Ohio State Buckeyes Behind Georgia Bulldogs In AP Top 25 Poll

The AP Top 25 Poll was released on Monday at noon and the Ohio State Buckeyes come in at No. 2 behind the Georgia Bulldogs.

Aug 1, 2024; Columbus, OH, USA; Ohio State Buckeyes head coach Ryan Day watches a punt during football camp at the Woody Hayes Athletic Complex. / Adam Cairns/Columbus Dispatch / USA TODAY NETWORK

The wait for the first AP Top 25 Poll for the 2024 season is officially over. The release happened at noon on Monday and the Ohio State Buckeyes get an identical result to the Coaches Poll released last week. The Buckeyes rank as the No. 2 team in the country headed into the new season, while the Georgia Bulldogs sit at No. 1 overall. The Buckeyes received 15 first-place votes compared to 46 for the Bulldogs.

The Oregon Ducks join the Ohio State Buckeyes as the second team from the Big Ten Conference to rank inside the top five. The Ducks sit at No. 3 just behind Ohio State, while the Texas Longhorns No. 4 and the Alabama Crimson Tide No. 5 round out the top five.

April 13, 2024; Columbus, Ohio, USA; Ohio State Buckeyes wide receiver Emeka Egbuka (2) competes during the first half of the LifeSports spring football game at Ohio Stadium on Saturday. / Barbara J. Perenic/Columbus Dispatch / USA TODAY NETWORK

As for the rest of the Big Ten, four other teams make the Top 25. The Penn State Nittany Lions are the third one to be listed at No. 8, just one spot ahead of the defending national champion Michigan Wolverines at No. 9. The USC Trojans come in at No. 23 and the Iowa Hawkeyes get the last spot at No. 25.

The Washington Huskies, Nebraska Cornhuskers and Wisconsin Badgers sit on the outside looking in as teams to receive votes.

The SEC led the way with most schools to make the Top 25 with nine coming from the newly expanded conference. Four happened to be in the top 10.

It is no surprise that Georgia and Ohio State went No. 1 and No. 2. This was widely expected leading up to these rankings. From an Ohio State perspective, the respect of getting the top spot would be a nice compliment, but at the same time, the No. 1 spot always puts an added target on your back from the start.

Of the last 20 AP preseason No. 1 ranked teams, only two have gone on to win a national title.