Scarlet Sunrise: Where does ESPN rank 2022 Buckeyes in CFP history?

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Where does ESPN rank 2022 Buckeyes in CFP history?

ESPN’s Bill Connelly continued his annual ranking of every team that has made the College Football Playoff in its now-nine-year existence. He prefaced the rankings by saying that he incorporates his SP+ ratings and his own opinions when crafting the list.

So, of the 36 teams to make the CFP, where do the 2022 Buckeyes fall? Well, Connelly has this year’s Ohio State team at 23rd.

Connelly wrote: “No team stands to potentially gain more from a CFP bid than Ryan Day’s fourth Buckeyes team, which rolled through most of the regular season with little resistance — 11 wins, all by double digits and seven by at least 29 points — before face-planting against Michigan for the second straight year. While that threw the Buckeyes into a bit of an existential crisis, a win over Georgia in Atlanta would certainly flip their perceptions around quite a bit. (And a blowout loss would very much do the opposite.”

Here’s where Connelly had all five CFP Buckeyes teams:

2014 (14-1, beat Alabama, 42-35, in semifinal and Oregon, 42-20, in championship): 9th

2016 (11-2, lost to Clemson, 31-0, in semifinal): 31st

2019 (13-1, lost to Clemson, 29-23, in semifinal): 12th

2020 (7-1, beat Clemson, 49-28, in semifinal and lost to Alabama, 52-24, in championship): 16th

2022 (11-1, facing Georgia in semifinal): 23rd

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Connelly ranked 2015 Michigan State — which used a last-second field goal to upset Ohio State in Columbus that year — as the worst CFP team. And he placed 2020 Alabama — which blew out the Buckeyes in the national title game — at No. 1. The Joe Burrow-led 2019 LSU team was second.

Ohio State wide receivers coach Brian Hartline named On3’s national position coach of the year

On3 has named Ohio State wide receivers coach Brian Hartline its national position coach of the year. Hartline, a former Buckeyes wideout who enjoyed a seven-year NFL career, joined Ohio State’s coaching staff in 2017. Hartline has reeled in at least one five-star receiver in every recruiting class since 2019. Perhaps most notably, Hartline coached both Garrett Wilson and Chris Olave, who went 10th and 11th, respectively, in this year’s NFL Draft before starring in their rookie seasons.

Hartline had opportunities to leave Columbus this past offseason, however, he stuck around and got a new title in the process: passing-game coordinator. Hartline was being considered for the Cincinnati head coaching job following the end of the 2022 regular season, but he reaffirmed his commitment to the Buckeyes.

Ohio State had two wide receivers go over 1,000 yards this season: Biletnikoff Award finalist Marvin Harrison Jr. and fellow breakout sophomore Emeka Egbuka.

Buckeyes climb to No. 23 in AP Poll after Rutgers win

Ohio State basketball inched ahead in Monday’s AP Top 25, moving from No. 25 — where it had been for the last two weeks — to No. 23. The Buckeyes are coming off a buzzer-beating, and controversial, win over Rutgers in their Big Ten opener.

Ohio State (7-2, 1-0 Big Ten) is amid a nine-day break between its game against Rutgers and its next game, a CBS Sports Classic matchup against North Carolina in Madison Square Garden.

The Buckeyes are one of six Big Ten teams in the AP Top 25. The others are No. 1 Purdue, No. 14 Indiana, No. 18 Illinois, No. 20 Maryland and No. 22 Wisconsin. Ohio State and UNC will face off Saturday at 3 p.m. The Buckeyes don’t resume Big Ten play until New Year’s Day at Northwestern.

To check out the full Week 6 AP Poll, go here.

Counting down

Peach Bowl: 18 days away

Buckeyes vs. Michigan: 347 days

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