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Ohio State boosts case for AP No. 1
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Support for the defending champions had definitely been lacking in recent weeks.
In last two weeks of the Associated Press poll, Ohio State was far from the unanimous No. 1 selection it was at the beginning of the season. Week 7 produced only 27 first-place votes and Week 8 produced only 28 of the possible 61 first-place AP votes.
This week, that was a different story.
The Buckeyes earned 39 Associated Press first-place votes and strengthen their hold on the nation’s top spot. They improved their all-time record of 104 weeks atop the AP poll.
With J.T. Barrett starting his first game of the 2015 season, the Buckeyes looked every bit like the nation’s best in a 49-7 rout of Rutgers. Barrett accounted for five touchdowns, three of which came with his arm and two were with his legs.
Since Barrett carved out a regular role in the offense against Maryland, Ohio State averaged 45 points per game.
B1G foes Michigan State cracked the poll at No. 6 while Iowa earned its first top-10 ranking and idle Michigan stayed at No. 15.
Ohio State will have a solid chance of starting at No. 1 when the first College Football Playoff poll is released on Nov. 3. The Buckeyes will be on bye in Week 9.
Connor O'Gara is the senior national columnist for Saturday Tradition. He's a member of the Football Writers Association of America. After spending his entire life living in B1G country, he moved to the South in 2015.