A college football website, and a combined four voters in the two polls, say the Buckeyes, not Alabama, are first in the country.
Ohio State's Jordan Hall scores on a 17-yard fourth-quarter touchdown pass from Joe Bauserman during the Buckeyes' 73-20 win over Eastern Michigan.Cleveland -- Ohio State's Buckeyes are ranked No. 2 in the nation in the Associated Press and USA Today/Coaches polls.
Both polls have defending national champion Alabama ranked first. Just two of 60 voters in the AP poll listed Ohio State at No. 1. The Buckeyes are first on just two of 59 coaches' ballots.
CollegeFootballNews.com, with Scout.com, departs from the conventional wisdom. It ranks Ohio State No. 1 in the nation, explaining:
Why Ohio State Is No. 1: Regardless of the opponent, it’s hard not to be a little impressed by the one over par that Ohio State slapped on Eastern Michigan. The Buckeyes punted once, racking up six touchdown passes and well over 600 yards. Right now, it’s a coin flip between the Buckeyes and the Crimson Tide, and while the special teams are still a bit of a question mark, everything else is working at the highest of levels for OSU.
Plain Dealer Ohio State coverage includes beat writer Doug Lesmerises' National College Football Insider; his game story on the Buckeyes' 73-20 win over Eastern Michigan on Saturday; his On The Clock; his Ohio State Report Card; Bill Lubinger's report on star Buckeyes receiver Dane Sanzenbacher; Lubinger's account of the "Highs and Lows" of the OSU-EMU game; Bill Livingston's column on the game.
Ohio State plays its Big Ten opener and its first road game of the season on Saturday against Illinois.
Second season
Just one of Ohio State's first foes, Miami (Fla.), posed a realistic threat. OSU topped the Hurricanes, 36-24, in Game 2. With Illinois and Indiana its next two opponents, Ohio State would have no reason to be anything but 6-0 going into Oct. 16 home game against No. 11 Wisconsin.
John Kampf writes for the News-Herald and Lorain Morning Journal that regardless of who its opponents are, Ohio State intends to be prepared:
The Buckeyes were dominant in their four nonconference games, outscoring Marshall, Miami (Fla.), Ohio and Eastern Michigan by a combined score of 197-58. They've scored 133 points in the first half, an average of 33.2 points per game, and really haven't been tested either by an opposing offense or defense.
The next two weeks' opponents — Illinois and Indiana — might not test the Buckeyes, either. But don't tell that to the players, who are taking a no-nonsense approach to the league opponents as much as they have the nonconference foes.
"Now it's time to start our conference play," senior tackle Bryant Browning said, noting his team's five straight Big Ten titles. "We have a target on us, so all our focus is on it to make a run at it."
73 enough?
Eastern Michigan, one of the lesser teams in the Mid-American Conference, had some success passing against Ohio State. The Eagles had scored more points than anyone had anticipated when they trailed, 45-20, midway through the third quarter.
Bob Hunter writes for the Columbus Dispatch that at that point, even though the Buckeyes were in no danger of losing the game, the national rankings were a factor in how the game would play out:
The Buckeyes were still up by more than three touchdowns. But how would this look in the eyes of poll voters? The Eagles are winless. Even if the score remained right where it was, would voters punish the Buckeyes for letting these woeful visitors get into the end zone three times?
Make no mistake about it, the whole consideration there would have been "style." And in a world where only two teams make the national championship game, it's something that has to be considered, as distasteful as that it for many of us.
The Buckeyes rolled off 28 unanswered points from that point presumably enough "style" to satisfy even the most shallow-minded poll-voter but it would have been interesting to see what would have happened if the Buckeyes had won by that 25-point margin, the Crimson Tide had lost (they rallied to beat Arkansas) and No. 3 Boise State had enjoyed a little more impressive victory over Oregon State than the 37-24 one they had.
Big-time player
Since wide receiver Dane Sanzenbacher has made numerous big plays for the Buckeyes during his four seasons, most anything he accomplishes is no surprise to his teammates. Sanzenbacher caught four touchdown passes from Terrelle Pryor on Saturday, tying Terry Glenn for the most TD catches by a Buckeye in one game.
Shaun Bennett writes about Sanzenbacher for the Elyria Chronicle-Telegram and Medina County Gazette:
With Ohio State’s history of big-name receivers such as Glenn, Michael Jenkins, Ginn and now Posey, many Buckeyes fans don’t believe Sanzenbacher gets the respect and recognition he deserves.
“Sometimes I feel he’s underappreciated,” junior center Mike Brewster said. “But he’s so good and our team knows it. It was so good to see him play well today.”
Sanzenbacher apparently flies so far under the radar, that his big day took Buckeyes coach Jim Tressel by surprise.
“Dane caught four (touchdowns)?” Tressel said. “Huh. Dane’s good, I don’t know what to tell you.”
Around end
CBSSports.com projects all of the bowl game matchups, including the national championship game.
Quarterback Terrelle Pryor is a major factor in Ohio State's running game, writes Rob Olloer for the Columbus Dispatch.
Bob Finnan writes for the News-Herald and Lorain Morning Journal about receiver Dane Sanzenbacher's memorable game.
Instead of usually playing Game 4 against an inferior opponent, Ohio State and other Big Ten teams may -- beginning in 2015 -- play against each other that week, Jon Spencer writes for the Chillicothe Gazette.
Ohio State gets mentions in Adam Rittenberg's Big Ten Blog on ESPN.com.
Game story on the Buckeyes' win over the Eagles, by John Kampf for the News-Herald and Lorain Morning Journal.