Buckeyes Stay Top 5 in ESPN SP+ Post-Spring Rankings

ESPN released its post-spring SP+ rankings and post-spring returning production rankings. SP+ is a “tempo- and opponent-adjusted measure of college football efficiency” that has been in use since 2008.

The Ohio State Buckeyes football program hopes to continue its consistent play in 2023. Now that the spring is in the rearview mirror and the transfer portal players have somewhat settled into where they'll be for the most part, we can spend our college football time on rankings for the upcoming season.

ESPN released its post-spring SP+ rankings and post-spring returning production rankings. SP+ is a “tempo- and opponent-adjusted measure of college football efficiency” that has been in use since 2008.

The Buckeyes stayed at No. 2 in SP+ rankings since the first iteration came out last February. Their rating of 29.6 is second only to the Georgia Bulldogs' 29.9, as the top four teams remained the same since February.

But Ohio State did suffer slightly in the individual offensive and defensive SP+ ratings. On offense, the Buckeyes are No. 2 with an offensive SP+ rating of 46.4 and No. 13 defensively with a 16.7 rating. In February they were No. 1 on offense and No. 10 on defense.

What does all this mean? It means that ESPN projects Ohio State to be 29.6 points better than the average college football team in 2023. And even more impressive, the Buckeyes are expected to average 46.4 points on offense while allowing just 16.3 points per contest defensively.

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