Ohio State remains No. 2, but gains ground on No. 1 LSU in AP Top 25 college football poll
COLUMBUS (WCMH) — Ohio State remains No. 2 in the Associated Press Top 25 college football poll, but gained some ground on No. 1 LSU.
The Tigers remained No. 1 for the fifth straight week in the AP Top 25 presented by Regions Bank, receiving 50 first-places votes. The Buckeyes got nine first-place votes, up from five last week. No. 3 Clemson received three first-place votes. No. 4 Georgia and No. 5 Alabama also held their spots.
Ohio State is coming off a 28-17 victory over Penn State that dropped the Nittany Lions two spots to No. 11.
Oregon fell eight spots to No. 14 after losing 31-28 at Arizona State. That allowed Utah to move up a spot to No. 6 and Oklahoma to No. 7. Florida, Minnesota and *ichigan round out the top 10.
Ohio State’s ranking announced on Sunday comes after the Buckeyes defeated Penn State 28-17 in their first real slugfest of the season on Saturday in their final home game.
The Buckeyes responded, winning with defense.
Justin Hillard intercepted Penn State backup Will Levis’ pass and the Buckeyes stopped the Nittany Lions on fourth down on two late drives to seal a 28-17 victory and lock up the Big Ten East title.
J.K. Dobbins rushed for 157 yards and two touchdowns, and Justin Fields threw for 188 yards and two scores for Ohio State (10-0, 8-0).
Ohio State held on after Penn State (9-2, 7-2) took advantage of two second-half turnovers to climb back in the game after trailing 21-0. This was a far different scenario for Ohio State, which hadn’t yet had to play hard into the second half.
“We talked about going into a big heavyweight match, and you have to take shots,” Ohio State coach Ryan Day said. “One of the things about playing in a game like this is you have to be willing to take punches and you have to not flinch when it happens. That was a great example. That was the first time we really were taking shots there.”
The Ohio State defense was bolstered by Chase Young, who returned from a two-game suspension.
| Rank | Team | Record | Previous rank | Conference |
| 1 | LSU | 11-0 | 1 | SEC |
| 2 | Ohio State | 11-0 | 2 | Big Ten |
| 3 | Clemson | 11-0 | 3 | ACC |
| 4 | Georgia | 10-1 | 4 | SEC |
| 5 | Alabama | 10-1 | 5 | SEC |
| 6 | Utah | 10-1 | 7 | Pac-12 |
| 7 | Oklahoma | 10-1 | 8 | Big 12 |
| 8 | Florida | 9-2 | 10 | SEC |
| 9 | Minnesota | 10-1 | 11 | Big Ten |
| 10 | *ichigan | 9-2 | 12 | Big Ten |
| 11 | Baylor | 10-1 | 13 | Big 12 |
| 12 | Penn State | 9-2 | 9 | Big Ten |
| 13 | Wisconsin | 9-2 | 14 | Big Ten |
| 14 | Oregon | 9-2 | 6 | Pac-12 |
| 15 | Notre Dame | 9-2 | 15 | IA Independents |
| 16 | Auburn | 8-3 | 16 | SEC |
| 17 | Memphis | 10-1 | 18 | American Athletic |
| 18 | Cincinnati | 10-1 | 17 | American Athletic |
| 19 | Iowa | 8-3 | 19 | Big Ten |
| 20 | Boise State | 10-1 | 20 | Mountain West |
| 21 | Oklahoma State | 8-3 | 22 | Big 12 |
| 22 | Appalachian State | 10-1 | 23 | Sun Belt |
| 23 | Virginia Tech | 8-3 | 25 | ACC |
| 24 | Navy | 8-2 | — | American Athletic |
| 25 | USC | 8-4 | — | Pac-12 |