Even when No. 4 Ohio State blows out its opponents, the Buckeyes still lose ground in the rankings, and in turn, the race for the 2013 national title.
Ohio State is coming off back-to-back routs of Penn State and Purdue, with an average margin of victory of 52.5 points. But following each win, the gap between the Buckeyes and the top three teams—Alabama, Florida State and Oregon—has only grown.
Doug Lesmerises of the Plain Dealer writes that over the last two weeks, the Buckeyes have taken a step back in the coaches poll, which makes up one-third of the BCS rankings:
With dominating wins over Penn State and the Boilermakers, Ohio State has seemed to make more of a case to maybe be thought of with the top group of Alabama, Oregon and Florida State. Instead, the Buckeyes are backing up toward No. 5 Baylor.
That step back was reflected Sunday night when the the latest BCS standings were released. Ohio State is still ranked fourth, but the Buckeyes are trailing the No. 3 spot (held by Oregon) by a margin of .0715, as opposed to last week’s difference of .0371:
On the flip side, Baylor remains nearly a tenth of a point behind Ohio State—which is a significant margin—but the Bears have the kind of schedule that could put some heat on the Buckeyes.
Baylor will face three ranked opponents in consecutive weeks. No. 10 Oklahoma visits Waco, Texas this Thursday, No. 15 Texas Tech comes visiting the following Saturday and then the Bears…
Continue Reading: Ohio State Is Losing Ground in the Title Race Despite Blowout Victories
