Following a sluggish performance in its 21-17 victory over unranked Nebraska, Ohio State stayed at No. 4 for the third straight week in the most recent AP top 25 poll released on Oct. 27, setting up a top-four matchup with No. 3 Penn State in State College, Pa., in Week 10.
The entire top four remained unchanged from Week 9 to Week 10, with Oregon manning the top spot and receiving 61 first-place votes following a 38-9 win over now-No. 24 Illinois, followed by No. 2 Georgia (one vote) and the Nittany Lions and Buckeyes.
There was some shakeup in the top five, with No. 5 Miami jumping No. 6 Texas after the Hurricanes won convincingly over Florida State and the Longhorns squeaked past Vanderbilt on the road, winning 27-24.
The rest of the top 10 — outside of Tennessee, who stayed at No. 7 during its off week — also features some newcomers. No. 8 Notre Dame jumped four spots from No. 12 after a 51-14 drubbing of then-No. 24 Navy, No. 9 BYU moved up two spots from No. 11 following a 37-24 victory at UCF and No. 10 Texas A&M jumped four spots from No. 14 following a convincing 38-23 win over then-No. 8 LSU.
Each of those teams passed Clemson and Iowa State, who both fell to No. 11 in a two-way tie after being idle in Week 9.
Indiana also stayed at No. 13 following its impressive 31-17 win over Washington, which improved it to 8-0 on the season, tied for the program’s best start in history. The Curt Cignetti-led Hoosiers are one of five Big Ten teams in the latest AP poll, including the Ducks, Nittany Lions and Buckeyes in the top five and Illinois at No. 24.
Two newcomers entered the poll for Week 10. Washington State was ranked No. 22 following its 29-26 win over San Diego State, while head coach Deion Sanders and No. 23 Colorado returned to the top 25 for the first time since the beginning of last season after a 34-23 win over Cincinnati.
The only two teams that fell out of the rankings were Navy and Vanderbilt.
