AP Top 25 Rankings: Ohio State Falls to No. 11 After the USC Upset, Miami Stays No. 1 in the New Poll
The official Associated Press Top 25 released Sunday afternoon dropped Ohio State nine places to No. 11 after its 30-18 loss at USC, returned the Trojans to the poll at No. 18, and kept Miami at No. 1 after the Hurricanes' 38-35 escape at North Carolina - one day before the first College Football Playoff rankings.
The new Associated Press Top 25 is out, and Ohio State took the fall the weekend promised. The Buckeyes are down to 11th in the newest AP poll following their 30-18 upset loss at USC, Bleacher Report's poll report, opened by the desk this run, stated. USC catapulted back into the Top 25 at No. 18 after being unranked a week ago.
Miami remains in the No. 1 spot after surviving a scare on the road against North Carolina, winning 38-35. Indiana likewise snatched victory from defeat but paid a price in the poll, falling out of the top five. Utah is a top-five team for the first time since 2019 after coasting past Cincinnati 49-25, and UCLA, the last of the three unbeaten FBS teams, claimed a top-five ranking for the first time since 2001 after shutting out Nevada 27-0, according to the poll report.
The Associated Press's own preview of the release, by Eric Olson and opened by the desk this run, framed why the shakeup was so large: for the fourth straight week, a No. 1 or No. 2 team lost to an unranked opponent, and seven Top 25 teams lost in Week 9 in all. Ohio State played without injured quarterback Julian Sayin; his replacement, true freshman Luke Fahey, making his first start on the road in rainy conditions, went 21-of-38 for 260 yards and one touchdown, the poll report stated. Six teams ranked between Nos. 17 and 25 also lost, including No. 17 Florida, beaten 27-8 by No. 3 Georgia in Atlanta.
Ohio State almost certainly still has a path to the College Football Playoff if it wins out, the poll report noted, starting with Oregon's visit to Columbus next Saturday. The playoff committee releases its first rankings of the season on Tuesday, Nov. 3, adding a second, more consequential pecking order to the one the AP voters published Sunday.
