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2021 College Football Polls

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ScriptOhio

ScriptOhio

Everybody is somebody else's weirdo.


Just sayin': Consistently voted in at #5 with ESPN, Yahoo Sports, CBS Sports, S/I, and USA Today. Alabama, Clemson, Georgia, and Oklahoma (not necessarily in the same order) are above us.

I haven't seen Dabo's way too early 2021 poll, but he probably still has us at #11:

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:lol:
 


Met expectations

Ohio State (7-1)

2020 review: Ohio State was obviously the best team in the Big Ten, and the Buckeyes proved worthy of inclusion to the College Football Playoff despite the Big Ten changing the rules on the go when it came to minimum eligibility requirements for the Big Ten Championship Game. A blowout of Clemson, along with a career performance with an injured torso by quarterback Justin Fields, will forever be remembered. But so will that blowout loss to Alabama in the national championship. Considering the moving target of rules, a shortened season, game cancelations and the blowout in the finale, the Buckeyes met expectations instead of exceeding them with a national championship.

2021 outlook: The Buckeyes lose a load of talent led by Fields, but receiver Chris Olave decided to return for his senior season despite being a possible early-round draft pick. Who replaces Fields? Look no further than C.J. Stroud, 247Sports' No. 2 pro-style quarterback in 2020. He'll have the same three receivers as Fields had last season, which is fantastic news. Plus, three offensive linemen return. Issues to keep an eye on: replacing all three starting linebackers and getting more production out of a secondary that was burned way too often. The Buckeyes, however, have plenty of talent in the trenches and should be the favorites to win the Big Ten again.

Recruiting ranking: No. 2 nationally; No. 1 Big Ten
 
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4. OHIO STATE
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Previous Rank: 5

2020 Season: 7-1, National Championship appearance, Sugar Bowl victory, Big Ten Champion

Since 247Sports debuted its 2021 rankings, the Buckeyes fell short against Alabama in the title game, and said goodbye to stars like Justin Fields at quarterback. Ohio State did get a surprise, however, with the announced return of Chris Olave as well as the nation’s No. 2 recruiting class. That sees Ohio State pass Georgia for the No. 4 spot. What’s next at quarterback for the Buckeyes?

"The most likely scenario in my estimation is second-year quarterback CJ Stroud taking over as the starter," Bucknuts expert Dave Biddle told 247Sports. "I loved his film coming out of high school when he was playing against the top competition in California and worked his way into being a 5-star prospect. Stroud needs to add muscle to his 6-foot-3, 205-pound frame, but he's a talented QB that can make all the throws and can do damage with his legs as well.

"I also think Ryan Day tipped his hand to a degree late in the 2020 season when Stroud was the one who entered the game if Justin Fields got banged up (such as the one play Fields missed against Clemson). That being said, Stroud will face fierce competition for the job from classmate Jack Miller, as well as true freshman Kyle McCord, who Day hand-picked very early in the recruiting process."
 
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Like to know who they think we'll lose to. I have no fear of the upcoming schedule with the talent and experience coming back. Obviously some crappy injury would make a huge difference but the depth now is very good.
 
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Bestbuck36 said:
Like to know who they think we'll lose to. I have no fear of the upcoming schedule with the talent and experience coming back. Obviously some crappy injury would make a huge difference but the depth now is very good.
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Buckeyes should be a favorite in all 12 regular season games, and in the conference championship game. But they were favored against Penn State in 2016, Iowa in 2017, and Purdue in 2018. Not to bring up bad memories, but there's often a stumbling block somewhere.

I'm actually surprised Ohio State is as high as they are. I'm not saying that I disagree with it. I'm just trying to think of this the way I imagine the voters think. With the inexperience they'll have at quarterback, and losing Justin Fields - I'd have thought that he was worth more than 2 places in the polls.
 
