The Ohio State football program is coming off a national championship after running through the College Football Playoff. It was a very impressive four-game run that showed just how talented a team they were. Now, they are looking to defend their title after losing 15 starters from that team.
It's very likely that the Ohio State Buckeyes will be in the top three in the preseason polls when they come out, but that doesn't mean that they are getting some disrespect from some big media members. In fact, one metric shows a clear bias against them and the Big Ten.
ESPN's FPI metric is giving the Buckeyes way too much disrespect. Right now, they are ranked fourth in that metric, and they are the highest Big Ten team in the metric. The top three teams are SEC teams, showing a pretty clear bias when it comes to how it's put together.
ESPN's FPI disrespects the Ohio State football team and the rest of the Big Ten
According to the FPI, Ohio State has just a 10.8 percent chance of winning the national championship. They list Texas, Georgia, and Alabama as teams that have a better shot of winning the title than them. Behind Ohio State, Penn State and Oregon are the next two teams on the list.
It's pretty clear that this metric is deeply flawed by overrating the strength of schedule in favor of the SEC. Alabama lost four games last season, yet they are somehow expected to be better than the Buckeyes. Ohio State beat Texas last season, and there's a large gulf between the two in terms of national title odds.
This isn't a metric that the College Football Playoff Committee should use to pick who is going to make the CFP. It's a biased metric created from a network that showcases the SEC.