The fact that the Ohio State University Buckeyes remain at the head of the AP Top 25 class is a surprise, given what has happened so far this year. Sure, they’re the defending National Champions and they haven’t lost a game – unlike many popular playoff picks – over the first month of the season, a combination which is usually enough to ensure that the best team in the land last year remains
Yet, you look deeper at the manner in which the Buckeyes have won their four games this year – Virginia Tech, Northern Illinois, Hawaii and Western Michigan – and shake your head in wonder when the AP rankings are released each week, with Urban Meyer’s squad remaining on top.
I’ve watched the first three Buckeye games this year, and haven’t seen anything to really excite me. This is a football team, at least on the offensive side, that hasn’t hit their stride yet. Quarterback play has been erratic, with Cardale Jones pulled in favour of J.T. Barrett as the Buckeyes relied on a defensive score to beat Northern Illinois, not exactly a powerhouse program. Nor has the running game looked all that good. Ezekiel Elliott is yet to really dazzle us like he did during Ohio State’s improbable run to the National Championship back in January.
At the moment, Ohio State’s most impressive win was their opener, against Virginia Tech on the road at Lane Stadium. Yes, the Blacksburg, Virginia venue can accurately be called a hostile environment, but the Hokies themselves? They haven’t been great this year, losing this past weekend to East Carolina. The lacklustre season that VT has produced since their Labour Day clash with the Buckeyes seriously devalues OSU’s most notable triumph.
Also, consider that the Buckeyes were in a real fight, actually trailing at half time, and the game was changed when Hokie QB Michael Brewer, a guy who had great success against the Buckeyes in Columbus last year, left injured. That was what allowed OSU to pull away. You wonder what might have happened if Brewer hadn’t been forced to leave the field.
The opponents that the Buckeyes have played so far this year don’t strike fear into the hearts of anyone. Not for a team with as much talent as Ohio State can put on the field for any given play. A defensive bail-out got them past Northern Illinois, they did just enough to get the win against Hawaii – without ever impressing – and the Western Michigan game was another ho-hum affair.
Compare these results to the non-conference cupcake schedule of teams like Baylor and Georgia and even Ole Miss. These heavyweights are putting up giant scores, total routs. Just this weekend, Baylor stacked seventy on Rice this weekend, and Ole Miss scored that many and more two weekends in a row.
Ohio State haven’t impressed anyone who isn’t a diehard fan. Their status as the best team in the nation is a tenuous one at the moment. Their ability to execute is being called into question as they head into Big Ten conference play this weekend – starting with a 4-0 Indiana squad – yet they sit atop the national rankings when there are better teams beneath them.
Take Ole Miss for example, or even Michigan State. The Rebels beat Alabama in Tuscaloosa two weekends’ ago – not an easy accomplishment, despite the ridiculous suggestion that the Crimson Tide are somehow fading – and even the Spartans can lay claim to a victory against Oregon. How good that particular triumph looks in light of the Ducks’ beating at the hands of Utah is questionable, but at least they have taken on some serious opposition. The Ducks might not figure nationally this year, but are still certainly on track for probably nine wins. That’s no small fry team.
It’s staggering that there’s no love for UCLA, either. The Bruins looked dangerously impressive against Arizona in Tucson on Saturday night, belting the Wildcats solidly in the first half, turning the second thirty into little more than a chance for their back-ups to get into the game. UCLA took care of business convincingly early in the season, put the breaks on a seemingly unstoppable Brigham Young team – granted, that win now is uncertain following BYU’s capitulation at Michigan – and really sent a message in primetime on Saturday night. All of this despite key injuries on the defensive side.
The same can be said for Notre Dame. Despite an injury toll bigger than just about any team not named UCLA, the Irish are hanging in there, and although some of their wins haven’t been hugely convincing – most notably, the miraculous escape at Virginia, a team slaughtered by UCLA earlier – they’ve rebounded nicely with a giant victory over Massachusetts and now face Clemson in Clemson on Saturday night.
However, none of this seems to matter. There are better football teams languishing beneath the Buckeyes, who escape with victories like Houdini but seem to lead a charmed life in the polls. It seems to be that way because of last season’s heroics. That was then, and this is now. In name, it’s the same team. In action and execution, it certainly isn’t.
Memo, AP voters: time to look at the present not the past. The Buckeyes aren’t deserving of the top spot. Just because they haven’t lost this year doesn’t mean they should automatically claim the No. 1 position. They’re not playing like the best team in the country, which means that they shouldn’t be ranked that way. Teams can slide for bad wins, you know? It’s happened before. It should happen again next week if the Buckeyes don’t impress.
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