Scarlet Sunrise: Buckeyes stay near top in national expert rankings

COLUMBUS — Ohio State earned its first win of the year in its first game of the year Saturday, when the Buckeyes easily beat Akron 52-6 to open the season.

The Buckeyes weren’t perfect, but they did show flashes of dominance and corrected some errors as the game went on. It served as a good start, but this weekend’s game against Western Michigan will need to be much cleaner and better.

With the good first showing, the Buckeyes have stayed relatively put in two notable rankings — one from a national expert and one from a chief algorithm.

FOX Sports’ Joel Klatt did move the Buckeyes down one spot to No. 2, as he moved Georgia into his No. 1 slot after previously putting Ohio State in that spot. The Bulldogs beat Clemson 34-3 on Saturday.

As for ESPN’s Football Power Index, that ratings metric has Ohio State at No. 4 — behind Georgia, Alabama and Texas. The Crimson Tide moved ahead of the Buckeyes but Oregon fell from in front of the Buckeyes down to No. 10.

Ohio State lands hoops commitment

One of the top basketball players in Central Ohio has committed to Ohio State.

Three-star Upper Arlington (Ohio) power forward Alex Smith has committed to the Buckeyes. The 6-foot-8 and 195-pound Smith chose the Buckeyes over offers from Bryant, Indiana, Kent State, Ohio and Toledo.

Smith got the attention of the Ohio State coaching staff after a strong performance at the Buckeyes’ team camp from June 6-7. Head coach Jake Diebler then decided to offer Smith while he was on campus for the Buckeyes’ alumni week scrimmage on June 17. Smith has quality relationships with multiple Ohio State assistants.

Smith is the second commitment for Ohio State in the 2026 class. He joins four-star point guard Marcus Johnson, a top-30 player in the 2026 class according to the On3 Industry Rankings, out of Cleveland (Ohio) Garfield Heights in the Buckeyes class.

Smith dealt with injuries throughout his junior season but still led Upper Arlington to the second round of the OHSAA Division I state playoffs. He earned honorable mention Division I All-Ohio honors as a junior.

ICYMI: Buckeyes open as heavy favorite over Western Michigan

The Buckeyes didn’t cover the massive 48.5-point spread against Akron on Saturday. Well, the folks in the desert aren’t backing down from giving Ohio State plenty of points for the matchup against Western Michigan (Saturday, 7:30 p.m. on Big Ten Network).

Ohio State opened Western Michigan week as a 38.5-point favorite for the primetime showdown. The total is set at 53.5.

The Broncos, the Buckeyes’ second straight game against a MAC school to open the year, went on the road last weekend and lost 28-14 despite leading early in the fourth quarter. They expect to be a good challenge for the No. 2 Buckeyes this weekend.

Western Michigan is 1-0 against the spread this year. Ohio State, meanwhile, is 0-1.

Counting down

Buckeyes vs. Western Michigan: 4 days
Ohio State at Oregon: 39 days
Ohio State at Penn State: 60 days
Buckeyes vs. Michigan: 88 days

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