Pat McAfee: No. 3 Ohio State Buckeyes are 'Second-Best Team' in College Football
The Associated Press has the Ohio State Buckeyes ranked No. 3 on their top-25 list, but Pat McAfee disagrees.
During an appearance on "First Take," the ESPN host placed the Buckeyes second on his chart of the six best teams in college football, behind the No. 1 Georgia Bulldogs.
"They’ve had to prove it a couple of different times throughout the season, young quarterback in Kyle McCord, getting used to Marvin Harrison Jr. here at the college level," McAfee said.
Ohio State has already defeated two, top-ten teams this season: the Notre Dame Fighting Irish (ranked ninth at the time) and Penn State Nittany Lions (previously seventh in the country). The Buckeyes beat the Irish 17-14 on the road back on September 23, and the Nittany Lions in Columbus 20-12 just two weeks ago on October 21.
The Scarlet and Gray still have one more top-10 squad left on their regular-season schedule: the No. 2 Michigan Wolverines. The historic rivals take the field in Ann Arbor, Michigan on Saturday, November 25.
Along with those major victories, McAfee backed up his thoughts on the Buckeyes with cold, hard statistics. The former NFL punter cited Ohio State's soaring rankings on both offense and defense.
“Their defense is top five and points, yards, red zone, third down I think everything," McAfee said. "They are a stacked team. I like them.”
The remaining teams on McAfee's list are the Wolverines, No. 4 Florida State Seminoles, No. 5 Washington Huskies and No. 8 Alabama Crimson Tide, in that order.