16. Ohio State Buckeyes
Record: 12-1 (2-0 Big Ten)
Last Week: No. 17
This is where things get interesting for Ohio State. To this point in the year, the Buckeyes have been phenomenal but the Big Ten schedule will be an entirely different animal. Their non-conference schedule was not the most challenging in the nation and their win over UCLA is already not looking all that great. Additionally, their early Big Ten wins came over two of the weaker teams in the conference (Minnesota and Illinois). In saying this, I do not mean that tOSU is not worthy of being ranked in the top-25 but I am curious to see how this team performs in conference play.
As many of you know, I was quite high on the Buckeyes heading into the season but I think that the middle of the top-25 might be their ceiling. Head coach Chris Holtmann is fantastic and his roster is playing very well but the Big Ten is going to be a gauntlet and they are bound to lose a few games. With how competitive the conference is going to be this season, I think that non-Michigan (+ State) teams will suffer too many losses to seriously soar up the rankings further than they already have. This goes for teams like Wisconsin, Nebraska, and Iowa as well.
With this said, though, Ohio State has a couple of big opportunities coming up as Big Ten play resumes. For starters, their next game will come at home against a top-10 team in the Michigan State Spartans. Following that matchup, the Buckeyes will go on the road to take on Rutgers and then Iowa.