Buckeyes snatch No. 3 spot from Penn State in new AP, coaches polls
COLUMBUS, Ohio (WCMH) -- The Buckeyes have returned to the top-three in the latest college football rankings after a season-defining win over Penn State 20-13 on Saturday.
Ohio State (7-1, 4-1) has snatched Penn State's former spot in both the Associated Press poll and USA Today coaches poll as the third ranked team in the country. The Buckeyes only sit behind No. 1 Oregon (9-0, 6-0), the lone team they have lost to, and No. 2 Georgia (7-1, 5-1), who now sits atop the SEC standings.
The movement in the poll puts the Buckeyes in position to be ranked in that same spot or higher for the first College Football Playoff rankings that will be revealed on Tuesday at 7 p.m. The rankings reveal will be the first in the 12-team playoff era and should come with many surprises.
Penn State, now ranked No. 6 in the AP poll, was one of three unbeaten teams to lose in Week 10 along with Iowa State and Pittsburgh. The Cyclones lost on a late fourth quarter drive to Texas Tech 23-22 while the Panthers were smoked in Dallas by Southern Methodist University 48-25. The last unbeaten teams remaining are Oregon, Indiana, Miami, BYU, and Army.
Two more major upsets occurred as Texas A&M fell to South Carolina and Clemson was taken down by Louisville. This has helped put Indiana into the top-ten for the first time this season, skyrocketing to No. 8.
Associated Press poll (Week 11)
| 1 | Oregon (62) |
| 2 | Georgia |
| 3 | Ohio State |
| 4 | Miami (FL) |
| 5 | Texas |
| 6 | Penn State |
| 7 | Tennessee |
| 8 | Indiana |
| 9 | BYU |
| 10 | Notre Dame |
| 11 | Alabama |
| 12 | Boise State |
| 13 | SMU |
| 14 | LSU |
| 15 | Texas A&M |
| 16 | Mississippi |
| 17 | Iowa State |
| 18 | Army |
| 19 | Clemson |
| 20 | Washington State |
| 21 | Colorado |
| 22 | Kansas State |
| 23 | Pittsburgh |
| 24 | Vanderbilt |
| 25 | Louisville |
No. 3 Ohio State returns to the field on Saturday when they host Purdue at noon from Ohio Stadium. The Boilermakers (1-7, 0-5) sit in dead last in the Big Ten standings and are a 38.5-point underdog against the Buckeyes. After the win over Penn State, Ohio State controls its own destiny to make the Big Ten Championship game.
Among the Week 11 games to keep an eye on include No. 2 Georgia facing No. 16 Mississippi, undefeated No. 8 Indiana looking to move to 10-0 against Michigan, and No. 11 Alabama taking on No. 14 LSU.
Mock playoff bracket
Here is what the playoff bracket would look like using the Week 11 rankings. With the expectation Ohio State will be ranked in the top-three and behind Oregon, the Buckeyes are set to be placed in the first at-large spot as the five-seed in Tuesday's first official projected CFP bracket.
As the five-seed, the Buckeyes would host a first round playoff game on Dec. 20 or 21. In the mock bracket using both Week 11 rankings, Ohio State would host Boise State in round one with the winner facing BYU in the Fiesta Bowl. In order to get a bye into the quarterfinals, the Buckeyes would need to win the Big Ten title game on Dec. 7.