6 Ohio State teams make ESPN’s list of 150 greatest college football teams

“As part of ESPN’s year-long initiative marking the 150-year anniversary of college football, we set out to rank the 150 greatest college football single-season teams of all time.”

— ESPN

Celebrating 150 years of college football, ESPN unveiled their list of the best 150 teams to ever grace the college football field. With help from a 150-person panel, including retired writers, broadcasters, sports information directors, coaches, players and an assortment of others tapped into the world of CFB, the list mixes teams of yesteryear and today.

But since we’re an Ohio State blog, you’re probably more focused on what Buckeye teams made the list. In total, six spots belong to the Buckeyes, with the 1968 national champion team being ranked the highest at No. 13.

The other five teams are: the 2002 BCS National Champion team at No. 34, 1954 AP National Champion team at No. 61, 2014 College Football Playoff squad at No. 118, the 10-0-1 1973 team at No. 137, and 1944 unbeaten team at No. 150.

Is 13th too low for that ‘68 super sophomore team? Debatable. The likes of 2004 USC (with Reggie Bush, Matt Leinart, and head coach Pete Carroll) are in front of them, as is 2005 Texas, 1979 and 2009 Alabama, and 1999 Florida State, just to name a few.

Personally, the biggest gripe is how low the 2014 CFP team was ranked. In fact, it’s almost criminal how under ranked they are. Ezekiel Elliott, Joey Bosa, Michael Thomas were the consistent figures on the team, and Cardale Jones took over in the postseason and somehow quarterbacked the team to two runaway victories.

It’s impossible to grade teams in different eras under a uniform criteria. But is the 1952 Georgia Tech Yellow Jackets, a team that didn’t win a national title better than 2014 OSU? I don’t think so. Also, teams from the 1800s and early 1900s are scattered throughout the list. Could any of those teams beat any of the modern Alabamas, Miamis, Ohio States, or Michigans in a head-to-head contest? Probably not.

Quite a few teams that landed high were there because they won titles and beat Ohio State along the way. The No. 3 overall team, 1972 USC, won the title by demolishing Woody Hayes’ Buckeyes 42-17 in the Rose Bowl. 2005 Texas, who came in at No. 5, pulled off a thriller against USC in the BCS Championship Game, but if they lose in Columbus earlier in the year, then who knows if they would’ve actually made it the title game.

Just so you know: the highest ranked Wolverine team comes in at No. 43, with that team being the split championship squad of 1997. In total, six Michigan squads made the list, but only two of them were teams after 1960.

Overall, the top squad was Nebraska’s dominant 1971 unit. That Cornhusker team laid waste to everyone that got in their way, including No. 2 Alabama in the Orange Bowl to become champions. While many call Ohio State-Michigan 2006 the “Game of the Century”, the previous century’s best game, arguably, was Oklahoma vs. Nebraska in 1971. That game picked up the “Game of the Century “ moniker—and delivered.

We can debate the ranking of these teams all day, all night, and every week on a podcast. But one thing is for certain: In these 150 years of college football, Ohio State has been one of the more prolific programs in the country.

“NFL Network’s Tom Pelissero reported Tuesday morning that Conley has been released from the hospital.”

— NFL.com

A scary moment came in the second Monday Night Football game. In the third quarter of the Oakland Raiders-Denver Broncos contest, former Ohio State cornerback Gareon Conley sustained an apparent head/neck injury after attempting to make tackle.

While chasing down Broncos’ running back Royce Freeman, the Raider was getting dragged on the tackle before teammate Jonathan Abram unleashed a big hit on Freeman. In the aftermath, Abrams’ foot/leg hit Conley in the back of the head/neck, as both sputtered out of bounds with Freeman.

Conley was down on the field for minutes, and would be carted off the field on a stretcher.

Good news has come now, as Tom Pelissero of the NFL Network reported that Conley was released from the hospital. Early Tuesday evening, Conley jumped on Twitter to give an update as well.

While the Week 2 status for Conley is up in the air, there’s at least good news that he is out of the hospital. We hope for a speedy recovery for Gareon!

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