Why Ohio State Should be Ranked No. 3 in the Next College Football Poll

The Ohio State Buckeyes deserve to be No. 3 in the next college football playoff rankings, ahead of the Oregon Ducks.

Author:
Brian Smith
Publish date:
Nov 14, 2021 3:29 PM EST

There are many reasons to place Ohio State as the No. 3 team in the next addition of the college football polls after sitting at No. 4 last week, right behind Oregon at No. 3, the same team that won at Ohio State earlier this season.

It might surprise some people as to why the Buckeyes are the best option for this pick, and that includes the head-to-head discussion about an earlier loss to the Ducks.

Here’s a closer look at why Ohio State deserves prime consideration for this distinction, beginning with a realistic shot to beat Georgia.

Beating Georgia Will Take Points, Lots of Points

The goal of the playoffs is to place teams in the mix with the ability to win it all. Ohio State has proven its one of those teams, and done so with an offensive identity that’s hard to surpass. It will need that firepower if it is to beat the odds-on favorites to win the national championship from Athens, Ga.

The most points that Georgia allowed this season would come from this past Saturday’s victory over Tennessee, with the Volunteers scoring the final touchdown with 3:38 remaining in the fourth quarter to bring the final tally to 41-17.

For the season, Georgia gave up double digits in points to four opponents: South Carolina (13), Auburn (10), Kentucky (13), and now Tennessee (17).

Bring your ‘A Game’ or do not come at all. For the hunt to win a college football championship, Georgia will be hard to beat, and to make that happen a team needs to score a lot more points than anyone has done so far in 2021.

The Buckeyes are one of the very few teams that can make that happen.

During the 2021 season, Ohio State has been able to score over 30 points in eight of 10 contests, as well as surpassing the 50-point plateau five separate times.

While not the only team capable of reaching the playoffs and beating Georgia, the Buckeyes could be the team with the offense that best affords itself a chance to score in the mid-20s, if not low 30s, and have a chance to challenge the Bulldogs’ vaunted defense.

Oregon, on the other hand, is no place near as good of an offensive team. They would likely struggle to reach even 20 points against Georgia. The Ducks have only scored over 40 points three times, with those games being Stonybrook, a non-FBS team, by the score of 48-7, Arizona by the score of 41-19, and Colorado by the final of 52-29.

Oregon Head Coach Mario Cristobal Leads the Ducks out of the Tunnel — Oregon is a really good team, but is it more deserving than Ohio State for the No. 3 ranking?
Chris Pietsch/The Register-Guard

So, a non-FBS team, and two FBS teams with a combined record of 4-16, those are the squads Oregon did its best offensive work. That’s no place near good enough to compete with Georgia’s defense, and that’s a prime point for considering who is ranked No. 3 in the polls.

Recruiting Matters

Of course, with four teams in the playoffs, that means any given team needs to win two playoff games to hoist the trophy and be crowned champions. The Buckeyes have something that most teams simply do not, and that’s depth.

According to 247 Sports, during the past three recruiting cycles, Ohio State has been ranked No. 14 in 2019, No. 5 in 2020, and No. 2 in 2021. Those recruits have helped to build a tremendous roster.

Even when a player is lost to injury, Ohio State usually has a replacement that could make big moves in a short manner of time.

Oregon, meanwhile, recruited fairly well during that same span. Their 2019 class finished at No. 7, 2020 earned the No. 11 ranking, and 2021 saw it be ranked at No. 6. It's close, but Ohio State gets the slight edge over Oregon in recruiting.

Buckeyes on the Rise

What have you done for me lately? That’s the old saying. Well, in Ohio State’s last game against a good Purdue defense, the Buckeyes shredded the Boilermakers. 59 points later, the Purdue defense is licking its wounds.

That’s been the common theme of late, as Ohio State just blew the doors off its opponents since losing to Oregon, with victory margins of 21, 52, 39, 49, 47, nine, nine, and 28.

To that end, the loss to the Ducks, how much should that count?

Ohio State’s Loss to Oregon

It’s ironic that Oregon and Ohio State played earlier this season and the Ducks won that game. Flat out, Oregon was the better team that day. It’s not really debatable, as Oregon rolled up 269 yards rushing on its way to winning 35-28 in Columbus.

Because of that victory in Columbus, one theory has the Ducks still ahead of the Buckeyes because of head-to-head competition. That’s fair. There’s still another point to consider.

For the season, Oregon has been much more inconsistent than Ohio State. It’s a one-game sample or an entire season worth of samples. Which should one choose?

Further, the Ducks play in the Pac 12, hardly the beacon of top-notch football.

With close wins over California (28-20), and UCLA (39-29) during the month of October, plus uncomfortable wins over Washington (26-16) and Washington State (38-24) during the month of November, Oregon does not possess the same resume as Ohio State. Here’s the biggest reason Oregon should not be ranked ahead of the Buckeyes.

Oregon lost to a mid-level Stanford team by the score of 31-24, the same Cardinals that currently possess an overall record of 3-7.

Yikes.

Oregon had its day against Ohio State. Since that time, it completely laid an egg against a bad Stanford team, then slid by some solid but not great teams in the Pac 12. This must also be taken into account when considering how the college football playoff rankings are placed in order, and not just the one game that took place in September.

Final Thoughts

Will Ohio State jump in front of Oregon? Possibly. The point is that Ohio State has a substantially better overall resume. If Oregon had played better against solid teams after beating Ohio State, including beating Stanford, this argument would never have come about to begin with.

That’s not the case. Oregon did not make the most of its opportunity, and the Buckeyes should now slide into the No. 3 position in the next addition of the college football rankings that will be released on Tuesday at 7 p.m. on ESPN.

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