In case you missed it Tuesday, ESPN’s resident analytics expert, Bill Connelly, came out with the very early 2023 projected SP+ Rankings (subscription required) for all college football teams, and yeah, Ohio State is mighty high up the list.
It’s fun to not just compare the Buckeyes against the nation, but also its Big Ten colleagues like Michigan, Penn State, and Wisconsin to see what the SP+ Rankings say about what the pecking order might be in the conference next season. There are some mild surprises when diving into the numbers, and it makes for fun debate.
As a reminder, the SP+ Rankings take into account things like returning production, recent recruiting, and historical success, but it’s not an exact formula by any means. It’s a proprietary recipe cooked up by Connelly that slices and dices things we don’t know much about.
Regardless, for your viewing and dissecting pleasure, here’s a look at all fourteen teams as ranked by the early, projected SP+ Rankings for 2023. As an added bonus, we throw in future Big Ten members USC and UCLA because — well, we can.