2011 College Football AP Top 25: Breaking Down Why Ohio State Is Ranked 18th

The Associated Press, like the USA Today, has Ohio State ranked on the low end of the top 20, with the AP putting the Buckeyes at No. 18.

While some fans will debate that they are ranked very low, the problem is that Ohio State has a lot of unknowns that can't be answered until they start playing games.

We don't even know if the Buckeyes are allowed to play in a bowl game this season.

So while there are dozens of questions around Ohio State, they are ranked right where they should be.

And here is why they might just be in the right place so far.

1. Preseason Polls Are All About Speculation

If 2010 taught us anything, the preseason poll is just a crapshoot. We learned that Florida and Texas, both ranked in the top five, were nowhere near as good as we thought, and Auburn, ranked at No. 23, may have been the greatest sleeper in history.

Ohio State is ranked below teams like Virginia Tech, TCU and Michigan State among others. But that doesn't necessarily mean they're better.

All it means is they look good on paper.

And given the questions about the lack of name recognition on the Ohio State roster, who could blame them when the preseason poll is all speculation with no results to go off of?

2. No Experience at Quarterback

The battle at QB for Ohio State seems to be favoring senior Joe Bauserman at the moment. And if that doesn't comfort fans, just imagine what the press has to think.

In all fairness, Bauserman hasn't had the opportunities to show what he can do. 

But from what he has shown so far, his performance has not inspired a great deal of confidence from the millions of OSU armchair coaches.

Freshman Braxton Miller seems to have pulled alongside Bauserman, as he has grown quickly in practices.

He still has portions of the playbook still to master, but he should get some snaps in the first two games regardless of what Bauserman does.

But the lack of starting experience at QB could hurt Ohio State.

3. A First-Time Head Coach

The Buckeyes are one of only three teams in the AP Top 25 (Stanford, West Virginia) with a first-time head coach.

And while Luke Fickell seems to have the respect and attention of the locker room, his lack of experience is something that like everything else, is a big unknown.

Everyone knew what Ohio State could be like under Jim Tressel, a team that plays smart football and physical defense.

Fickell seems like he has a similar style, but the question is how he will coach under pressure in late-game situations.

But if there is any difference between Fickell and Tressel that should favor the younger coach, he is a much more aggressive person. 

4. Personnel Questions All Across the Board

Other than the RB and TE positions, most of the roster is littered with question marks, whether it be competitions for starting jobs or having depth issues.

The offensive line still has depth questions, and now due to transfers, the LB position, which once seemed like a strength, now doesn't look too strong.

The Buckeyes need to replace seven defensive starters, and must also fill four full-time starting jobs on offense. In the meantime, they must find three part-time replacements for Dan Herron, Mike Adams and DeVier Posey as well.

In short, there are a lot of personnel decisions that must be made before kickoff on September 3.

Most seem to be settled at this time but there are still questions across the board that have experts skeptical of the Buckeyes right now.

5. The Big Ten Is Much Deeper Than Ever

The Big Ten is arguably the second-best conference, and it's not just newcomer Nebraska that has the conference looking as good as ever in the 2000s.

Michigan State is coming off a spectacular breakout season, and Wisconsin reached the Rose Bowl while gaining former N.C. State QB Russell Wilson in a transfer.

In addition, Penn State and Michigan look to rebound after tough seasons, and Iowa and Illinois are hoping to continue the momentum of big bowl wins over Big 12 teams.

In other words, the Big Ten is no longer the cakewalk it may have been several years ago.

The conference is not as deep as the SEC but it does have a good amount of quality football teams.

That can be both a blessing and a curse for Ohio State, as it should make for more BCS computer points but it is much, much harder to run the table than it used to be.

6. Who Are the Team Leaders?

The most important thing to being a successful football team is to have good senior leadership.

With Herron, Posey, Adams and C Mike Brewster, Ohio State looks to have a good core of leaders.

But the problem is Brewster is the only one of the four eligible to play the full season. That means the leadership role will have to come from somewhere else, whether it be RT J.B. Shugarts, LB Andrew Sweat or anyone else on the roster.

A young team like Ohio State needs leaders on the field to keep them thinking the right way and playing with the right amount of mentality and physicality.

Those roles are largely undefined outside of Brewster until the other three aforementioned seniors can play again.

And in the end, if times get tough, it could be a huge problem.

7. The NCAA Can Still End Their Season Early

Jim Tressel's unfortunate departure from Ohio State could still leave the school with a major problem going into this season.

The school won't know its fate until October or November from the NCAA regarding Tressel's cover up of his players trading memorabilia for tattoos.

While some say it is highly unlikely, the NCAA could ban Ohio State from the postseason, meaning they would automatically be unable to win a seventh-straight Big Ten title.

But the school has seen its reputation almost destroyed in the past 8 months. So their main hope is that winning does in fact cure all.

There's no reason why it shouldn't, but nothing's ever assured or assumed anymore with regards to the NCAA's system of sanctions and subsequent public perception.

And that problem of perception, their lingering fate with the collegiate powers that be and the questions on the team are reasons why Ohio State seems to belong where they are at in the AP Poll, at No. 18.

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