Buckeyes Reign Supreme in Coaches’ Preseason Rankings
The Big Ten’s football elite have spoken: Ohio State debuts at No. 1 in this year’s coaches’ preseason poll. Eight conference teams made the top 25, including Oregon (No. 2), defending champion Indiana (No. 6) and perennial playoff hopeful USC (No. 14). Michigan checks in at 16, Penn State at 17 under new coach Matt Campbell, Washington at 19, and Iowa rounds things out at 22 while still searching for its starting quarterback. The Buckeyes’ nonconference schedule also features a Week 2 rematch with No. 5 Texas, and their Big Ten slate includes road tests at Iowa, Indiana and USC, plus home showdowns with Oregon and Michigan.
Oh, the humility of a coaches’ poll—where “expert” opinions magically predict outcomes months before the band tunes up and the mascots even think about warming up. Here we are, crowning Ohio State emperor of the preseason despite zero on-field results. Meanwhile, USC fans are already clutching pearls over “playoff-or-bust” expectations, Michigan’s new coaching “era” is as stable as a Jenga tower on a tilt-a-whirl, and Iowa still can’t decide who’s taking snaps. But hey, if polls paid the bills, the NCAA would be raking in championship rings by now. Stay tuned: in four weeks, this hopeful utopia of rankings will crash headlong into reality—likely in the form of a Turnover Chain gaggle on national television.
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