Nine Arguments for Some Tribe Optimism
May 5, 2015Cavs can bounce back from Game 1 Bull-dozing
May 5, 2015While it seems as though Ohio State just won the inaugural College Football Playoff Championship, the 2015 Buckeyes season is just a few months away.
ESPN’s Mark Schlabach put together his Too-Early Top 25. With a national championship ring in hand and many of their key players returning, Ohio State sits atop Schlabach’s rankings as the team to beat in 2015.
Ohio State is 38-3 (24-0 in Big Ten regular-season games) under head coach Urban Meyer, and the Buckeyes will look to make it back to the College Football Playoff again in 2015. With perhaps the best running back in the country in Ezekiel Elliott and a scary-good defensive line, among other strengths, Ohio State will look to dominate next season.
Schlabach has two other Big Ten foes in the top 25. The Michigan State Spartans are listed as the eighth-best team in the country, while the Wisconsin Badgers check in at No. 17.
That School Up North did not make the list.
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With the 2015 NFL Draft just ending, analysts have already begun to put together their rankings for the 2016 draft. Ohio State didn’t have any players chosen in the first round this year — expect that to change before next May.
Obviously a lot can and will change before next year, but the NFL Draft is always a popular subject regardless. How can things change, you ask? Think about it; Cardale Jones was a third-string quarterback buried in Ohio State’s depth chart less than 12 months ago, and now he’s a projected first-round pick.
Kevin Flaherty of 247sports.com has three Buckeyes going in the top-15 prospects of the 2016 draft. Defensive end Joey Bosa leads the way at No. 2, with quarterback Cardale Jones at No. 4, and Elliott at No. 14.
Daniel Rogers of Bleacher Report considers four Ohio State players first-round picks. He has Bosa going No. 1 overall, Jones and Elliott going at No. 6 and 8, respectively, and linebacker Darron Lee just making the cut at No. 30.
Dane Brugler of CBS Sports and NFLDraftScout.com has five Buckeyes going in the first round. Like Rogers, he has Bosa on top, with offensive tackle Taylor Decker (No. 18), Jones (No. 24), Elliott (No. 27), and Lee (No. 30) also projected first-rounders.
Last but not least, Sporting News has also released their rankings for the 2016 draft via contributor Eric Galko. Once again, Bosa is No. 1 overall on the draft board. Other Buckeyes include Jones at No. 6, Elliott at No. 13, defensive lineman Adolphus Washington at No. 20, and Decker at No. 26.
Obviously, both the team rankings and big boards are a little early. Things will change between now and then. But college football is talked about year-round, and lists like this will give NCAA fans something to discuss until the season kicks off in the fall.
5 Comments
To the extent that pre-season rankings are ever a good idea (I submit that they never are), the Buckeyes really are the only choice for #1. Considering the way they performed in the post-season, coupled with the fact that they only lost a handful of players and are getting some good ones back, I can’t think of a reason that they wouldn’t be on top – except to generate website clicks. I guess I’ll just wait for that click-baiting article that is bound to come from somewhere soon (looks south, toward the land of cotton and “speed”).
Go Buckeyes!
Not too early. Right on time!
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https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xLca3jeQjwY
3:40 – Cardale vs. JT