COLUMBUS, Ohio -- Which way is Ohio State’s football program trending?

Not team, but program.

It’s a question that has been asked as a top-10 team with just one loss, a real shot at the Big Ten Championship and a path to the College Football Playoff has played some games on Saturdays that haven’t inspired excitement or confidence. After Saturday’s 26-6 win over Michigan State, I wrote that the Buckeyes aren’t very scary.

That’s not saying they aren’t good, and that’s not really taking anything away from a 20-point road win over a top-20 team.

But you’ve seen dominance from the Buckeyes many times in the past. And I think most would acknowledge you haven’t seen that kind of dominance in more than a month, at least, with this team.

Why? There are several reasons, but if you take a look at the roster, I think one significant reason becomes clear.

A ROSTER EXAMINATION

Many of the older Buckeyes playing a lot are good but not great. And the Class of 2017, the second-year players of which so much is expected, haven’t made the impact anticipated this season -- but they still could in the future.

The Buckeyes, as a program, aren’t trending down. But in some ways this season, they might be treading water.

A look at this roster might explain a lot.

There are roughly 33 Buckeyes on offense and defense with regular roles this year. I didn’t include freshman situational pass rusher Tyreke Smith; or senior linebacker Dante Booker, who has been getting a few series the last two games; or every guy who works in for a few snaps at defensive tackle. You might quibble with a player on or off the list here or there, but for the most part these are the core 33.

There are six seniors, 15 juniors and 12 sophomores.

Three of the seniors are on the offensive line - guards Malcolm Pridgeon and Demetrius Knox and right tackle Isaiah Prince. No offense to them, but the Buckeyes could, and should, be better at all three of those positions next year.

The other three are receivers - Parris Campbell, Johnnie Dixon and Terry McLaurin. They are great teammates, and no position group provides more leadership on the team. But none of them are Michael Thomas or Devin Smith or Curtis Samuel.

Now, the juniors.

The best junior, the best player on the team and one of the best players in the country, defensive end Nick Bosa, is gone. He hasn’t played since the middle of week three and then left to train to recover and train for the NFL, so we’re not counting him.

There are maybe five or six juniors who could think about leaving for the NFL, but only one, defensive tackle Dre’Mont Jones, would leave a hole that would be difficult to fill. Another, Michael Jordan, is an excellent guard who has bene forced to play out of position at center all season. But I don’t think Mike Weber or Jordan Fuller or Kendall Sheffield or Damon Arnette are irreplaceable.

And, the sophomores.

Quarterback Dwayne Haskins is the only one of the redshirt sophomores who are likely to leave. Most of the other starters are true sophomores who haven’t played at the level I anticipated - J.K. Dobbins, Jeffrey Okudah, Baron Browning, Chase Young. They are good players, but they have not done what the 2013 Ohio State class of Joey Bosa, Ezekiel Elliott, Darron Lee, Vonn Bell and Eli Apple did in their second seasons in 2014. That was the comparison I made before the season, and expecting a lot from these sophomores is what led me to predict the Buckeyes to make the playoff.

RECENT RECRUITING

Let’s look at the recruiting in recent classes to explain why the Buckeyes are lacking some older all-conference players and why the sophomores not taking giant steps has such an effect.

* Ohio State’s Class of 2014, the fifth-year seniors, ranked No. 3 in the nation. That featured 11 players ranked among the 150 recruits in the nation. Many of them - Marshon Lattimore, Curtis Samuel, Raekwon McMillan, Jamarco Jones - succeeded and moved on.

Three of those top 150 recruits are among the contributors now - Campbell, Dixon and Knox.

* Ohio State’s Class of 2015, the fourth-year players, ranked No. 7 in the nation. It had nine players among the top 150 recruits.

Four of those top 150 recruits are among the contributors now - Weber, Jashon Cornell, Prince and Jones.

* Ohio State Class of 2016, the third-year players, ranked No. 4 in the nation. It featured 10 players among the top 150 recruits.

Six of those top 150 recruits are among the contributors now - Jonathon Cooper, Austin Mack, Davon Hamilton, Ben Victor, Jordan and Jordan Fuller. Only Jordan and Fuller have ever played at close to an all-conference level.

* Now we get to the 2017 and 2018 classes, both of which were ranked No. 2 in the nation. The 2017 class had 13 players in top 150, and the 2018 class had 15 players in the top 150.

Eight of those top 150 players from 2017 are contributing - Young, Okudah, Browning, Shaun Wade, Dobbins, Isaiah Pryor, Brendon White and Kendall Sheffield. But Dobbins hasn’t been what he was last year, and it’s reasonable to expect all of the others haven’t reached their ceilings.

By another number, here are the overall recruiting ratings from 247sports.com for the classes that make up the this roster.

2014: 296.08

2015: 279.6

2016: 289.12

2017: 312.14

2018: 317.06

Those ratings judge both quality and quantity. The current Buckeyes are built on classes in 2015 and 2016 that weren’t rated as high as the years around them. The historic 2013 class, by the way, was at 303.35.

Among the five best recruits in Ohio State’s 2015 class, Jerome Baker is in the NFL; Torrance Gibson transferred; Justin Hilliard has battled injuries and is a backup; Mike Weber has been a solid starter and Jashon Cornell is a backup.

Among the five best recruits in Ohio State’s 2016 class, Nick Bosa is gone; Jonathon Cooper is a solid starter; Demario McCall doesn’t really have a role; Austin Mack, currently out with an injury, has been in the receiver rotation; and then Dwayne Haskins is Dwayne Haskins.

That’s the 10 best recruits from the current fourth-year and third-year players and only Haskins is a true star for the Buckeyes right now.

WHAT IT MEANS

What’s the conclusion, for now and the future?

The 2015 and 2016 were down just a bit, and then there were several injuries and misses at the top of those classes. That caused Bosa’s injury and absence to hurt even more.

There should still be optimism around the 2017 and 2018 classes, which were ranked significantly higher, but they aren’t lifting the team this year. Any projection for a great 2018 season banked on the Class of 2017 doing great things now.

What’s the result? A good team, but maybe not a dominant one. A team burned by the loss of Bosa, and waiting on some of the sophomores. A team that won’t have as many holes to fill next year - they’ll just be waiting for the Classes of 2017 and 2018 to do more.

A top-10 team that might have some issues this year. But a program that shouldn’t be going anywhere.

LOOKING AT OHIO STATE’S CURRENT CONTRIBUTORS

SENIORS (6 total, 6 offense, 0 defense)

Offense

Parris Campbell, H-back

Terry McLaurin, WR

Johnnie Dixon, WR

Demetrius Knox, OG

Malcolm Pridgeon, OG

Isaiah Prince, OT

JUNIORS (15 total, 6 offense, 9 defense)

Offense

Michael Jordan, C

K.J. Hill, H-back

Mike Weber, RB

Rashod Berry, TE

Ben Victor, WR

Austin Mack, WR

Defense

Dre’Mont Jones, DT

Robert Landers, DT

Davon Hamilton, DT

Jonathon Cooper, DE

Jashon Cornell, DE

Malik Harrison, LB

Damon Arnette, CB

Kendall Sheffield, CB

Jordan Fuller, S

SOPHOMORES (12 total, 4 offense, 8 defense)

Offense

Dwayne Haskins, QB

J.K. Dobbins, RB

Luke Farrell, TE

Thayer Munford, LT

Defense

Chase Young, DE

Pete Werner, LB

Tuf Borland, LB

Baron Browning, LB

Jeffrey Okudah, CB

Shaun Wade, CB/S

Brendon White, S

Isaiah Pryor, S