Ohio State turned in the team’s best game of the season on Saturday against Western Kentucky, dominating for a 63-10 win over the Hilltoppers, but it wasn’t enough to persuade voters to move the Buckeyes up in the AP Top 25.
In the most recent rankings released on Sept. 17, Ohio State remained at No. 6, trailing No. 5 USC, No. 4 Florida State, No. 3 Texas, No. 2 Michigan and No. 1 Georgia. The Buckeyes are followed by No. 7 Penn State, No. 8 Washington, No. 9 Notre Dame and No. 10 Oregon, ensuring Ohio State will play in a top-10 matchup next week at South Bend.
Iowa is the only other Big Ten team that landed in the rankings, coming in at No. 24, while Maryland and Wisconsin both received votes. The biggest fall in the poll belonged to Tennessee, which cratered 12 spots to No. 23 after a 29-16 loss to now-No. 25 Florida, and three teams – Oregon, No. 16 Oklahoma, No. 17 North Carolina and No. 18 Duke – all jumped three spots.
Here are the full results of the poll:
| Ranking | Team | Points (First-Place Votes) | Change |
| No. 1 | Georgia (3-0) | 1,566 (57) | – |
| No. 2 | Michigan (3-0) | 1,481 (2) | – |
| No. 3 | Texas (3-0) | 1,390 (3) | +1 |
| No. 4 | Florida State (3-0) | 1,378 (1) | -1 |
| No. 5 | USC (3-0) | 1,296 | – |
| No. 6 | Ohio State (3-0) | 1,291 | – |
| No. 7 | Penn State (3-0) | 1,217 | – |
| No. 8 | Washington (3-0) | 1,194 | – |
| No. 9 | Notre Dame (4-0) | 1,066 | – |
| No. 10 | Oregon (3-0) | 924 | +3 |
| No. 11 | Utah (3-0) | 921 | +1 |
| No. 12 | LSU (2-1) | 805 | +2 |
| No. 13 | Alabama (2-1) | 796 | -3 |
| No. 14 | Oregon State (3-0) | 715 | +2 |
| No. 15 | Ole Miss (3-0) | 657 | +2 |
| No. 16 | Oklahoma (3-0) | 606 | +3 |
| No. 17 | North Carolina (3-0) | 567 | +3 |
| No. 18 | Duke (3-0) | 530 | +3 |
| No. 19 | Colorado (3-0) | 509 | -1 |
| No. 20 | Miami (Fla.) (3-0) | 359 | +2 |
| No. 21 | Washington State (3-0) | 278 | +2 |
| No. 22 | UCLA (3-0) | 204 | +2 |
| No. 23 | Tennessee (2-1) | 198 | -12 |
| No. 24 | Iowa (3-0) | 125 | +1 |
| No. 25 | Florida (2-1) | 103 | NR |
