Where was Ohio State football ranked on final coaches poll ballots?
The ballots of the 63 coaches participating in the final USA TODAY Sports AFCA coaches poll were released on Wednesday, two days after Georgia repeated as national champion with a dominant win over TCU in the College Football Playoff final.
All but six coaches included Ohio State inside their top four. The Buckeyes, who came in at No. 4, mirroring their ranking in the final AP poll, were as high as No. 2 on eight of the ballots and as low as No. 7.
That was among the tidbits from the votes that were made public this week:
• Nine coaches ranked Ohio State at No. 2, a group that included two who had previously been on staff. Those were Boston College’s Jeff Hafley, who was the Buckeyes’ co-defensive coordinator in 2019, and Rutgers’ Greg Schiano, who had overseen that side of the ball in the three previous seasons. Notre Dame’s Marcus Freeman, a former Buckeyes linebacker, also put OSU right behind Georgia.
• Syracuse’s Dino Babers had the Buckeyes ranked lower than any other coach, putting them at No. 7. No one else had them lower than No. 5. Baber’s top six were Georgia, TCU, Alabama, Michigan, Tennessee and Florida State.
• Alabama coach Nick Saban had Ohio State No. 5 and his own team at No. 2.
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• A majority of the ballots, making up a total of 40, had Ohio State at No. 4.
• Four of the six Big Ten coaches ranked the Buckeyes No. 4, including Indiana’s Tom Allen, Maryland’s Mike Locksley, Michigan State’s Mel Tucker and Penn State’s James Franklin. Northwestern’s Pat Fitzgerald had them one spot higher at No. 3, while Schiano ranked them No. 2. OSU’s Ryan Day has not voted in the poll the past three seasons.
• Sixteen coaches ranked Ohio State ahead of Michigan despite the Buckeyes’ second straight loss to the Wolverines: Fitzgerald, Freeman, Hafley and Schiano, as well as Utah State’s Blake Anderson, San Jose State’s Brent Brennan, Northern Illinois’ Thomas Hammock, SMU’s Rhett Lashlee, Kent State’s Sean Lewis, Army’s Jeff Monken, Akron’s Joe Moorhead, Florida’s Billy Napier, Pittsburgh’s Pat Narduzzi, Virginia Tech’s Brent Pry, Utah’s Kyle Whittingham and Nevad’s Ken Wilson.
• Three of the five coaches from schools in Ohio ranked the Buckeyes No. 4, including Ohio’s Tim Albin, Cincinnati’s Luke Fickell and Miami’s Chuck Martin. Lewis and Moorhead ranked them No. 2.
• Ohio State’s average rank among the six MAC coaches was 3.1, the highest of any of the FBS conferences. Its average rank among eight ACC coaches was 4.75, the lowest.
• Georgia handled TCU with greater ease than Ohio State, which nearly upset the Bulldogs in the semifinal at the Peach Bowl, but Kirby Smart ranked the Horned Frogs and Wolverines ahead of the Buckeyes on his ballot.
For a full summary of the ballots, see below:
No. 2
Blake Anderson, Utah State; Marcus Freeman, Notre Dame; Jeff Hafley, Boston College; Rhett Lashlee, SMU; Sean Lewis, Kent State; Joe Moorhead, Akron; Pat Narduzzi, Pittsburgh; Brent Pry, Virginia Tech; Greg Schiano, Rutgers (9)
No. 3
Brent Brennan, San Jose State; Pat Fitzgerald, Northwestern; Will Hall, Southern Mississippi; Thomas Hammock, Northern Illinois; Jeff Monken, Army; Billy Napier, Florida; Kyle Whittingham, Utah; Ken Wilson, Nevada (8)
No. 4
Tim Albin, Ohio; Tom Allen, Indiana; Marcus Arroyo, UNLV; Mike Bloomgren, Rice; Neal Brown, West Virginia; Jamey Chadwell, Coastal Carolina; Dave Clawson, Wake Forest; Kalen DeBoer, Washington; Jake Dickert, Washington State; Dana Dimel, Texas-El Paso; Dave Doeren, North Carolina State; Stan Drayton, Temple; Sonny Dykes, TCU; Luke Fickell, Cincinnati; Jedd Fisch, Arizona; James Franklin, Penn State; Hugh Freeze, Liberty; Willie Fritz, Tulane; Danny Gonzales, New Mexico; Tyson Helton, Western Kentucky; Brady Hoke, San Diego State; Dana Holgorsen, Houston; Butch Jones, Arkansas State; Chris Klieman, Kansas State; Lance Leipold, Kansas; Tim Lester, Western Michigan; Mike Locksley, Maryland; Mike MacIntyre, Florida International, Chuck Martin, Miami (Ohio); Joey McGuire, Texas Tech; Ken Niumatalolo, Navy; Sam Pittman, Arkansas; Scott Satterfield, Louisville; Kirby Smart, Georgia; Jake Spavital, Texas State; Rick Stockstill, Middle Tennessee; Jon Sumrall, Troy; Jeff Tedford, Fresno State; Jeff Traylor, Texas-San Antonio; Mel Tucker, Michigan State (40)
No. 5
Troy Calhoun, Air Force; Sonny Cumbie, Louisiana Tech; Mike Elko, Duke; Jim Mora, Connecticut; Nick Saban, Alabama (5)
No. 7
Dino Babers, Syracuse
Joey Kaufman covers Ohio State football for The Columbus Dispatch. Contact him at [email protected] or on Twitter @joeyrkaufman.
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