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Chop Chat’s 2016 Preseason College Football Top 10: No. 8

By Jason Parker

Nov 28, 2015; Ann Arbor, MI, USA; Ohio State Buckeyes quarterback J.T. Barrett (16) rushes in the second half against the Ohio State Buckeyes at Michigan Stadium. Ohio State won 42-13. Mandatory Credit: Rick Osentoski-USA TODAY Sports
Nov 28, 2015; Ann Arbor, MI, USA; Ohio State Buckeyes quarterback J.T. Barrett (16) rushes in the second half against the Ohio State Buckeyes at Michigan Stadium. Ohio State won 42-13. Mandatory Credit: Rick Osentoski-USA TODAY Sports /
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Here’s a look at the next team in Chop Chat’s 2016 Preseason College Football Top 10 Rankings.

As we are in the final month without college football (thank God that nightmare is almost over), teams from across the country will be hitting the practice fields getting ready for the 2016 season. For 25 of those teams, the season will start being ranked in the first polls for the 2016 campaign.

From Tallahassee to Tuscaloosa and Norman to South Bend, everyone from the traditional powers to the upstart programs will look to find their name with a number beside it for (at least) the opening weekend of the 2016 season.

Here at Chop Chat, we aren’t different from anyone else…we have the teams we think will start off the year ranked way too high and those who aren’t getting enough respect. So, here is our list of the top ten teams entering the 2016 season.

Before we get hate mail from fans of schools who are mad we didn’t rank their team high enough (or didn’t rank them at all), know that this is just a preseason list entering week one. In no way are we saying that this list is the way things will end up on January 10, 2017 after the national championship team. After all, with (spoiler alert) a lot of our top 10 teams playing each other this season, there will be plenty of changes before the month of September is even done.

No. 8 – Ohio State Buckeyes

If not for a last second field goal by Michigan State on a cold November evening in Columbus, it’s entirely possible that we would have seen a back-to-back championship for the Buckeyes under head coach Urban Meyer. While the depth chart says this season may be a down year, one thing we’ve learned is to not doubt what takes place with this program.

Under center will be J.T. Barrett, who finally won the starting job back midway through the 2015 season (only to lose it for one game due to a DUI arrest during the bye week). It will be plenty of work for the offense that loses its top skill players (like running back Ezekiel Elliott), but Ohio State has plenty of talent who saw playing time last year that won’t be shocked under the big lights.

The defense also looks like the cupboard is pretty bare, losing players likes Joey Bosa, Darron Lee and Vonn Bell to the pro game. The leadership role on that side of the ball will come down to linebacker Raekwon McMillian, who is just one of three returning starters for Meyer. In the old school, run game Big Ten, having experience in the middle will be vital to the season not crumbling.

Game of the Year

November 26th vs. Michigan – Since Jim Harbaugh took over at “that school up north”, the hatred in this rivalry has gone back to the level it belongs. There is a decent chance that this finale could be for one of the four spots in the College Football Playoff.

Biggest Chance for an Upset

October 15th at Wisconsin – The Big Ten is a tricky animal, and a road game in Madison after only having one tough game by this point in the year (at Oklahoma in September) could signal that the Buckeyes are ripe to be knocked off.

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