Revamped Ohio State defense might have to wait to be tested

Five of their 12 regular season opponents are in the national top 10 of the current projections, including three in the top 10: Michigan, Notre Dame and Wisconsin.

SP+ — the brainchild of statistician Bill Connelly and originally found at FootballOutsiders.com before moving to ESPN — is a ranking derived from combining several factors, including offensive and defensive efficiency, big play ability, recent records and recruiting rankings. A team’s score is adjusted for opponent, and numbers from garbage time are filtered out.

The Buckeyes were No. 2 in the final SP+ rankings for 2021 despite having just the No. 20 defense to pair with the top-ranked offense. National champion Georgia was No. 1 overall, ranking No. 2 on offense and No. 1 defensively, while Alabama finished third, Michigan was fourth and Cincinnati No. 5.

The Bulldogs figure to be national contenders again despite having a record 15 players taken in the NFL Draft. They are No. 3 in the current projections, behind No. 2 Alabama and ahead of No. 4 Michigan.

The Wolverines are the highest-rated team on Ohio State’s schedule while Notre Dame is next at No. 7. (Those are the last and first teams on the schedule, respectively.)

Wisconsin is 10th with Penn State 13th and Michigan State 16th.

The only other opponents in the top 50 are No. 27 Iowa and No. 47 Maryland.

Here are two more takeaways from the updated rankings:

The newest SP+ reveals something else about Ohio State’s season: The biggest question about these Buckeyes might not be answered until late in the year.

The No. 1 task this offseason has been to fix a defense coming off two poor years, but Ohio State may not see much of a challenge on that side of the ball until November.

Michigan has the top-rated offense at No. 6 while Maryland is No. 15, and those are the last two opponents on the schedule.

They are the only top 25 offenses on the regular season slate, though the season-opener against Notre Dame will bring the projected No. 26 scoring unit to Columbus.

Next is Michigan State — a midseason road game — at No. 33. Then there is a drop to No. 53 (Penn State) and 58 (Wisconsin).

Meanwhile, Ohio State figures to be forced to earn the No. 1 ranking its offense is projected to hold: The Buckeyes face seven top 25 defenses and 10 in the top 60.

Topping the list is Wisconsin. The Badgers are rated No. 1 defensively while Iowa and Penn State are fourth and fifth. Notre Dame, with former defensive coordinator and Dayton native Marcus Freeman taking over as head coach, is projected No. 8 on that side of the ball while Michigan State is 16th and Michigan 20th.

Toledo is ranked 60th overall and 25th on ‘D’ while Rutgers (46) and Indiana (52) should bring respectable defenses to their contests with the Buckeyes, too.

While the numbers might like Ohio State, pollsters could still favor someone else to start the season.

Alabama is No. 1 in recently released top 25s from writers at ESPN, USA Today, The Athletic and The Sporting News while Ohio State is the popular No. 2.