Ohio State Drops To No. 3, Falls Behind No. 2 Texas In Latest AP Top 25 Poll

Despite playing a near-perfect game against Western Michigan on Saturday night, defeating the Broncos 56-0, Ohio State fell to No. 3 in the latest AP top 25 released on Sunday for the first time this season.

The Buckeyes fell behind No. 2 Texas, who jumped one spot after coming away with a convincing 31-12 victory over then-No. 10 Michigan in Ann Arbor. 

Georgia reclaimed its top spot in the poll for the fourth straight week after taking care of Tennessee Tech 48-3 at home, receiving 54 votes for the top spot. Ohio State earned five first-place votes following the beatdown of Western Michigan, the same amount it received last week, while Texas gained four. 

Filling out the rest of the top five were No. 4 Alabama and No. 5 Ole Miss, while No. 6 Missouri, No. 7 Tennessee, No. 8 Penn State, No. 9 Oregon and No. 10 Miami (Fla.) rounded out the top ten. The Volunteers moved up seven spots from their No. 14 ranking last week — the highest jump of any team in the top 25 — after securing a blowout 51-10 win over then-No. 24 NC State, while the Ducks continued to dip in the rankings, falling another two spots after squeaking past Boise State 37-34 at home. 

The poll saw two notable teams drop out of the top 10 for the first time this season in Notre Dame and Michigan. The Fighting Irish fell 13 spots from No. 5 to No. 18, the biggest drop by any team this week, after suffering a stunning 16-14 home loss to now-No. 25 Northern Illinois. The Wolverines dropped seven spots to No. 17 after the blowout home loss to Texas, which snapped their 23-game home winning streak. 

The Big Ten has six teams represented in the top 25, including the Buckeyes, Ducks and Nittany Lions in the top 10 along with No. 11 USC, Michigan and No. 23 Nebraska. Iowa dropped out of the poll from No. 21 after falling at home to in-state rival and now-No. 21 Iowa State 20-19.

The Cornhuskers, led by true freshman quarterback and former Ohio State pledge Dylan Raiola, are in the top 25 for the first time since Sept. 3, 2019, after securing a 28-10 victory over Colorado at home. 

Nebraska is one of four newcomers to the poll, including Iowa State, Northern Illinois and No. 24 Boston College, who are in the top 25 for the first time since 2018.