Key Points:
- Ohio State remains college football’s No. 1 team with a defense allowing just 5.9 PPG.
- ESPN’s FPI ranks Texas A&M & Indiana ahead of OSU in overall resume strength.
- Critics say the Buckeyes lack a signature win despite their undefeated record.
- The first College Football Playoff rankings of 2025 will be released Tuesday.
The Ohio State Buckeyes (7-0) are the clear No. 1 team in college football through the first nine weeks of the 2025 season, led by a defense that’s allowed just 5.9 points per game and 216.9 yards per contest, both the fewest in the nation, per CFBStats.com.
Coached by Ryan Day and quarterbacked by Julian Sayin, the Buckeyes sit at No. 1 in both the AP Top 25 and the USA TODAY Coaches Poll, with their biggest win of the year coming in Week 1 against Arch Manning and the Texas Longhorns.
The initial College Football Playoff rankings are set to be released this Tuesday. Assuming Ohio State takes care of business against Penn State – a game in which ESPN Bet lists the Buckeyes as 20.5-point favorites – the Buckeyes will likely hold the No. 1 spot in the first CFP rankings of 2025. The committee places a major emphasis on the strength of a record and a team’s overall resume, and that is one area where Ohio State’s been called out, as the Buckeyes are missing that signature win, thanks to the unimpressive play of Texas throughout the season.
Two Teams Have a More Impressive Resume Than Ohio State, Says ESPN’s College Football FPI:
ESPN’s Football Power Index (FPI), a predictive metric that measures team strength and projects performance throughout the season, says Ohio State has the nation’s third-best resume at this point in the season. OSU’s wins this season came against Texas, Grambling, Ohio, Washington, Minnesota, Illinois and Wisconsin. Texas was ranked No. 1 at the time they played, and Illinois was No. 17. The Longhorns have dropped one more game since to Florida, while Illinois is now 5-3.
Up next for Ohio State are games against Penn State, Purdue, UCLA, Rutgers and Michigan.
At No. 2 are the Indiana Hoosiers, who also rank No. 2 in both polls at 8-0 under Curt Cignetti. The Hoosiers’ marquee moment came in a 20-10 road win over the then-No. 3 Oregon Ducks. That remains Oregon’s only loss, and it is currently ranked No. 6 in the AP Top 25. But let’s not forget that 63-10 early-season beatdown over then-No. 10 Illinois. Indiana’s the real deal and Fernando Mendoza is everyone’s favorite quarterback. The only team remaining on Indiana’s schedule with a winning record is Maryland (4-3).
The Texas A&M Aggies have college football’s best resume so far, according to the FPI. The Aggies are 8-0 and No. 3 in both polls in Mike Elko’s second season in College Station. Texas A&M’s key wins include the following opponents, with rankings reflecting their position at the time of each game:
- No. 8 Notre Dame
- Florida
- No. 20 LSU
Notre Dame now ranks No. 12 in the country, and it should be noted that both that win and the LSU (now unranked and coachless) win were road games. But still, it’s not the most impressive SOR I’ve seen at this point in the season. Up next for the Aggies is a road game at No. 19 Missouri, home games vs. South Carolina and Samford, and then at No. 20 Texas.
ESPN FPI Ranks the 10 Best Resumes in College Football so Far:
According to the FPI, the 10 strongest strength of records through the first nine weeks of the season are as follows:
- Texas A&M
- Indiana
- Ohio State
- Alabama
- BYU
- Georgia
- Ole Miss
- Georgia Tech
- Vanderbilt
- Oregon
With Alabama-Oklahoma and Georgia-Georgia Tech still ahead, expect some movement as we inch closer to conference championship weekend.