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Zurp said:
Buckeyes should be a favorite in all 12 regular season games, and in the conference championship game. But they were favored against Penn State in 2016, Iowa in 2017, and Purdue in 2018. Not to bring up bad memories, but there's often a stumbling block somewhere.

I'm actually surprised Ohio State is as high as they are. I'm not saying that I disagree with it. I'm just trying to think of this the way I imagine the voters think. With the inexperience they'll have at quarterback, and losing Justin Fields - I'd have thought that he was worth more than 2 places in the polls.
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The last 3 times we had a new starting QB:
2014: 14-1 (#1)
2018: 13-1 (#3)
2019: 13-1 (#3)

We've earned that level of respect so I'm not surprised.
 
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ESPN releases preseason college football FPI Top 25 rankings

5. OHIO STATE BUCKEYES
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Surprisingly, ESPN's FPI is giving the Buckeyes only a 53% chance at winning the Big Ten this season and a 45% shot at reaching the Playoff. Here's where it really gets interesting for Ryan Day, whose teams brings back a wealth of talent, but loses projected Top 5 pick Justin Fields at quarterback. The early portion of fall camp will go a long way in determining the Buckeyes' new starter at the position since several players have shown flashes this spring. The preseason frontrunners in the Big Ten, Ohio State is hoping to get back to the national championship game.

10. PENN STATE NITTANY LIONS
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With only a 10% chance of winning the Big Ten this season per ESPN's preseason projections, Penn State already has bulletin board material for this summer. The Nittany Lions deserve a ton of credit for not folding after a winless, disappointing start last fall. James Franklin had his locker room together despite off the field distractions and things out of his team's control and Penn State ended the campaign on a high note despite stumbling short of expectations. Maybe being ranked outside of the Top 15 to start in 2021 will benefit Penn State wearing the cloak of anonymity so to speak. Franklin is confident this group will impress.

15. WISCONSIN BADGERS
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It's bounce-back time for the Badgers. ESPN's FPI projects Wisconsin with a 47.7% shot at getting to the league championship game this fall as division champs. It was not necessarily the Badgers' fault last season went awry, but the pandemic limited this team's player availability, wiped away several games and Wisconsin never found consistency. Three times last fall, the Badgers were held to a touchdown or less with empty possessions causing their defense to be on the field too long throughout the campaign. Getting back to the basics — with dominant offensive line play and a standout rushing attack — is the plan in 2021.

23. Iowa Hawkeyes

25. Indiana Hoosiers

Entire article: https://247sports.com/college/ohio-...ahoma-Georgia-Clemson--164087874/#164087874_1

Surprisingly, ESPN's FPI is giving the Buckeyes only a 53% chance at winning the Big Ten this season and a 45% shot at reaching the Playoff. Here's where it really gets interesting for Ryan Day, whose teams brings back a wealth of talent, but loses projected Top 5 pick Justin Fields at quarterback.
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Just sayin': It is all going to come down to how well Ohio State's QB plays, etc. The football QB is the most important position in all of team sports.

Also, I must have missed it, what number was scUM ranked?

:lol:
 
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buckeyemania11 said:
The FPI is a supremely hack ratings system. Never to be taken seriously.

They've got Mississippi State #8 FFS :lol::lol::lol:

It's basically ESPNs own home brew to hype the SEC even more.
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Iowa State @ #4

I see what their September flavor-of-the-month is going to be. Then, when their early darling fades they can fall back to their SEC-SEC-SEC safe zone
 
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buckeyemania11 said:
The FPI is a supremely hack ratings system. Never to be taken seriously.

They've got Mississippi State #8 FFS :lol::lol::lol:

It's basically ESPNs own home brew to hype the SEC even more.
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no. among the computer polls, espn's fpi has been consistently solid. year by year, it's in the top quartile (among all computers) in percentage correct. per absolute error and mean square error, the fpi is just about the best you'll find.

but, yes, computers have outliers. duh.

https://www.thepredictiontracker.com/ncaaresults.php?year=20
 
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