Following up on their No. 1 position in the USA Today pre-season Coaches Poll released earlier this month, the Ohio State Buckeyes are also No. 1 in the pre-season Associated Press Poll:
NEW YORK — When Troy Smith, Ted Ginn Jr. and the rest of Ohio State’s blazing Buckeyes were last seen on a big stage, they were whizzing around Sun Devil Stadium at warp speed.
That 34-20 victory over Notre Dame in the Fiesta Bowl made a lasting impression.
For the first time since 1998, Ohio State is preseason No. 1 in The Associated Press Top 25.
“Around here, whether you’re high in the polls or not, the expectations are still the same,” Ohio State coach Jim Tressel said by telephone.
The Buckeyes received 35 of a possible 65 first-place votes from a panel of media members in the poll released Friday. Notre Dame was No. 2, the best preseason showing for the Fighting Irish since they were second in 1994.
“There wasn’t a clear-cut No. 1, which I guess if you’re a college football fan you have to really like,” said Jason Franchuk, a poll voter from the Provo Daily Herald in Utah. “I just remember watching the Fiesta Bowl and being really impressed with that (Ohio State) team.”
Texas will start the defense of its national title as the No. 3 team in the country. Auburn was fourth and West Virginia fifth.
Southern California, preseason No. 1 the past two years, was No. 6.
Nothing more to say at this point except….Go Buckeyes !
