The Ohio State football team ran through the new four-team College Football Playoff without too many problems. They took down Tennessee, Oregon, Texas, and Notre Dame en route to winning the national championship. They were the best team in the country all season long, and they were finally able to showcase that talent.
As the defending national champions, they are expected to be one of the best teams in the country again this year. They have the best player in the country in Jeremiah Smith on their roster, so they should be treated with a large amount of respect.
The AP Poll voters don't see it that way. They have the Buckeyes rated as the third-best team in the country. Normally, that's a sign of great respect. Being the third-best team in the country is no joke, except the two teams ranked ahead of Ohio State are teams the Ohio State Buckeyes beat last season.
The Ohio State football team gets majorly disrespected in AP Poll
Texas is the top-rated team in the country, just as they were in the Coaches Poll. Penn State is rated as the second-best team, just ahead of the Buckeyes. This is the same Penn State team that has beaten the Buckeyes just once under James Franklin, and zero times since 2016.
The Buckeyes took down the Nittany Lions in Happy Valley last season, so ranking them over the defending national champions is a complete joke. Yes, Ohio State replaces 15 starters from last year. They still have the best group of playmakers on offense in the country.
There are four other Big Ten teams in the poll. Oregon comes in at seventh, Illinois is 12, Michigan is 14th, and IU is 20th. Ohio State is certainly better than all of those teams, and they are better than Penn State, too.