Sideline: Week No. 8

Bulls Eye Title
By Erick Blasco

I understand that Ohio State looks really good this year. I understand that the Buckeyes have one of the best defenses so far in the country. And I understand that while their offense got off to a slow start this year, it looks like they’ve replaced last season’s NFLers with a crop of future NFLers.

What I can’t understand is why Ohio State is ahead of South Florida in the Polls right now. I mean, compare their schedules.

Take out Youngstown State, Akron, Kent State, and Minnesota from the Buckeye’s schedule. Those teams are all horrible. Take out Elon and FAU from South Florida’s schedule as their horrible opponents. That’s two more joke opponents for the Buckeyes. The Buckeyes have had one more game this year than South Florida. Fine, we’ll allow the Youngstown State game to be stricken from their record. The Buckeyes still have one more low quality opponent than the Bulls do.

Next, compare the meat of the schedules.

Ohio State has wins at Washington, vs. Northwestern, and at Purdue. South Florida has wins over UCF, North Carolina, West Virginia, and at Auburn. Northwestern and Purdue have no defenses whatsoever, and the Boilermakers 5-2 record is a product of blitzing their own weak schedule. And despite all the positive buzz surrounding Washington, they’re 2-4 right now.

On the other hand, North Carolina might be on par with Washington in terms of talent and resume, while wins vs. West Virginia and Auburn are much more impressive than wins at Washington and Purdue.

The only reason why Ohio State is ranked #1 is because the Buckeyes have name recognition and a trip to the National Championship Game last year. That’s well and good and it gives the Buckeyes a great tiebreaker when compared to a team like Boston College who’s resume is still very much blank.

And it shouldn’t even be a problem. Nobody is arguing that the Buckeyes shouldn’t be a top ranked team right now. If they win out, they have an excellent chance at earning a number 2 ranking and punching a ticket to the National Championship Game. But right now, even one-loss LSU, Oregon, and Oklahoma teams have résumé’s that outshine Ohio State’s. Those teams are Ohio State’s competition for the #2 spot. And there’s no competition for the #1 spot at all.

It’s South Florida’s easily.