Week 1: Playoff Rankings

It seems like it was just yesterday when the 2023 season began and now we are about to release the first playoff poll. Ahead of the official poll, as we have done the past several years, Buckeye50 is bringing you our own poll.  And just to remind you, in our first playoff poll last season we had three of the four playoff teams correct and we had TCU #6 (2022 poll week 1), so perhaps you will want to follow along with us this season and see how we do.

Georgia has been on top of the AP and Coaches polls all season long and we know they will be in the top four somewhere, but will they have the top spot?  A lot of media folks are actually pick Michigan for the #1 spot, but will their current scandel drop them in the poll? There are only eight teams remaining that are unbeaten and eleven with one loss and since the committee has never placed a two lose team in the playoffs, we can pretty much say the playoff field will come from those 19 teams. Only thirteen of those teams come from the Power 5 and since I don’t believe a non-Power 5 school will make the cut, the field is even smaller.

The one thing we can be sure about, when the committee submits their top 4 teams this week, there will be talk about it all week long. Here is how our staff voted this week and our composite list of the top six teams. 

 How We Voted

Buckeye50 Playoff Poll

1. Georgia is the reigning two time champions and although they have not looked that impressive most of the season, they have started to look the part since their close call at Auburn. The Bulldogs had one of the top offenses in the country last year and is in the top 10 in scoring again this season. But two weeks ago they lost their star tight end Brock Bowers, who, even after missing a game, has more receiving yardage(567) than their top running back has rushing yards(556). They have a big test against the Missouri Tigers this week, and a win will basically wrap up the SEC East for Georgia.  But they obviously have their sites set on a much larger prize. The real question you might start asking is, if they lose in the SEC championship, will the conference still field a team in the playoffs?   

2. Ohio State will get credit for the two best wins (Notre Dame and Penn State) of any team and to be honest, the Wisconsin win is not too far behind. The defense is clearly a championship calibur squad and the offense has shown flashes of brillance. The one thing the Buckeyes have dogging them at this time is the inconsistent play of the offensive line and Kyle McCord. Fans and friends need to stop comparing Kyle to CJ Stroud, he will never be that good.  But he has had some great passes in between a few poor ones. The receivers often have to make adjustments in their routes to get in position to make the catch.  But no one is doing that better than Marvin Harrison Jr.  He is one of the top three receivers in the country and will be on several award watch lists at the end of the year. Getting back TreVeyon Henderson is a big add, certainly makes Ohio State a better team offensively.    . 

3. Florida State may has probably been the most consistent team this year. They have looked good every game with only one close call against Boston College. They have defeated Duke, and Clemson (but who hasn’t) in the conference and a solid victory over LSU to start the season. They do not play Louisville in the regular season but are currently tracking to face them for the ACC championship game.  Should be a good match-up and will decide the ACC representative in the playoffs. The Seminoles are 5th in the country in scoring offense. 

4. Michigan may have the talent to win it all this year, but no matter how they finish, the season will always be remembered for the sign-stealing sandal. I really hate to talk about them right now, not because they are a rival to Ohio State, but due to the cheating.  There seems to be enough evidence to convict them but this will play out like a call to the replay booth. It will take them forever to decide the outcome after watching 100 angles on the replays. I would not be surprised if they are #1 in the official poll Tuesday night. 

5. Washington is currently unbeaten and on top of the Pac-12. They would likely move into the top 4 after the OSU-Michigan game. The Huskies have looked good so far, but the real meat of their calendar is now. They will play USC, Utah and Oregon State over the next three weeks.  If they can come out of this season unbeaten, they will have earned a top three playoff ranking, at the very least.

6. Oregon is probably the best one loss team in the country and our initial playoff poll basically says that. Their one loss was to our #5 team Washington, who scored on a go ahead touchdown with a little over a minute left to go in the game played in Seattle. They may get another chance in the Pac-12 championship game, and if it plays out right, that will likely be for a playoff spot.  They also have a solid victory over Utah this past weekend. But there best contribution to this season was beating Colorado, and finally putting an end to all the Prime Time hype that was just getting out of control.

	1	2	3	4	5	6
Cory	Georgia	Ohio State	Florida State	Michigan	Washington	Oregon
Gregg	Georgia	Ohio State	Michigan	Washington	Florida State	Oregon
Jason	Ohio State	Georgia	Florida State	Washington	Oregon	Michigan
John	Georgia	Ohio State	Washington	Florida State	Oregon	Texas
Josh	Michigan	Florida State	Ohio State	Georgia	Oregon	Washington
Rick	Georgia	Ohio State	Florida State	Washington	Michigan	Oregon
Steven	Georgia	Ohio State	Michigan	Washington	Oregon	Florida State
Trout	Georgia	Ohio State	Michigan	Washington	Florida State	Oregon
Vaughn	Georgia	Ohio State	Michigan	Washington	Florida State	Oregon

Here is how we voted, let us know how you predict the final rankings will go!  Who is your top 4?  Be sure to leave your comments below