College football is upon us! The AP Poll was released on Monday with the defending national champions, the Ohio State Buckeyes, placing at 3 behind the Texas Longhorns and the Penn State Nittany Lions. Despite a high ranking and preseason polls meaning next to nothing, the Associated Press got this wrong, and here’s why.

1 — The National Champions

While last season doesn’t hold all the weight, it should hold a significant amount. After losing to Michigan last season, Ohio State’s Ryan Day looked to be fired if they fell short in the postseason. Instead, this team rallied to capture the National Championship after the College Football Playoff.

For Ohio State, that means something. This is a blue blood program in college football that did hoist the trophy above their head last year. It wasn’t a fluke win, it was a convincing championship victory with their performance in these playoffs.

As the legendary 16-time world champion Ric Flair said; “to be the man, you gotta beat the man.” For now, the Buckeyes are that man and having them at three is a slap in the face.

2 — The Returning Players

You can make the argument a defending champion should drop due to losing key players from the season before. The Buckeyes did lose significant players on offense like quarterback Will Howard, receiver Emeka Egbuka, and both running backs TreVeyon Henderson and Quinshon Judkins to the NFL Draft. But let’s not forget how stacked this roster is already.

One major piece to the puzzle is receiver Jeremiah Smith, who could be in the running for the Heisman trophy. If Smith was draft eligible this spring, he would have likely went top 5. Smith was Ohio State’s best receiver and perhaps the nation’s as well. Jeremiah Smith is often compared to Megatron and as long as he is a Buckeye, this offense is dangerous. Especially when you pair him up with Carnell Tate on the other side who had 52 catches, 733 yards, and 4 touchdowns in 2024.

Defensively, they bring back some major pieces. Sonny Styles was second in the team with 100 tackles last year and returns for his senior year. The Buckeyes have Davison Igbinosun and All-American Caleb Downs in the secondary returning after both played more than 1,800 snaps in their collegiate careers.

3 — Opening Week

If you aren’t going to give it to Ohio State for winning the championship last year and bringing back a loaded roster, you have to be aware of Week 1 of the college football season. The Buckeyes open the season on August 30, 2025 against the Texas Longhorns, who were granted the #1 spot in the AP Poll. If they truly believe the Longhorns are the best team in the nation, why not have the Buckeyes be #2? Opening up the season with the top two seeds competing is a box office game and would make college football a lot of money from ticket sales and television deals.

What better way to settle who would be #1 than the opening kickoff of the college football season? It’s almost a certainty the winner of this game is #1 heading into Week 2 solely based off the strength of opponent that opening week, so why waste time with putting Ohio State at three?

P.S. The #1 Texas Longhorns are underdogs going into their matchup against the supposed #3 team in the nation, the Ohio State Buckeyes.

In my humble opinion, Ohio State was robbed of being recognized as the #1 team and the only ones suffering from it is college football.