Ohio State is No. 2
Ohio State checks in at No. 2 in the first College Football Playoff rankings of 2024.
Notorious NCAA referee Ted Valentine will not work the NCAA Tournament. Valentine thinks it's due to a January incident in which he turned his back on North Carolina's Joel Berry.
From Jeff Goodman of ESPN:
"This is not right, it's just not fair," Valentine told ESPN. "It hit me like a ton of bricks. I'm being punished unjustly."
Valentine told ESPN he was informed by NCAA coordinator of officials J.D. Collins of the decision just prior to working the Wichita State-Houston AAC semifinal game on Saturday.
"I asked him why," Valentine said. "We talked about the Joel Berry situation and how he had a discussion with the Big Ten. But I told him, 'I fixed the situation.'"
The Big Ten removed Valentine from the Michigan State–Ohio State contest following the January episode.
