There’s no spring ball to talk about, but there’s plenty of things we can discuss when looking ahead to Ohio State football in the fall. In fact, ever since the season ended with Joe Burrow and LSU dismantling Clemson, there’s been several publications produce a way-too-early look at the 2020 season.
Our most recent one is from Bill Bender of The Sporting News. There are the usual suspects up at the top, but where does he put Ohio State? According to Bender, he sees the Buckeyes as the No. 2 ranked team heading into 2020.
Here’s what he says about OSU.
The Buckeyes lost star players J.K. Dobbins, Chase Young and Jeff Okudah to the NFL, but Heisman Trophy finalist Justin Fields returns to a still-loaded roster. Master Teague was injured, but that hole was filled with Oklahoma transfer Trey Sermon. The receiving corps will be the deepest in the country. Expect Garrett Wilson to be a breakout star while five-star receiver Julian Fleming joins the fun. Wyatt Davis and Josh Myers return to a nasty offensive line. Shaun Wade’s decision to return to school helps a defense that will rebuild the line around Tyreke Smith and Zach Harrison. Road trips to Oregon and Penn State are the biggest potholes to another Playoff run. Second-year coach Ryan Day can work with that.
No spring football? No problem.
Sporting News updates its preseason top 25 for 2020.https://t.co/8Zq1nQ3QeA
— Sporting News (@sportingnews) March 27, 2020
Okay, so that’s the analysis of Ohio State. What about the other high profile teams? Who does Bender have as No. 1? Well, Clemson of course — just like a slew of other online publications. Behind the Tigers and Buckeyes to round out the top ten are Alabama (3), Georgia (4), LSU (5), Oregon (6), Oklahoma (7), Notre Dame (8), Penn State (9), and Florida (10).
The Big Ten has a total of five teams in the rankings with Minnesota (12), Michigan (15), and Wisconsin (16) joining Ohio State and Penn State.
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