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Ohio State, Oregon lead B1G in ESPN’s post-spring power rankings for 2024
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The Big Ten produced a pair of top-5 teams in ESPN’s post-spring power rankings for 2024, which were updated on Monday morning.
Ohio State and Oregon both landed in the top 5, at No. 2 and No. 4, respectively. Both the Buckeyes and Ducks have national championship aspirations as the College Football Playoff shifts to a 12-team model this season.
Ohio State brought in a star-studded transfer portal class this offseason and also have a new offensive coordinator in Chip Kelly. Here’s an excerpt from Schlabach’s analysis on Ohio State:
After Michigan won a CFP national title under former coach Jim Harbaugh last season, the Buckeyes increased their efforts in the transfer portal, landing five-star safety Caleb Downs (Alabama), tailback Quinshon Judkins (Ole Miss) and quarterback Will Howard (Kansas State). Day also turned over the offensive playcalling to his mentor, former UCLA coach Chip Kelly. The Buckeyes get a soft nonconference schedule (home games against Akron, Western Michigan and Marshall) and play the Wolverines at the Horseshoe on Nov. 30.
As for Oregon, the Ducks will be looking to make a big statement in Year 1 of their Big Ten experience. They added Dillon Gabriel, Jabbar Muhammad and several other high-level transfers to a loaded returning roster.
Oregon is 22-5 in 2 years with Dan Lanning as the program’s head coach, but the Ducks will now have to prove they can win without quarterback Bo Nix under center.
Michigan, fresh off a national championship, slotted in at No. 10 in ESPN’s updated power rankings. The Wolverines have question marks all over the field — and on the sidelines — that will need to be answered in 2024, but they should still contend for a CFP berth.
No. 12 Penn State, No. 23 Iowa and No. 25 USC also cracked the top-25, giving the Big Ten a total of 6 programs to make the cut. Wisconsin and Washington also “just missed” the top-25, per Schlabach.
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Spenser is the news manager at Saturday Road and covers college football across all Saturday Football brands.