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Ohio State leaps over Georgia for No. 1 spot in updated SP+ ratings
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Ohio State ascended to the top of the SP+ rankings after Week 3 without even playing.
The Buckeyes had an early season bye on Saturday, but after top-ranked Georgia stumbled its way past Kentucky in primetime, Ohio State took over the No. 1 spot in the SP+ rankings. The SP+ rankings are a tempo- and opponent-adjusted measure of college football efficiency, and you can definitely say that the usually mighty Bulldogs weren’t so efficient in that 13-12 win in Lexington.
Because of that ugly (to be kind) victory, Georgia was punished in the SP+ rankings heading into Week 4. The Bulldogs will take their turn to have a bye this week, like Ohio State had in Week 3, as they get ready for a titanic primetime showdown at Alabama in 2 weeks.
The Buckeyes had the fortune of not playing while Georgia struggled, so there was nothing to measure Ohio State by in Week 3 in contrast to the Bulldogs being measured by their shaky performance. Ryan Day and the Buckeyes were dominant in Weeks 1 and 2, beating Akron and Western Michigan by a combined score of 108-6.
Things are so close though. The top 5 teams in the SP+ rankings are all within 1.8 points of each other, with No. 6 Tennessee not too far behind the top 5 either. While Georgia remains the only team that ranks in the top 10 in offense, defense and special teams, the Bulldogs’ offensive rating fell by 4 points after they managed just 13 points against an unranked Kentucky team.
Also, strong showings by Alabama, Texas and Ole Miss on Saturday have made it very tight at the top of the SP+ rankings.
Ohio State will host Marshall in Week 4.