Ohio State Remains At No. 3 In Latest AP Poll Behind No. 1 Texas, No. 2 Georgia

Following its 49-14 blowout win over Marshall on Saturday, Ohio State remained at No. 3 in the latest AP top 25 poll released on Sunday.

The Buckeyes find themselves at No. 3 for the second consecutive week behind No. 1 Texas and No. 2 Georgia, earning five first-place votes for the fourth week in a row. The Longhorns, who cruised to a 51-3 victory at home over Louisiana-Monroe in quarterback Arch Manning’s starting debut, earned 44 first-place votes, while Georgia, who was idle in Week 4, earned 13. 

Although the top four is exactly the same as the week prior with No. 4 Alabama staying put after an off week, the rest of the top 10 experienced some change. Following the Tide were No. 5 Tennessee, who traded spots with No.6 Ole Miss after a convincing 25-15 win at No. 21 Oklahoma, who dropped six spots from No. 15 to No. 21. 

No. 7 Miami (Fla.), No. 8 Oregon and No. 9 Penn State each jumped one spot, while No. 10 Utah jumped two spots following its 22-19 road win at No. 20 Oklahoma State, who dropped six spots from No. 14 after the loss. No. 11 Missouri fell out of the top 10 after a narrow 30-27 win at home against Vanderbilt. 

Defending national champion Michigan experienced the biggest jump in the rankings, surging six spots from No. 18 to No. 12 after its last-second 27-24 victory over No. 13 USC. The Wolverines join fellow Big Ten foe Illinois as the biggest winners of the poll, who moved up five spots from No. 24 to No. 19 after defeating Nebraska 31-24 on the road.

The Cornhuskers fell out of the rankings from No. 22 as a result, meaning the Big Ten now has six ranked teams entering Week 5, the second-most by any conference behind the SEC with nine teams. 

Several teams also experienced major drop offs following their Week 4 defeats, none more than No. 23 Kansas State, who fell 10 spots from No. 13 after a blowout 38-9 road loss to BYU. The Cougars now find themselves ranked within the top 25 for the first time since the 2022 season. 

BYU is one of two newcomers to the poll, joining No. 25 Boise State, who is ranked for the first time since 2020 after a 56-14 win over Portland State. The Broncos are the only non-Power Four team — other than independent Notre Dame at No. 16 — in the Week 5 poll.