Defense wins championships. Apparently, the College Football Selection Committee identifies with that famous football saying.
Ohio State has easily had the best defense in college football through eight games. The Buckeyes are No. 1 nationally in both scoring and total defense, allowing just 6.9 points and 214.8 yards per game. Second place in those categories are 10 points (San Diego State) and 234.9 yards (Iowa).
After Ohio State took the top spot in the selection committee's first rankings of the season, committee chairman Mack Rhoades emphasized twice that the Silver Bullets were the Buckeyes' separator from No. 2 Indiana and No. 3 Texas A&M. Offensive line and offensive playmakers also put OSU a notch above the Hoosiers, Rhoades said.
"When we looked at film – and we're blessed to have committee members and coaches that do a lot of film work – we just felt like Ohio State had a slight edge when we think about offensive line play and a slight edge defensively," Rhoades said. "And that was really the outcome. Ohio State has some, I'm gonna call them explosive, players that probably stood out as well."
THE FIRST 12-TEAM CFP BRACKET PROJECTION OF THE SEASON
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The committee selected Memphis as the best team from the remaining conferences. pic.twitter.com/EU6NCc33Ds
Each of Ohio State, Indiana and Texas A&M is undefeated, three of the final four remaining unbeaten teams in college football, joining No. 7 BYU. Defense especially created an edge for the Buckeyes over the Aggies, who rank just 60th in scoring defense (23.6 points allowed per game) and 31st in total defense (321.5 yards allowed per game).
"You're talking about really small margins when you think about the difference between Ohio State, Indiana and A&M," Rhoades said. "Statistically, when we looked at A&M defensively, they're just lower than Ohio State and Indiana. And so, had to make a hard decision, and you're trying to find separators, and that was a separator for us."
Quality of wins also proved a close margin between the three teams at the top, as Rhoades pointed out. Texas A&M boasts road wins against the committee's No. 10 team, Notre Dame, and a blowout of LSU in its famously raucous Death Valley.
"There was robust conversation, discussion about (teams) one through three," Rhoades said. "All three of them undefeated. Certainly great conversation and discussion about Ohio State and Indiana. Two really, really quality, quality teams. Two teams with really, really good wins. Ohio State vs. No. 11 Texas and a win over (No.) 23 Washington. Indiana, No. 9 Oregon, No. 20 Iowa. Both defenses, offenses ranked in the top five. And so it was certainly close."
The hype of being No. 1 might be nice for Ohio State fans, but it's not something Buckeye head coach Ryan Day will pay much mind to. On Tuesday, he stated the only rankings he'll care about are those at the end of the season once the CFP is done, as his team hopes to hoist a second straight national championship trophy. And perhaps the final batch before the playoffs, so OSU knows who to prepare for.
"I hope that none of our team or anybody really pays attention to it, because it doesn't matter," Day said. "It's good for the fans. I think it's great for college football to be talking about it. But nothing matters if we don't continue to win. So, I expect us all to be looking at it at the end of the season."
The rankings that determine Ohio State's CFP seeding and matchups, following the regular season and a potential Big Ten Championship showdown with Indiana, come out on Dec. 7. An updated batch will be released every Tuesday until that Sunday. But if the Silver Bullets keep being lethal and the Buckeyes' offense stays explosive, they'll be No. 1 the whole way.
