Ohio State will begin the season as the No. 3 team in the country, according to the preseason coaches poll.
The Buckeyes check in just behind the defending champions, No. 1 Alabama, and the 2016 champions, No. 2 Clemson. Immediately behind Ohio State is No. 4 Georgia, which took Alabama to overtime in the College Football Playoff final last season.
An outlook on Ohio State's season from USAToday.com:
On the field, the Buckeyes have enough talent to repeat as Big Ten champions with RB J.K. Dobbins and DL Nick Bosa among their standouts. The chief concern is off the field. Head coach Urban Meyer is on leave as the school investigates his possible knowledge of alleged abuse by a former assistant.
Four other Big Ten teams cracked the rankings with Wisconsin as the highest at No. 7 followed by three Big Ten East schools and regular season opponents for Ohio State: No. 9 Penn State, No. 12 Michigan State and No. 14 Michigan.
TCU also made the rankings, coming in at No. 16, giving the Buckeyes four regular season opponents ranked in the preseason top-25.
It's worth noting that this poll was likely taken before news broke of Urban Meyer's paid administrative leave, and thus Ohio State's preseason ranking reflects expectations about the team with Meyer as the head coach.
| RANK | TEAM | 2017 RECORD | PTS | 1st VOTES |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | ALABAMA | 13-1 | 1621 | 61 |
| 2 | CLEMSON | 12-2 | 1547 | 3 |
| 3 | OHIO STATE | 12-2 | 1458 | 1 |
| 4 | GEORGIA | 13-2 | 1452 | – |
| 5 | OKLAHOMA | 12-2 | 1288 | – |
| 6 | WASHINGTON | 10-3 | 1245 | – |
| 7 | WISCONSIN | 13-1 | 1243 | – |
| 8 | MIAMI | 10-3 | 1091 | – |
| 9 | PENN STATE | 11-2 | 1050 | – |
| 10 | AUBURN | 10-4 | 1004 | – |
| 11 | NOTRE DAME | 10-3 | 892 | – |
| 12 | MICHIGAN STATE | 10-3 | 870 | – |
| 13 | STANFORD | 9-5 | 768 | – |
| 14 | MICHIGAN | 8-5 | 752 | – |
| 15 | USC | 11-3 | 691 | – |
| 16 | TCU | 11-3 | 530 | – |
| 17 | VIRGINIA TECH | 9-4 | 524 | – |
| 18 | MISSISSIPPI STATE | 9-4 | 407 | – |
| 19 | FLORIDA STATE | 7-6 | 328 | – |
| 20 | WEST VIRGINIA | 7-6 | 310 | – |
| 21 | TEXAS | 7-6 | 265 | – |
| 22 | BOISE STATE | 11-3 | 261 | – |
| 23 | UCF | 13-0 | 259 | – |
| 24 | LSU | 9-4 | 254 | – |
| 25 | OKLAHOMA STATE | 10-3 | 168 | – |
