All but one of the 61 coaches who vote in the USA Today coaches poll ranked Ohio State as one of the six best teams in the country.
Dabo Swinney, in his final ballot ahead of the Ohio State-Clemson Sugar Bowl, voted the Buckeyes at No. 11. He put them behind Alabama, Clemson, Notre Dame, Texas A&M, Florida, Georgia, Cincinnati, Oklahoma, Iowa State and Coastal Carolina.
All of the 60 other coaches put them at No. 6 or higher, and all but two of them – Swinney (No. 11) and Georgia's Kirby Smart (No. 6) – had Ohio State between No.