Drue Chrisman saved the Buckeyes in (Not So) Happy Valley
October 1, 2018The Browns are still failing at the fundamentals
October 2, 2018Well, I was wrong last week. Even though the previous top-3 teams — Alabama, Georgia, and Clemson — all win this past weekend, the previously No. 4-ranked Ohio State Buckeyes were able to jump the Tigers and secure the No. 3 spot in the latest AP Poll after their big-time, comeback win at Penn State Saturday night.
With such a big win, they were able to jump Clemson simply because of their schedule. Also, following a week that saw one of their quarterbacks leave the program because he lost the starting job, the Tigers lost true freshman quarterback Trevor Lawrence during last Saturday’s game to what appeared to be a concussion. Clemson was still able to hold off Syracuse, but due to it being a close game paired with Ohio State’s two top-15 wins, the Buckeyes jumped Clemson in the rankings this week.
The Crimson Tide deserved to be the top-ranked team in the country given their dominance. The Bulldogs deserve to be No. 2 solely because they are in the SEC. The Buckeyes deserved to jump Clemson in the rankings because of their resume so far this season. The scarlet and gray have two top-15 teams, both of which were away from Columbus. Their win over TCU was in Arlington, Texas, a stone’s throw away from TCU’s campus; their win at Penn State was impressive not only because it was against a top-10 team, but winning a game in Happy Valley. Penn State has arguably the toughest place to steal a win as an away team.
Following Ohio State’s win over Penn State, the Nittany Lions fell from No. 9 to No. 11. Three other Big Ten teams are in the top 25 as well: No. 15 Michigan, No. 16 Wisconsin, and No. 20 Michigan State.
Although the Big Ten was expected to be one of the best conferences in college football this year, it seems as though the SEC is (once again) the best conference. Not only do they have three top-5 teams including No. 1 and No. 2, they have four top-8 teams and six teams in the top 25.
Led by former Buckeye quarterback Joe Burrow, LSU remained at No. 5 in this week’s AP Poll. Burrow threw for 292 yards and three touchdowns while completing 18-of-25 passes. He also ran for 96 yards and a touchdown on nine carries in the Tigers’ dominant win over Ole Miss Saturday night.
Luckily, Ohio State seems to only have to worry about their own schedule and not what the rest of their conference has done so far.