Ohio State ranked No. 1 in the first College Football Playoff rankings

Ohio State is ranked No. 1 in the first College Football Playoff rankings of the season.

The Buckeyes (8-0) are ranked third in both the US LBM Coaches and Associated Press media polls. They hoped their victories over No. 15 Notre Dame and No. 11 Penn State would impress the selection committee, and they did.

"The win against Penn State, the win at Notre Dame, the win at Wisconsin − they've proven they can do it at home," committee chairman Boo Corrigan said.

He pointed to Ohio State's stellar defense that's yielded only 10 points per game.

The Buckeyes' offense hasn't been up to its recent standard, but Corrigan mentioned Marvin Harrison Jr. and what OSU has done without Emeka Egbuka, who is expected to return this week against Rutgers.

"To pick completely on one side when the other side is so dominant − and the offense is really, really good − we've got to take all that into account," he said. "We came to the conclusion as a committee that they deserve the No. 1 ranking."

Two-time defending champion Georgia is No. 1 in the major polls and seems to be building momentum after struggling in some early games. No. 3 Michigan has been the most dominating team, but the Wolverines have played a notably weak schedule so far.

Michigan is embroiled in a scandal in which it is accused of stealing opponent's play signs by doing in-person advance scouting, which is prohibited by NCAA rules. Corrigan said that wasn't a factor in the CFP's ranking.

"It's an NCAA issue," Corrigan said. "It's not a CFP issue."

CFP executive director Bill Hancock said the allegations are just that, not proven facts.

"Michigan has played well all season," he said. "The fact of the matter is no one knows what happened. The NCAA is dealing right now with allegations only. The committee makes its judgments based on what happened on the field, and clearly Michigan has been a dominant team."

Florida State, Washington and Oregon round out the top six teams.

Ohio State was fourth in last year’s final CFP rankings. The Buckeyes lost 42-41 in the semifinals to Georgia. Ohio State was No. 2 in the first CFP ranking of 2022 behind Tennessee.

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The Buckeyes have not been ranked No. 1 in the CFP rankings since the next-to-last week of the 2019 season. OSU fell behind eventual champion Louisiana State and lost to Clemson in the CFP semifinals.

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Penn State is the only other Big Ten team in the CFP rankings.

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This article originally appeared on The Columbus Dispatch: Ohio State ranked No. 1 in the first College Football Playoff rankings