Ohio State launches to No. 1 on the heels of upsets
Unpredictable? Maybe that is the best way to describe the 2007 college football season.
There is one familiar sight, though.
Ohio State is No. 1 in the BCS.
Two more upsets Saturday helped vault the Buckeyes into the top spot in the first BCS ratings released Sunday. Ohio State also climbed back to No. 1 in the AP Top 25 poll.
It all adds up to this: If the Buckeyes win their final five games, they will play in the BCS national championship game for the second straight year.
The Buckeyes (7-0) were as low as No. 11 in the AP poll five weeks ago. They kept winning, while teams ahead of them fell victim to a string of upsets that threw the national title game race up for grabs.
The latest two came hours after Ohio State's 48-3 win over Kent State on Saturday.
LSU, in its second week as the nation's top-ranked team, was stunned by then-No. 17 Kentucky, 43-37, in triple overtime. That left the door open for No. 2 California, but the Golden Bears lost at home, 31-28, to Oregon State. It was the first time in 11 years the top two teams in the AP poll lost on the same day.
The Buckeyes were No. 1 all last season before losing the national championship game to Florida. The core group of players from that team is gone. A new group is picking up where they left off.
"We didn't expect to be ranked this high at this point of the year," sophomore receiver Brian Hartline said. "We are growing so fast, and it is fun to see is improve, so being ranked this high is not a bad thing at all."
There still is a lot of work to do.
Among the big challenges the Buckeyes have ahead is an Oct. 27 game at Penn State. Beaver Stadium is the site of Ohio State's last regular season loss two years ago.
The Buckeyes will have a lot to gain and just as much to lose if they are still undefeated going into the final regular season game at Michigan on Nov. 17. The Wolverines have won five in a row after starting the season 0-2.
Ohio State also cannot look past home games against Michigan State, Wisconsin and Illinois. Michigan State visits Ohio Stadium on Saturday.
"We know next Sunday when the next rankings come out that we'll be up there again if we win and we'll be elsewhere if we don't," Head Coach Jim Tressel said. "So I think the guys understand the task at hand."
South Florida, which was never ranked before this season, is second in the BCS ratings and AP poll. Boston College, LSU and Oklahoma follow South Florida in the BCS.
Reach Canton Repository sports writer Mike Popovich at (330) 580-8341 or e-mail: mike.popovich@cantonrep.com