College Football Rankings 2017: Projected Top 25 after Week 1

ATLANTA, GA - SEPTEMBER 02: Bo Scarbrough #9, head coach Nick Saban, and Jalen Hurts #2 of the Alabama Crimson Tide celebrate with the Chick-fil-A Kick-Off Game trophy after defeating the Florida State Seminoles 24-7 in their game at Mercedes-Benz Stadium on September 2, 2017 in Atlanta, Georgia. (Photo by Scott Cunningham/Getty Images) /

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J.T. Barrett, QB, The Ohio State University

BLOOMINGTON, IN – AUGUST 31: Ohio State quarterback J.T. Barrett (16) throwing a pass during the season opening game between the Ohio State Buckeyes and Indiana Hoosiers on August 31, 2017 at Memorial Stadium in Bloomington, IN. (Photo by James Black/Icon Sportswire via Getty Images) /

2. Ohio State Buckeyes

Ranking coming into Week 1: No. 2

For a half, it certainly looked like the Ohio State Buckeyes may have been in some trouble on the road for their season opener against a feisty bunch in the Indiana Hoosiers.

And then, the Buckeyes showed why they were ranked as the No. 2 team in the country coming into the 2017-18 season with a dominant second-half performance against the Hoosiers.

The Bucks outscored the Hoosiers by 29 in the second half (36-7) and despite some struggles from senior quarterback J.T. Barrett throughout the night, true freshman running back J.K. Dobbins picked up the slack for the offensive attack. In his first college game for the Buckeyes, Dobbins rushed for 181 yards on 29 carries with a touchdown to spark the Bucks.

It doesn’t get any easier for OSU heading into Week 2. Similarly to last year, the Buckeyes have an early-season meeting with Baker Mayfield and the Oklahoma Sooners waiting for them this coming Saturday night for the home opener.

Last year is last year when it comes to Ohio State’s massacre of the Sooners in Norman. This is a different team. The Buckeyes better come out of the gate a lot stronger than they did against the Hoosiers.

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