The 2019 Ohio State football team is going to look a lot different from the one that just wrapped up its 2018 season.
Ryan Day is the new head coach, as you may have heard.
Dwayne Haskins is gone, replaced by Justin Fields. Four starting offensive linemen are gone, as is running back Mike Weber. Three of the top wide receivers will be new as well.
And that’s just on one side of the ball.
But Ohio State football is still Ohio State football, and that means they’re going to get the benefit of the doubt at this time of year.
A number of national outlets have released “way too early” or “a little less early, but still pretty darn early” preseason rankings. The Buckeyes rarely dipped too far outside of the top-5 in Urban Meyer’s seven seasons, and they’re back in that same general area again in Day’s first year.
CBSSports.com just released a “post-spring” rankings list. The Bucks are No. 6, behind only Clemson, Alabama, Georgia, Oklahoma, and LSU. Other Big Ten teams in the top-25 include No. 8 Michigan, No. 13 Wisconsin, No. 17 Nebraska, No. 20 Penn State, No. 23 Minnesota, and No. 24 Northwestern.
The Sporting News put out a list on Monday. OSU checks in at No. 5. The only teams ahead of them are Alabama, Clemson, Georgia, and Oklahoma. Michigan is 9th, Penn State is 12th, Wisconsin is 21st, Northwestern is 24th, and Nebraska is 25th.
Wayne Staats from the NCAA put out his own rankings this week. The Buckeyes rank No. 3 on his list, behind only Clemson and Alabama. Michigan is No. 7, Penn State is No. 13, Wisconsin is No. 14, Iowa is No. 22, Northwestern is No. 24, and Nebraska is No. 25.
ESPN’s “Way-Too-Early Rankings” came out before spring football, but are along the same lines. Ohio State is ranked fifth, behind Clemson, Alabama, Oklahoma, and Georgia. The Big Ten showed its potential depth in this poll as well, with No. 9 Michigan, No. 16 Penn State, No. 19 Northwestern, No. 21 Wisconsin, No. 22 Iowa, and No. 24 Nebraska all in the rankings.
The “Football Power Index” rankings that ESPN puts out were a lot less bullish on the Buckeyes. FPI is a computer metric that weighs past performance and recruiting rankings. But it also dings a team that lost its head coach or is replacing a quarterback and other offensive players.
OSU is No. 13 in FPI. Clemson is at the top of the list, followed by Alabama, Georgia, LSU, Michigan, Oklahoma, Notre Dame, Florida, Auburn, Oregon, Texas A&M, and Penn State. That would put the Buckeyes in third place in the Big Ten East. It would also make them the seventh-best team in the SEC. Besides the No. 5 Wolverines and No. 12 Nittany Lions, Michigan State appears at No. 14, Wisconsin ranks No. 23, and Iowa is 25th.
Another computer-based system is much more optimistic on OSU’s chances. S&P+ uses recent history, returning production, and recruiting to rate teams. It has the Buckeyes No. 7 behind Alabama, Georgia, Clemson, LSU, Oklahoma, and Florida. Michigan is 9th, Wisconsin is 11th, Penn State is 14th, Michigan State is 23rd, and Iowa is 25th.
If I’m not mistaken the B1G and the Pac8 both play 9 game conference schedules – so that leaves three non conference – the SEC plays an 8 game conference schedule (you see where I’m going) so aside from those super matchups between mizzou and the mighty Mouseketeers – where are the other solid matchups – oh wait Alabama against the Citadel, Georgia vs Georgia Southern, cmon.
We have no real idea of how god Fields is going to be but I think our offensive line will be better and that alone should be a big help to our offense, i.e. a more balanced attack with less dependence on passing and the big play. Our defense has to be better with improvements in coaching staff and plenty of talent returning and fresh blood as well.
I think Day has done a remarkable job so far with coaching changes, recruiting stronger in Ohio, and has recovered nicely from losing two QB’s.
Pre-season rankings=nonsense. The Buckeyes will begin this season with a good team that could be great. Just take care of business and don’t have that one game letdown that marred the last two seasons.
One of the remarkable turnarounds in CFB is Clemson. They’ve managed to move past their moniker “Clemsoning or was it Clemsoned?” and become dominant. So, I have to give them the nod – great (and consistent) coaching, with above average to elite players. Alabama by virtue of their schedule (over hyped SEC) and their really weak non-conference. tOSU (aka the good guys) is ranked #3 by virtue of the fact that they are a championship caliber team – and now may have championship caliber coaching – especially on the defensive side (by the way is it possible to have the same staff for at least 3 years? – if they are good). I like Texas as the #4 team – maybe this is the year they get past Okie State – their QB is JT Barrett personified. Then its UGA, Okie Dokes, Washington, Notre Dame, Michigan, Penn State. See – anybody can make this stuff up.
Clemson won its first national championship with their QB Watson and a bunch of three-star recruits. But trust me, the last couple of years, they have been getting the best of the best. Whomever they want. That’s the scary part about it
Clemson is under scrutiny for steroid use. Put 2 and 2 together and you can see why they have become the next big thing in CFB. I wonder if the NCAA will actually punish them for the steroid use or let them walk like North Carolina and the cheating scandal. On a side note, Alabama was also busted for juicing its players but you will not hear another word about that.
The SEC isn’t “overhyped”, nor is their non-conf schedule “really weak”. Auburn opens vs Oregon, Florida vs Miami. UGA vs Notre Dame, LSU vs Texas, Texas A&M vs Clemson, Missouri vs WVU… Clemson is a great program, no doubt.
The weak P-5 conferences are the Pac-12 and B1G. Going on a 5 year point scoring drought for the B1G in the CFP.
Funny, wasn’t aware that the Big Ten was shut out in the 2018 and 2019 CFP games? Of course the vast majority of the teams in Power 5 conferences are going on 6 year droughts using that criteria.
The SEC is totally over-hyped. It is a two team conference with Alabama and Georgia (used to only be Alabama). Let’s not forget about Chicken-Shit Saturday either.
The SEC is scheduling some tougher non-conference games but the vast majority seem to be in the South. The SEC rarely plays in the North or far West.
I really had to laugh when you actually included Missouri/West Virginia as a tough game.
How many years in a row has that frigging Jr. College level Miss. State been ranked? FAR too many. Yet the SEC gets credit for beating them up on and annual basis as though it’s somehow a tough game. Give me a break. The SEC lives off of Alabama. If it wasn’t for Alabama we would probably be talking about selling off the programs ala the Little Least Conference. Try leaving the safe place once in awhile and face actual tests. Alabama with it’s annual “powder puff U level scheduling is a laughing stock to everyone not affiliated to the south.
The SEC is a junkyard of over rated clown shows. One day they’ll actually plays a big boys schedule and they’ll fade faster than a one coat paint job on paper in a sun facing 115 degree heat.
Re: where pre-season prognosticators rank OSU: I… don’t… care. 🙂
Clem is now legitimately good, with real good coaching to boot. redit to them for achieving that. The BIG advantage is playing in a real good basketball conf, with maybe FSU the only dim possible speed-bump each year to an undefeated and maybe 1-loss season. the Tourney is almost guaranteed with that setup (similar to NE inNFL, as they are great team playing in awful conf/div). Love to see Clem deal with a division of Ohio St., Mich, Mich St. and then maybe a night game w/ PSU at white-out…in Nov before running into Wisc, NW and the every so often decent Iowa and Purdue. Not an apples to apples set-up, i’m afraid.