Ohio State football is No. 2
Coming off their appearance in the College Football Playoff a season ago, the Buckeyes ranked second in the preseason edition of the Associated Press Top 25, which was released on Monday. Entering the 2017 campaign, Ohio State trails only No. 1 Alabama, which garnered 52 of the poll's 61 first-place votes.
No. 3 Florida State, No. 4 Southern California and No. 5 Clemson rounded out the top-five.
The Buckeyes' second-place standing in the AP Top 25 is the same spot they found themselves ranked in the preseason Amway Coaches Poll earlier this month.Ohio State returns 15 starters, including senior quarterback J.T. Barrett, from a 2016 squad that tallied an 11-1 regular season record before falling to eventual national champion Clemson in the Fiesta Bowl CFP semifinal.
The Buckeyes are one of four Big Ten teams to rank in the preseason AP Top 25, alongside No. 6 Penn State, No. 9 Wisconsin and No. 11 Michigan. Ohio State will kickoff of the 2017 season on Thursday, Aug. 31 at 8 p.m. ET with a road date against Indiana.
