The curtain has fallen on another spectacular college football season, and despite a dud of a College Football Playoff national championship game, it was one to remember and one where Ohio State once again had a shot at claiming the ultimate prize.
While the Buckeyes came up a wee bit short against the Georgia Bulldogs, the expectation in Columbus is that OSU will make another run at it again in 2023. In fact, many of the same teams we’ve been seeing in high-stakes games on our television sets and streaming devices are expected to show up on those same platforms again next year.
We’ll be making the rounds on preseason expectations for Ohio State, the Big Ten and other teams in the weeks and months ahead, but one analyst we liked to follow consistently in 2022 was Fox College Football’s Joel Klatt. He shared his thoughts on his personal list of top teams weekly, and he was as unbiased as Michigan head coach Jim Harbaugh’s press conferences are quirky.
Well, now that the focus is on 2023 in what little offseason there is for college football these days, Klatt shared his very early top 10 for next season. Of course, we are interested in where he has Ohio State.
Here is Klatt’s way-too-early top 10 heading into next year and where the Buckeyes land in his opinion.
NEXT … Teams that almost made the cut
Almost among the top 10
On the Doorstep of the Top 10
Oregon Ducks
Oklahoma Sooners
Notre Dame Fighting Irish
TCU Horned Frogs
Clemson Tigers
NEXT … Klatt’s Top Ten
No. 10 - Washington Huskies
2022 Record
11-2 (7-2 in Pac-12) – Second in the conference
How 2022 Season Ended
Beat Texas, 27-20, in the Valero Alamo Bowl
No. 9 - Tennessee Volunteers
2022 Record
11-2 (6-2 in SEC) – Second in the East division
How the Season Ended
Beat Clemson, 31-14, in the Capital One Orange Bowl
No. 8 - USC Trojans
2022 Record
11-3 (8-1 in Pac-12) – Conference champions
How the Season Ended
Lost to Tulane, 31-14, in the Goodyear Cotton Bowl Classic
No. 7 - Florida State Seminoles
2022 Record
11-3 (5-3 in ACC) – Second in the Atlantic division
How the Season Ended
Beat Oklahoma, 35-32, in the Cheez-It Bowl
No. 6 - LSU Tigers
2022 Record
10-4 (6-2 in SEC) – West division champions
How the Season Ended
Beat Purdue, 63-7, in the Citrus Bowl
No. 5 - Penn State Nittany Lions
2022 Record
11-2 (7-2 in Big Ten) – Third in the East division
How the Season Ended
Beat Utah, 35-21, in the Rose Bowl
No. 4 - Alabama Crimson Tide
2022 Record
11-2 (6-2 in SEC) – Tied for first in the West division
How the Season Ended
Beat Kansas State, 45-20, in the Allstate Sugar Bowl
No. 3 - Ohio State Buckeyes
2022 Record
11-2 (8-1 in Big Ten) – Second in the East division
How the Season Ended
Lost to Georgia, 42-41, in the Chick-fil-A Peach Bowl
No. 2 - Michigan Wolverines
2022 Record
13-1 (9-0 in Big Ten) – Conference champions
How the Season Ended
Lost to TCU, 51-45, in the VRBO Fiesta Bowl
No. 1 - Georgia Bulldogs
2022 Record
15-0 (8-0 in SEC) – Conference and national champions
How the Season Ended
Beat TCU, 65-7, in the College Football Playoff national championship game
NEXT … Joel Klatt’s top ten and Twitter thread
Joel Klatt's early college football top ten and Twitter thread
My WAY TOO EARLY 2023 Top 10
1) @GeorgiaFootball
2) @UMichFootball
3) @OhioStateFB
4) @AlabamaFTBL
5) @PennStateFball
6) @LSUfootball
7) @FSUFootball
8) @uscfb
9) @Vol_Football
10) @UW_Football
Almost: @oregonfootball @OU_Football @NDFootball @TCUFootball @ClemsonFB— Joel Klatt (@joelklatt) January 10, 2023
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