Aug 8, 2024; Columbus, Ohio, USA; Ohio State Buckeyes head coach Ryan Day oversees football practice at the Woody Hayes Athletic Complex. Adam Cairns/Columbus Dispatch / USA TODAY NETWORK

Ohio State Tops List In College Football Analyst's 134 Team Rankings

Originally posted on Ohio State Buckeyes on SI
By Cole McDaniel | Last updated Aug 12, 2024 9:48 AM ET

As the wait for the initial AP Top 25 Poll of the 2024 season nears an end on Monday at noon, the anticipation is that the Ohio State Buckeyes will likely either be in the No. 1 or No. 2 spot. Just one week ago, the Buckeyes were announced as the No. 2 team in the Coaches Poll. With the talent on Ohio State's current roster, expectations are high.

Fox Sports college football analyst RJ Young recently ranked every Division 1 FBS program and he happened to place the Buckeyes at No. 1 over the other 133 teams in his rankings. In order to rank all 134 teams, Young created some criteria to assist with ranking the full college football field. Strength of schedule, continuity of coaching staff, returning starters, 2024 recruiting class, transfer portal results, athletic administration, star players and expected household names were the eight things he used to evaluate.

Did @RJ_Young really rank all 134 FBS teams ahead of the season? Yes, yes he did

What do you think of his rankings?

Read his whole breakdown here: https://t.co/2t14PJRURH pic.twitter.com/eHzHBUMIoO
— FOX College Football (@CFBONFOX) August 12, 2024

Here is how the Buckeyes secured the top spot.

"No program made a bigger splash - splashes, really - than the Ohio State Buckeyes during the winter transfer portal period," wrote Young. "In addition to bringing back an abundance of talent from last year's team, including running back TreVeyon Henderson and wide receiver Emeka Egbuka, Ryan Day also managed to land a talented group of transfers with quarterback Will Howard, running back Quinshon Judkins and defensive back Caleb Downs. With these new additions to an already talented team, Day has successfully navigated through a raucous spring portal period with finesse."

To no surprise, the Georgia Bulldogs secured the No. 2 spot in his rankings, while the Texas Longhorns, Oregon Ducks and Florida State Seminoles rounded out his top five. The Buckeyes and the Ducks were not the only Big Ten Conference teams to make the top 25. The Michigan Wolverines were No. 8, the Penn State Nittany Lions No. 14, the USC Trojans No. 17 and the Iowa Hawkeyes No. 24.

The Indiana Hoosiers were the very last Big Ten team in the rankings at No. 97 overall.

There will likely be some major differences in the AP Top 25 Poll rankings compared to Young's list, yet the Buckeyes should be pretty close to the same spot. As for how the rest of the Big Ten fares should be interesting to see.

This article first appeared on Ohio State Buckeyes on SI and was syndicated with permission.

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