After their narrow 13-12 victory over the Kentucky Wildcats, the Georgia Bulldogs (+370) are no longer the betting favorites to win the College Football Playoff on FanDuel Sportsbook. That distinction belongs to Ohio State football (+330), which has handled its two opponents in landslide victories.
OSU head coach Ryan Day is blessed with a trio of talented running backs: Quinshon Judkins, TreVeyon Henderson and James Peoples. Each runner has at least 16 carries this season and averages at least five yards per carry. True freshman wide receiver Jeremiah Smith was the No. 1 2024 recruit on 247 Sports. He's off to a hot start to his collegiate career with 11 catches for 211 yards and three touchdowns.
Quarterback Will Howard transferred from Kansas State football to Ohio State football earlier this year. The fifth-year senior is already playing well by completing 35-of-54 passes for 520 yards and four touchdowns.
Nine players on the Buckeyes' defense have already recorded at least 0.5 sacks. In the Buckeyes' home opener, LB Gabe Powers returned an interception for a touchdown.
A favorable schedule helps Ohio State football, Ryan Day
The Bulldogs have a much more difficult schedule ahead than the Buckeyes. Georgia still has contests upcoming at No. 4 Alabama, at No. 1 Texas, at No. 5 Ole Miss and vs. No. 6 Tennessee. If they make it that far, they'll have to play in the SEC Championship as well.
Rankings can change, though.
Ohio State has at No. 9 Oregon, vs. No. 22 Nebraska, at N0. 10 Penn State and closes the regular season with a home game against Michigan.
Texas has a leg up on the competition in the rankings, having already beaten the highly-ranked Michigan Wolverines in Week 2.
Ryan Day continues to challenge his players and program for more, despite the lofty expectations from the media and fans.
“Well, I think after last season and the season before, there’s frustration. There’s frustration from us more than anybody. The players, the coaches, the ones that are here and that are closest to it.
“There’s people that love Ohio State football. When you have 12 million fans, 5% is still a lot of people. So when you deal with that, you’re going to deal with all that comes with that. When you’re frustrated, sure, we all want to lash out, and we all want to be great. We all want to beat our rivals; we all want to win championships. So to see our guys kind of regroup after that and come back together and keep working towards this is important.”
More wins against Michigan (1-3 vs. the Wolverines) would help alleviate the pressure. So would a national championship because a 58-8 record only counts so much for such a storied program.
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