Ohio State became the first all-time unanimous preseason No. 1 in the Associated Press College Football Poll.
Ohio State received the National Championship Trophy in January with their 42-20 victory over the Oregon Ducks.
This year, the Buckeyes received all 61 first-place votes by the AP ranking committee on Sunday.
Since preseason ranking began back in 1950, no team had received more than 97 percent of the first-place votes.
Notre Dame was the first ranked team in 1950 under Coach Frank Leahy.
In 2009, the defending-champion Florida Gators received 58 of the 60 first-place votes.
This was the most votes given to any team until 2013.
That year, Alabama also received 58 of the 60 votes after winning two straight National Championships.
The Buckeyes have been atop the Big Ten mountain for a long time. In the last five years they have spent more time in the AP Top 25 Poll than any other team in the Big Ten with a total of 69 weeks.
Wisconsin and Michigan State follow with 62 and 56 weeks, respectively.
This will be the eighth time in program history that the Buckeyes will begin the season ranked No. 1.
The last two times Ohio State has been the preseason No. 1 pick, in 1998 and 2006, it finished the season ranked No. 2.
In fact, being ranked No.1 to begin the college football season has not been a good thing in recent history.
The last time a preseason No. 1 held up the National Championship Trophy at the end of the year was the University of Southern California in 2004.
The Trojans were later stripped of their Bowl Championship Series title due to NCAA violations that also cost running back Reggie Bush his Heisman Trophy.
Only twice has a team remained No. 1 the entire season with Florida State University in 1999 and USC in 2004.
However, with a very favorable season schedule, the Buckeyes look to have the best chance of any preseason-ranked No. 1 to win the Championship going into the season in recent years.
Their Big Ten schedule is littered with favorable matchups, as they play at Illinois and Rutgers, and with Penn State coming to Columbus, Ohio.
Their only seemingly difficult matchup at the moment is No. 5 Michigan State.
The Spartans are also the only ranked opponent the Buckeyes will play and will take place at the end of the season.
The Buckeyes face off against the Spartans this season on Sat. Nov. 21 in Columbus, Ohio.
With the new college playoff format and Ohio State’s strength of schedule, the Buckeyes’ chances of making the college playoffs again are high, regardless if the Spartans can go to Columbus and win.
Ohio State plays against the Hoosiers on Sat. Oct. 3 in Bloomington, Indiana.
Last year the Buckeyes defeated the Hoosiers 42-27 in a game played in Columbus, Ohio.
Although it is an accomplishment to be ranked No. 1 in the preseason polls, what matters is being ranked No. 1 at the end of the season and taking home the BSC title trophy.
Ohio State is focused on becoming only the 12th team to win consecutive AP titles.
Texas Christian University is voted second in the preseason poll, the highest preseason ranking in program history.
Alabama, Baylor and Oregon round out the top five in the rankings.
The Buckeyes open the 2015 season on Sept. 7 at Virginia Tech.
micbhern@indiana.edu
