from UConn\u2019s Jim Mora, but was ranked above Ohio State on 34 out of 62 ballots, resulting in the Bulldogs finishing four points ahead of the Buckeyes in the final rankings.\n<\/p>\n<p>\n\tThe full roundup of where all 62 Coaches Poll voters ranked Ohio State on their final ballots can be found below. (Note: Coaches are listed by the teams they coached during the 2025 season even if they have changed jobs for the 2026 season.)\n<\/p>\n<p>\t3rd (8 coaches)<\/p>\n<p>\n\tTroy Calhoun, Air Force<br \/>Spencer Danielson, Boise State<br \/>Manny Diaz, Duke<br \/>Luke Fickell, Wisconsin<br \/>James Franklin, Penn State<br \/>Willie Fritz, Houston<br \/>Alex Golesh, South Florida<br \/>Matt Rhule, Nebraska\n<\/p>\n<p>\t4th (4 coaches)<\/p>\n<p>\n\tJamey Chadwell, Liberty<br \/>Brent Key, Georgia Tech<br \/>Pat Narduzzi, Pittsburgh<br \/>Willie Simmons, Florida International\n<\/p>\n<p>\t5th (22 coaches)<\/p>\n<p>\n\tDavid Braun, Northwestern<br \/>Jeff Brohm, Louisville<br \/>Jason Candle, Toledo<br \/>Curt Cignetti, Indiana<br \/>Chris Creighton, Eastern Michigan<br \/>Ryan Day, Ohio State<br \/>Kalen DeBoer, Alabama<br \/>Dave Doeren, North Carolina State<br \/>Jason Eck, New Mexico<br \/>Jedd Fisch, Washington<br \/>Thomas Hammock, Northern Illinois<br \/>Dan Lanning, Oregon<br \/>Rhett Lashlee, SMU<br \/>Lance Leipold, Kansas<br \/>Pete Lembo, Buffalo<br \/>Joey McGuire, Texas Tech<br \/>Jeff Monken, Army<br \/>Jim Mora, Connecticut<br \/>Brian Newberry, Navy<br \/>Ken Niumatalolo, San Jose State<br \/>Rich Rodriguez, West Virginia<br \/>Jay Sawvel, Wyoming\n<\/p>\n<p>\t6th (21 coaches)<\/p>\n<p>\n\tTim Albin, Charlotte<br \/>Dave Aranda, Baylor<br \/>Bob Chesney, James Madison<br \/>Eliah Drinkwitz, Missouri<br \/>Sonny Dykes, TCU<br \/>Mike Elko, Texas A&amp;M<br \/>Marcus Freeman, Notre Dame<br \/>Blake Harrell, East Carolina<br \/>Tyson Helton, Western Kentucky<br \/>Charles Huff, Southern Mississippi<br \/>GJ Kinne, Texas State<br \/>Clark Lea, Vanderbilt<br \/>Sean Lewis, San Diego State<br \/>Mike Locksley, Maryland<br \/>Bronco Mendenhall, Utah State<br \/>Eric Morris, North Texas<br \/>Gerad Parker, Troy<br \/>Kirby Smart, Georgia<br \/>Mark Stoops, Kentucky<br \/>Jeff Traylor, Texas-San Antonio<br \/>Scotty Walden, Texas-El Paso\n<\/p>\n<p>\t7th (5 coaches)<\/p>\n<p>\n\tFran Brown, Syracuse<br \/>Zach Kittley, Florida Atlantic<br \/>Tre Lamb, Tulsa<br \/>Jon Sumrall, Tulane<br \/>Lance Taylor, Western Michigan\n<\/p>\n<p>\t10th (1 coach)<\/p>\n<p>\n\tChuck Martin, Miami (Ohio)\n<\/p>\n<p>\tNot Ranked (1 coach)<\/p>\n<p>\n\tRyan Carty, Delaware<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Ohio State was ranked as the third-best team in the country for the 2025 season by eight voters&hellip;\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":423067,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[67],"tags":[399,398,396,397,99],"class_list":{"0":"post-423066","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-ncaa-football","8":"tag-football","9":"tag-ncaa","10":"tag-ncaa-football","11":"tag-ncaafootball","12":"tag-sports"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/423066","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=423066"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/423066\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/423067"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=423066"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=423066"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=423066"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}