Following Ohio State's thrashing of Oregon State, SI ranks Buckeyes as No. 2 team

What happened in Week 1 of the college football season?

Well, Alabama, Clemson, Georgia, Wisconsin and Ohio State all rolled over its opponents. Who would have guessed?

Those five teams, in order, made up the top 5 of the Preseason AP Poll and proved their worth to open up 2018. However, the AP doesn’t have the final say. The College Football Playoff committee ultimately is who chooses which four teams play for the right to win a national championship.

But, other outlets such as ESPN, FOX and Sports Illustrated of course have their own batches of rankings, too.

Here’s what Andy Staples of SI had to say about the Buckeyes, who he ranks as the No. 2 team in the country:

“The investigation into and suspension of Urban Meyer didn’t appear to affect the Buckeyes on the field at all, which is a testament to interim coach Ryan Day and the rest of Ohio State’s assistants. The Dwayne Haskins era at quarterback got off to a thrilling start with the redshirt sophomore completing 22 of 30 passes for 313 yards and an interception. Mike Weber carried 20 times for 186 yards and three touchdowns, but you get the sense Ohio State will go with whomever has the hot hand between Weber and J.K. Dobbins, who carried 15 times for 74 yards against the Beavers. Going forward, this offense could look an awful lot like the one Ohio State used late in the 2014 season with Cardale Jones at quarterback. With Haskins, Ohio State has a quarterback who can stretch the field vertically but won’t be relied upon to carry the load in the run game. That means the backs will get fed. That should terrify Big Ten defensive coordinators.”

Yeah, Staples thinks Ohio State has a shot at winning the whole thing. The Buckeyes looked that dominant against another Power 5 foe in Week 1.

Oregon State may not end up being Wisconsin, Penn State, Michigan or Michigan State, but Ohio State — even without Urban Meyer — looked as good as ever.

Ohio State is set to face Rutgers at 3:30 p.m. on Saturday at home. The game will be televised on BTN.

Here’s Staples’ top 10 teams after Week 1:

1. Alabama
2. Ohio State
3. Oklahoma
4. Clemson
5. Auburn
6. Wisconsin
7. Georgia
8. Notre Dame
9. Stanford
10. West Virginia