Ohio State is back at No. 1 in ESPN’s Football Power Index after turning in a strong showing against Iowa, and the Buckeyes now sit atop the only ranking system in college football that this source calls truly unbiased.
The FPI works differently than the usual polls. Instead of relying on ballots, it uses a formula that measures how a team stacks up against an “average” opponent at a neutral site. In that system, an average team sits at 0 or close to it, with North Texas at 0.1, Toledo at -0.2, and Syracuse at 0.2.
Ohio State leads the way at 28.8, which means the Buckeyes would be projected to beat Toledo by 29 points on a neutral field. That’s the kind of number that tells the story plainly: Ohio State has been overpowering enough to separate itself from the pack.
This week’s opponent, Maryland, comes in at -2.5, making the Buckeyes 31.3-point favorites by the FPI model.
Behind Ohio State are Georgia at 28.2, Notre Dame at 27.8, and Texas at 27.5.
The source also notes that no ranking system is perfect. It dismisses the AP Poll as a “complete joke” and says the Coaches Poll can be trusted because the coaches know the sport best, though it adds there’s also a world where some of them let an assistant handle it. As for the FPI, the argument is that it does a better job of stripping out bias by folding in wins, performance, and other factors that get overlooked elsewhere.
Even with that caveat, the bottom line is simple: Ohio State is No. 1, and the Buckeyes are doing it by playing “really clean and solid football” right now. They’re looking like a team that will be tough to beat, and they keep proving it week after week.
In Other News...
Former Ohio State Coach Brian Hartline Just Took A Brutal First Step Back
Brian Hartlines first months at South Florida had gone smoothly enough, with the former Ohio State offensive coordinator off to a 4-1 start before a stumble at UTSA snapped the momentum. The trip also came with a side note that got plenty of attention, after Hartline made comments about the noise inside the opponents stadium and then had those remarks revisited in a very public way once the game was over.
From Ohio States perspective, Hartlines next chapter is still part of the larger coaching tree story, but the Buckeyes have their own issues to sort out as the schedule rolls on. The offense has had trouble getting the rushing game where it needs to be, and while Hartline is now trying to settle in as a head coach, his rough first step back served as another reminder that the margins get small fast once conference and nonconference tests start to pile up. [Read more 🡒]
Ohio States Elite Passing Game Is Hiding A Bigger Running Back Issue
Ohio States passing game has been humming along at a level few teams in the country can match, but the ground game is carrying a very different kind of conversation. The Buckeyes sit 81st in rushing yards per attempt, a ranking that stands out for a team with this much offensive firepower and one that has had to lean on a rotating backfield rather than finding a clear weekly answer.
The workload has bounced among Ja'Kobi Jackson, Bo Jackson and Isaiah West, with true freshman Legend Bey also part of the early mix. Beys limited role has drawn attention because of questions around why his touches have thinned out, and while there has been speculation about professionalism concerns, nothing has been officially confirmed. For a team built to pressure defenses in every way, the bigger issue may be less about who is getting the carries and more about whether Ohio State has settled on the right one. [Read more 🡒]
Maryland Brings Coaching Drama And A Defense Ohio State Can Exploit
Maryland arrives with plenty of noise around the program, and not much of it has anything to do with what happens between the lines. The uncertainty around Mike Locksleys future has hung over the Terps for a while now, with the athletic director potentially waiting until after the bye week to make a call, and that backdrop only adds to the sense that Ohio State is catching Maryland at a tense moment. At the same time, the offensive side has slipped, with Malik Washingtons play trending down and the Terps searching for steadier footing.
There is still enough on the defensive front to make Maryland worth studying, especially along the line, where a few key pieces can flash and disrupt a game if the rest of the unit holds together. The problem, as Michael Howes pointed out, is that the tackling has not been dependable enough, and those misses have repeatedly undercut the defense. For Ohio State, that creates a familiar sort of opportunity, one that starts with pressure up front and can quickly turn into a longer afternoon for a defense already carrying too much uncertainty. [Read more 🡒]