ESPN’s Heather Dinich makes case for Ohio State as best team in the country after Week 1

ESPN’s Heather Dinich made an argument for Ohio State as the best team in the country after a Week 1 win over Notre Dame in Columbus.

In what was the most anticipated game of the weekend, Ohio State overcame several key injuries and a halftime deficit to pull out the win at home over a top 5 opponent. Notre Dame impressed many people with how competitive of a game it was.

Ohio State eventually took over and controlled the 2nd half. This performance was enough for Dinich to make a case for Ohio State as the best team in the country on ESPN’s Get Up:

“I’m going to say there’s wiggle room for Ohio State (as the best team in the country),” said Dinich. “Hold on a minute because when you look at what Ohio State did in the fourth quarter, CJ Stroud completed 9-of-10 passes. Grind it out, run the ball, strong defense they found a different way to win.”

Dinich felt comfortable enough after Week 1 to tab Ohio State as the best in the country. The automatic retort will be to compare Ohio State to Georgia and Alabama. Even with those comparisons, Dinich still felt strongly about Ohio State’s win:

“Georgia looked outstanding, but no one in the country had a better win than Ohio State. They played a top-5 team,” Dinich said.

ESPN college football analyst Sam Acho helped Dinich’s argument by mentioning how Ohio State won without key receivers:

“What I will say is this: Ohio State did all that without their No. 1 receiver. Jaxon Smith-Njigba went down and he was out. No. 2, Ohio State’s defense looked really really good,” Acho said. “They may be able to stop a team like Alabama or Georgia with their defense.”

The rest of the season will determine who the best team in the country is and Ohio State hopes to prove Dinich right.

Michael Daly