Should Ohio State Be Ranked Number One?

Coming into the season, one thing was for certain; Ohio State was the best team in the country.  They had it all; a defensive end, Joey Bosa, who could be a top 5 pick, one of the nation's best running backs in Ezekiel Elliott, and two NFL-level prospect quarterbacks in Cardale Jones and J.T Barrett.  That was probably the Buckeye's biggest problem, deciding which quarterback to start between the former and Braxton Miller, the previous starter before getting hurt in training camp last year. Miller later switched to a wide receiver, and Jones was named the starter.  It was a great problem to have.

But, after crushing Virginia Tech on the road, Ohio State has looked bad.  The Buckeyes beat Hawaii by thirty-eight, but it was much closer than that.  Then, aganist Northern Illinois, they only won 20-13, and  Jones got benched in favor of Barrett.  The Buckeyes returned an interception for a touchdown, which means that the Buckeye offense put up 13 points on the board.  Aganist Northern Illinois.  A MAC school.  So certainly the feeling around the Buckeyes is not as good as it was in the beginning of the season.  Instead, the attention is turning to another Big Ten school, the Michigan State Spartans.

The Spartans have risen in the AP poll all the way to the second spot, making the Big Ten one-two in the AP Poll.  The Spartans also reside in the Eastern Division of the Big Ten, the tougher of the two divisions in the conference.  The Spartans were thought to be the Buckeye's toughest challenger
in the Big Ten, and that looks truer than ever.

The Spartans are led by their projected first round quarterback Connor Cook, and their stout defense led by great front seven play, with players like Riley Bullough.  The have perhaps one of the most impressive  wins of the young season aganist Oregon by three, 31-28, along with close wins to Air Force and Western Michigan by two possessions.

The Spartans will meet the Buckeyes in perhaps the game of the year in college football in Ohio Stadium on November 20th for the Big Ten East birth to the conference championship and if they win that, a playoff birth. I'd give the Buckeyes the slight edge because of the home field advantage.

There are others, like TCU led by senior quarterback Trevonte Boykin and their explosive Big 12 offense, and Ole Miss, led by quarterback Chad Kelly, and Baylor, led by quarterback Seth Russell, and another great Big 12 offense.  But I think the Buckeyes and Spartans are the top two teams as of right now.