Ohio State Becomes First Team to Beat Five AP Top-Five Opponents in One Season

Ohio State won five top-five games on its path to the national championship game.

The 2024 Buckeyes are the first team in college football history to win five games in the same season against teams who were ranked in the top five of the AP poll at the time they played Ohio State. Each of Ohio State’s last three wins of the season came against teams who were ranked in the top five of the final AP poll before the CFP – No. 1 Oregon, No. 4 Texas and No. 3 Notre Dame – while it also defeated No. 3 Penn State and No. 5 Indiana during the regular season.

Ohio State’s fifth top-five win of the season breaks a tie with 2019 LSU, 1967 USC and 1943 Notre Dame for the most wins over top-five-ranked teams in the AP poll in a single season.

The Buckeyes finished the season with wins over six of the other seven teams in the top eight of the final CFP rankings: No. 1 Oregon, No. 3 Texas, No. 4 Penn State, No. 5 Notre Dame, No. 7 Tennessee and No. 8 Indiana.

While the Buckeyes drew some criticism for their weak non-conference schedule entering the season, Ohio State ended up conquering what might be the most challenging path to a national championship any team has ever faced. Seven of its last 11 games of the season came against teams that went on to make the CFP, with the only loss in those games coming in a one-point loss to Oregon in Eugene before the Buckeyes got their revenge with a 41-21 win over the Ducks in the Rose Bowl.