Ohio State Trails Michigan in Sporting News' Post-Spring Top 25

The Ohio State Buckeyes return talent on both sides of the ball, but will need to prevail against the Michigan Wolverines to compete for a national championship.

Has Ohio State officially fallen behind the Michigan Wolverines? The Sporting News seems to think so.

The Buckeyes were ranked No. 4 with the Wolverines at No. 2 in Sporting News' post-spring top-25 rankings, as The Sporting News' Bill Bender wrote, despite not knowing who will be under center for Ohio State's season opener against Indiana on Sept. 2, there is simply too much talent on offense to fail."

"[Ohio State head coach] Ryan Day is 45-6 with three playoff appearances, and yet there is pressure given the consecutive losses to rival Michigan," Bender wrote. "The Buckeyes also have eight players on SN's Top 50 Big Board for 2024, including potential No. 1 pick Marvin Harrison Jr."

Bender highlighted three key games that could make or break Ohio State's season: Notre Dame on Sept. 23, Penn State on Oct. 21 and Michigan on Nov. 25.

He also said that defensive ends J.T. Tuimoloau and Jack Sawyer and cornerback Denzel Burke have "flashed All-American level play in the spring."

Despite firing its offensive coordinator Matt Weiss in the offseason, Bender praised the Wolverines' offensive talent with quarterback J.J. McCarthy and the two-headed monster of Blake Corum and Donovan Edwards at running back.

Bender highlighted "huge additions in the portal" for Michigan in the form of Stanford center Drake Nugent and Arizona State tackle LaDarius Henderson, as well as "NFL talent" on defensive in linebacker Junior Colson and defensive backs Will Johnson and Mike Sainristil.

Next season, Day will look to avoid becoming the first Buckeyes head coach since John Cooper from 1995-97 to lose three games in a row to Michigan on Nov. 25.

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