Quarterback J.T. Barrett and middle linebacker Raekwon McMillan will lead a band of Ohio State greenhorns into the 2016 season. That's what happens when 12 players get drafted and three others sign undrafted free agent deals.
Ohio State fans, however, might be surprised to learn just how inexperienced their team will be.
College football oracle Phil Steele already rated Ohio State as the No. 6 team in his preseason rankings. Apparently, that makes him a firm believe in Urban Meyer's recruiting and coaching because his formula pegs the Buckeyes as the most inexperienced team in the country.
From philsteele.com:
I then devised a formula that factors all [five experience measurements] into the total points equation and then turned the point total into a number from 100 to 0. A 100 would be a team with 25 seniors (NCAA scholarship limit) in the two deep and every yard and tackle returning and 120+ career starts on the offensive line. A 0 would be a team with no experience and 0 seniors in the two deep. Just as in years past the first number is where each team ranks in the NCAA.
The good news for Buckeye fans is experience doesn't appear to be a strong indicator of future playoff success. Here are the 10 most experienced teams in the country, according to Steele's formula:
| RANK | SCHOOL | CONFERENCE | EXP. POINTS |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | KENT STATE | MAC | 79.9 |
| 2 | CHARLOTTE | C-USA | 77.4 |
| 3 | TENNESSEE | SEC | 76.9 |
| 4 | BYU | IND | 75.9 |
| 5 | EASTERN MICHIGAN | MAC | 75.6 |
| 6 | OKLAHOMA STATE | BIG 12 | 75.4 |
| 7 | PITTSBURGH | ACC | 74.3 |
| 8 | LOUISIANA STATE | SEC | 74.2 |
| 9 | COLORADO | PAC-12 | 73.7 |
| 10 | CENTRAL FLORIDA | AAC | 73.2 |
By comparison, here are the 10 bottom teams, thus the most inexperienced:
| RANK | SCHOOL | CONFERENCE | EXP. POINTS |
|---|---|---|---|
| 119 | CALIFORNIA | PAC-12 | 46.1 |
| 120 | MASSACHUSSETS | IND | 45.6 |
| 121 | NOTRE DAME | IND | 45.4 |
| 122 | STANFORD | PAC-12 | 44.5 |
| 123 | LOUISIANA TECH | C-USA | 43.7 |
| 124 | AKRON | MAC | 43.5 |
| 125 | BUFFALO | MAC | 42.9 |
| 126 | ARIZONA STATE | PAC-12 | 41.7 |
| 127 | NAVY | AAC | 41.6 |
| 128 | OHIO STATE | B1G | 38.9 |
As you can see, the inexperience gap between Ohio State and Navy, the second-to-last place team, is almost as big as the gap between No. 127 and No. 121.
Alabama, the reigning national champion, is No. 116 with 47.2 experience points.
Here is how Ohio State's 2016 regular season schedule stacks up:
| RANK | OPPONENT | CONFERENCE | EXP. POINTS |
|---|---|---|---|
| 50 | BOWLING GREEN | MAC | 64 |
| 53 | TULSA | AAC | 63.1 |
| 99 | at OKLAHOMA | BIG 12 | 54 |
| 28 | RUTGERS | B1G | 67.54 |
| 77 | INDIANA | B1G | 59.1 |
| 105 | at WISCONSIN | B1G | 52.2 |
| 81 | at PENN STATE | B1G | 57.8 |
| 45 | NORTHWESTERN | B1G | 64.7 |
| 64 | NEBRASKA | B1G | 61.3 |
| 71 | at MARYLAND | B1G | 60 |
| 117 | at MICHIGAN STATE | B1G | 46.8 |
| 61 | MICHIGAN | B1G | 61.7 |
Ohio State opens fall camp Sunday, Aug. 7. Its 2016 season begins Sept. 3 against Bowling Green. If the chart above is any indicator, Meyer may want to start prepping for Rutgers right now.
