Ohio State Buckeyes Given Embarrassingly Low Ranking by Yahoo! Sports

The Ohio State Buckeyes are one of the best teams in the country, but Yahoo! Sports doesn't necessarily agree. With college football rankings starting to come out in bulk, the Buckeyes are typically seen as a top-five team, with the Texas Longhorns often at No. 1.

The Penn State Nittany Lions are a team that sits pretty high on most rankings as well. That said, the Buckeyes do have quite a bit of turnover after an outstanding team from last season saw many leave for the NFL. Nonetheless, the Buckeyes have a strong pipeline of talent and replaced both of their coordinators with quality and well-respected coaches. Matt Patricia will now captain the defense, while Brian Hartline was promoted to be the full-time and permanent offensive coordinator.

This team has the chance to repeat as champions, and the USA Today Coaches Poll has them starting off at No. 2. That's not where Yahoo! Sports' Nick Bromberg is placing Ohio State. The senior writer has them at No. 6, in front of LSU, Notre Dame, Alabama and Miami. While he wrote quite a bit on the program, here's part of why he has them at No. 6, a rationale explanation considering the question marks defensively.

"The biggest questions come on defense, where the unit will be led by a new coordinator and needs to replace a ton of talent. Defensive coordinator Jim Knowles left to take the same position at Penn State — where he’s the highest-paid defensive assistant in college football — and former Lions head coach Matt Patricia is the new coordinator. It’s Patricia’s first job in college football since he was a graduate assistant at Syracuse from 2001 to 2003," Bromberg wrote.

While No. 6 still seems pretty low for a team of Ohio State's caliber, Bromberg makes a compelling argument centered around the Buckeyes having some unknowns on defense.

Replacing the talent on defense for the Ohio State Buckeyes

They lost numerous stars all over their defense, from Lathan Ransom in the secondary to Jack Sawyer on the defensive line and many others. Replacing that talent is going to be easier said than done, and while head coach Ryan Day might feel comfortable with his roster, there's undoubtedly some things to keep ane ye on.

Now, Jeremiah Smith and Caleb Downs will be able to fill many holes with their immense talent, so it'll be interesting to see how the first few weeks go as Ohio State commences its season later this month.