This is an exciting year for Ohio State Buckeye football, with star players, exceptional new talents, and top-notch coaches. That excitement comes with high hopes and expectations for a Big Ten and national championship.
Winning it all means Ohio State must compete at the highest level. Here the competing nationally-ranked teams are compared by their individual units. They are grouped into Top 5 and Top 12 units, and are listed alphabetically rather than subjectively ranked any further within a group. For example, Ala(Bama) is not necessarily #1, they are just first in the alphabet among the Top 5.
How does Ohio State stack up? Who has the competitive advantage with the most top units in the nation?
| OL | DL | LB | QB | RB | WR/TE | DB | Coach |
| Top 5 | |||||||
| Bama | Bama | Bama | Bama | Bama | Bama | Clem | Bama |
| Geor | Aub | Miami | Ariz | Geor | Miss | Flor | Clem |
| Stan | Clem | Mich | Clem | OhioSt | Okla | Mich | Mich |
| Wash | Mich | USC | PennSt | Stan | SoCar | OhioSt | OhioSt |
| Wisc | OhioSt | Wisc | WVirg | Wisc | WVirg | Wash | Wash |
| Next 7 | |||||||
| BostC | Flor | Aub | Aub | BostC | Baylor | BostC | Aub |
| Clem | FlaSt | Clem | CenFla | FlaAtl | Clem | Clem | Geor |
| KanSt | Geor | Duke | Geor | FlaSt | Miami | KanSt | MichSt |
| Miss | Miami | MichSt | MissSt | IowaSt | Mo | Miss | OkSt |
| MissSt | MissSt | NDame | Mo | Okla | NCSt | MissSt | PennSt |
| Mo | Texas | Texas | Ore | OkSt | OhioSt | Mo | TCU |
| Okla | VaTech | TexAM | Wash | Wash | Toledo | Okla | VaTech |
Note: For a team that Urban considers offensive-line driven, Ohio State does not appear in the Top 12 OL nationally.
Sources: College football previews
