2024 Ohio State will always be underrated in context with how the public will view them because they lost 2 games. However, with the way they were playing at the end of the year, they were actually one of the best teams of the modern era.
4 First Rounds picks in the 2025 NFL Draft. 7 players drafted in the first 45 picks of the 2025 NFL Draft. 14 players drafted in total in the 2025 draft which is 2nd all-time (would've tied or even beaten the record for most ever if Seth didn't blow his achilles or either of Styles or Igbinosun had declared). Despite all of those players drafted, the best two players on the team are still at OSU (Downs, JJ Smith). They won the National Title despite missing a first round LT and the Rimington Award winner at Center. They covered the spread in every single postseason game. Went 6-1 against Top 10 teams with the one loss being on the road by one point to the 1 seed in the CFP. That's the most Top 10 wins in a season ever. They had one of the strongest coordinator combinations in recent memory between Chip Kelly and Jim Knowles.
If you are an analytics guy like me, the 2024 team had a F+ rating (combo of SP+ and FEI analytic models) of 2.52. The 2014 team F+ rating was 1.97.
In fact, F+ ratings started in 2007 and the 2024 OSU team has the 9th best rating in that timespan (18 seasons). They were only behind 2023 Michigan (2.54 rating), 2022 UGA (2.68), 2021 UGA (2.79), 2020 Bama (2.73), 2019 OSU (2.59), 2018 Bama (2.67), 2012 Bama (2.68), and 2008 Florida (2.69). 3 of those teams (21 UGA, 19 OSU, and 18 Bama) didn't win the Natty. So that makes 2024 OSU the 6th best Natty Champion of the past 18 seasons in terms of F+ rating.
You're probably wondering where the heck is 2019 LSU? Well history has sort of distorted how that team actually was. They are correctly viewed as an otherworldly offense and the F+ ratings reflect that. However their defense was just above average with a F+ rank of 14th. They frequently gave up tons of points and had to outscore teams to win games. Their overall F+ rating isn't as high as you expect as a result. This leads me into another feather in the cap of 2024 OSU which is that:
The 2024 team was BALANCED. They had the 1st ranked F+ defensive rating and the 3rd best offensive F+ rating. There have only been 6 other teams since 2007 to be Top 3 in both: 2022 UGA (2nd Off, 1st Def), 2021 UGA (3rd Off, 1st Def), 2019 OSU (3rd Off, 1st Def), 2018 Bama (2nd in both), 2013 FSU (1st in both), 2009 Florida (3rd in both).
No matter how you slice it, the 2024 Buckeyes were one of the strongest teams of the modern era, and given their accomplishments on the field and their analytic backing, I believe them to be the best Ohio State team since the BCS was implemented.
