Ohio State debuts at No. 1 in the first College Football Playoff Rankings of 2019

For the first time since the College Football Playoff debuted in 2014, the Ohio State Buckeyes are ranked No. 1.¹ With their dominance through the first eight games of the season, the scarlet and gray have earned that No. 1 spot atop the rankings.

November 5️⃣ #CFBPlayoff Selection Committee Rankings:

1️⃣. Ohio State // @OhioStateFB pic.twitter.com/nZFAqkRLnk

— College Football Playoff (@CFBPlayoff) November 6, 2019

Ohio State has dominated on all sides of the ball. Whether it’s offense, defense, or even special teams, they have made it look easy against their opposition, winning every game by at least 24 points so far this season. That’s part of the reason the committee decided to rank the Buckeyes No. 1 in the first Playoff rankings of the season.

“Ohio State has performed at a very consistent level, really good on both sides of the ball, explosive offensive playmakers and Chase Young is as disruptive a defensive player as there is in the country,” committee chairman Rob Mullens said. “They perform at a consistently high level every week.”

With three Heisman Trophy candidates — Chase Young, Justin Fields, and J.K. Dobbins — leading the way, the Buckeyes have looked unstoppable throughout much of the first two-thirds of the regular season. Add in the talent across the board that Ohio State adds to that trio and it’s truly incredible just how loaded the Buckeyes are.

Now with their two bye weeks behind them, the scarlet and gray have just four games remaining in the regular season. While the first two — vs. Maryland and at Rutgers — should be blowouts, the final two games of the regular season are arguably the toughest in the country. Ohio State will host No. 4 Penn State and travel to No. 14 Michigan to close out the regular season, the Buckeyes have a tough test, one that they will have to ace in order to likely make the Playoff for the third time in six years.

Although some college football fans would like to argue that “Ohio State doesn’t play anyone good”, they have the best strength of schedule among all of the undefeated teams in the country. Add in that they still have matchups against the Nittany Lions and Wolverines looming ahead. Add in that they could potentially take on another ranked team in the Big Ten Championship game and it’s a very solid schedule.

Even though they are atop the initial rankings this season, the Buckeyes a still ready to roll under first-year head coach Ryan Day. They don’t want to be complacent even if they are No. 1 right now because they know how fast they can drop if they somehow lose a game.

“I think it’s for the fans. Doesn’t mean anything to us because if we lose this weekend, we’re not going to be in the top four, that’s for sure,” Day said during his press conference on Tuesday. “What matters is where we’re at once we’re done with the season, the regular season.

“When you’re undefeated at this point in the season, they’re all big. If you don’t think they’re big, try losing one. See how that goes. They’re all big. So we got to stay locked in on today’s practice, we got to stay locked in on this week, and then we go from there.

Through the first five years of the rankings, The team ranked No. 1 made the Playoff four of the five times. The problem is that the No. 1 team in the country has never won the national championship. Then again, what’s done is done and the past is the past. This year could be different.

Here’s the entire top 25:

https://twitter.com/CFBPlayoff/status/1191908417247559680

Oh, and in case you needed any other proof that both the AP Poll and Coaches Poll are pointless in college football, especially this late in the season, the Buckeyes remained ranked at No. 3 in both those polls this week.

The Playoff rankings and what the committee says about Ohio State are the only things that matter going forward. Remember that.

1. For those second-guessing me on that due to the Buckeyes winning the national championship in the inaugural Playoff: The final CFP rankings are the ones that determine the four-team Playoff field. There aren’t any Playoff rankings after it is over, just a champion. [↩]