COLUMBUS – Ohio State will start the 2023 college football season ranked No. 4 in the USA Today coaches’ poll.
Defending College Football Playoff champion Georgia is ranked No. 1 in the preseason poll, followed by Michigan and Alabama. LSU rounds out the top five.
The Buckeyes, who lost to the Bulldogs 42-41 in a CFP semifinal, finished the 2022-23 season with an 11-2 overall record and an 8-1 mark in the Big Ten.
USC, Penn State, Florida State, Clemson and Tennessee round out the top 10.
Four Ohio State opponents appear in the poll: No. 2 Michigan, No. 7 Penn State, No. 13 Notre Dame and No. 21 Wisconsin.
The 2023 Buckeyes return 16 starters from last year’s team that appeared in the College Football Playoff for the third time in the last four seasons.
Ohio state opens the season on Sept. 2 at Indiana (3:30 p.m./CBS).