The start of the Ohio State football season will begin in earnest this weekend against a top-five opponent, the Notre Dame Fighting Irish. It’s just the first step though on a journey Buckeye fans, players, and coaches hope ends in another appearance in the College Football Playoff.
For the past eight years, ESPN has kept track of all the FBS teams and devised a formula to predict those that have the best chance at making the CFP. It’s not always right of course, but it does give a peek behind what teams are expected to be at the top of the food chain.
It’s no different in 2022. ESPN has already come out with its first College Football Playoff Predictor model, and Ohio State is high atop the teams expected to get into all the fun. All told, sixteen teams have a 2% or better chance of making the Playoff.
Here’s how all of those stack up, and where the Buckeyes fall as the season is about to get underway.