Ohio State lands at No. 2 in CBS poll

The Big 10 and SEC Dominate Top Spots

A quick glance at the poll is all you will need to see that the Big 10 and the SEC are the most dominant conferences in the country, with nine of the top ten teams in the poll being from those two conferences. Independent Notre Dame was the only one outside those two leagues to crack the top ten coming in at number 8.

Georgia Edges Ohio State

The poll leaned towards the Bulldogs based on what Dennis Dodd, the ranker, felt about the improved and underrated abilities of quarterback Carson Beck. In addition, the strong receiving corps of Dominic Lovett, Rara Thomas as well as incoming Miami transfer, Colbie Young, in his opinion, provided the depth needed to give the Bulldogs a slight edge over the Buckeyes.

Ohio Sate Had Big Off-Season

The Buckeyes had an incredible recruiting year and a transfer portal class to match that nearly pushed them into the number one spot. In all, Ohio State landed 23 incoming freshman, including the top recruit in the entire country in wide receiver Jeremiah Smith, who is already living up to the hype. Along with Smith, edge rusher Eddrick Houston and quarterback Air Roland were the highlights of a stellar class.

Yet as well as the Buckeyes did with their incoming freshman class, they did just as well with their transfers. Safety Caleb Downs who arrived from Alabama, running back Quinshon Judkins who came via Ole Miss, and former five- star quarterback Julian Sayin, who also came from the Crimson Tide, gave Ohio State the number 8 ranked transfer class in the country.

The Buckeyes Biggest Recruit Was Not A Player

Though for all the buzz in Columbus surrounding the Buckeye’s recruiting class, their biggest get was not a player. Chip Kelly, the architect of the high powered Oregon offenses from 2007 through the 2012 season, left his head coaching position at UCLA to take over the offensive coordinator job with Ohio State. While many have questioned Kelly’s abilities as a head coach, few question his credentials as one of the leading offensive minds in the country.

Ohio State finished with a regular season record of 11-1 with their only loss being to eventual national champion Michigan. However, while their defense was strong, the Buckeye offense sputtered most of the season, and only managed to rank 47th in the nation in total offense according to covers.com. Kelly’s presence should be felt quickly as Ohio State will make concerted efforts to revamp their offense in the early going.

The Buckeyes Will Need To Up Their Game In the New Big 10

The Buckeyes, though coming in as the highest ranked team in the Big 10, will certainly not be able to sit back and relax on that reputation.  In all, the preseason poll has five teams from the Big 10 ranked in the top twenty, including newly added Oregon who sits in the spot just below the Buckeyes at number 3, and Washington who is ranked in the number 19 spot.

In addition, the Buckeyes will have to still contend with Penn State who looks loaded for the 2024-25 campaign, and the defending champion Michigan Wolverines who are still going to be contenders. Also, newcomers USC and traditional Big 10 power schools Wisconsin and Iowa, should also add to the difficulty level, not to mention a resurgent Nebraska team. The Buckeyes will open their season against Akron on August 31st.