COLUMBUS, Ohio (WCMH) — College football season is just around the corner and once again, the Ohio State Buckeyes are considered to be national title contenders.
Ohio State has been ranked No. 2 in the 2024 Associated Press preseason poll, the eighth consecutive season the Buckeyes enter a college football season as a top-five preseason AP team. The Buckeyes received 15 first-place votes as they only sit behind No. 1 Georgia, who grabbed 46 first-place votes.
The Scarlet & Grey are the highest ranked Big Ten team with Oregon just behind them at No. 3. Defending national champions Michigan come in at No. 9. Six Big Ten teams cracked the preseason top 25.
Ohio State has now gone 36 straight seasons as a ranked preseason team in the AP poll, the longest streak in college football. The Buckeyes rank No. 2 in the USA Today coaches poll, the other major college football poll before the College Football Playoff rankings begin its rollout in November.
| 1 | Georgia (46) |
| 2 | Ohio State (15) |
| 3 | Oregon (1) |
| 4 | Texas |
| 5 | Alabama |
| 6 | Ole Miss |
| 7 | Notre Dame |
| 8 | Penn State |
| 9 | Michigan |
| 10 | Florida State |
| 11 | Missouri |
| 12 | Utah |
| 13 | LSU |
| 14 | Clemson |
| 15 | Tennessee |
| 16 | Oklahoma |
| 17 | Oklahoma State |
| 18 | Kansas State |
| 19 | Miami (FL) |
| 20 | Texas A&M |
| 21 | Arizona |
| 22 | Kansas |
| 23 | USC |
| 24 | NC State |
| 25 | Iowa |
The No. 2 Buckeyes are set to begin its season on Aug. 31 with a 3:30 p.m. home game against the Akron Zips. Ohio State is considered a near 50-point favorite in its 2024 opener as they search for its first Big Ten title since the 2020 season.
The Buckeyes have four games in its schedule against ranked opposition: Oct. 5 vs. No. 25 Iowa, Oct. 12 at No. 3 Oregon, Nov. 2 at No. 8 Penn State, and Nov. 30 vs. No. 9 Michigan.
This will be one of the biggest seasons in college football history as we see conference realignment come to life in the Big Ten, ACC, SEC, and Big 12. We will also have the first 12-team College Football Playoff, leaving a little more room for error for teams high in the rankings.
The 2024 college football season officially gets underway on Aug. 24 for “Week 0” with the Florida State Seminoles taking on the Georgia Tech Yellow Jackets in Dublin, Ireland. Week 1 action gets underway on Aug. 29.
NBC4’s coverage of college football begins on Aug. 31 with the first “B1G Saturday Night” game as the defending national champion Michigan Wolverines host Fresno State at 7:30 p.m.
A few days after that, NBC4 will be the home of the NFL season opener as the two-time defending Super Bowl champion Kansas City Chiefs welcome the Baltimore Ravens on Sept. 5 at 8:20 p.m. On Sept. 6, Peacock will air the first Week 1 NFL game on a Friday as the Green Bay Packers play the Philadelphia Eagles in Sao Paulo, Brazil.