For the first time this season, Ohio State is not ranked.
The Buckeyes have now lost five of their past six games and continued their precipitous drop all the way out of the Associated Press top-25 poll. After being ranked since the preseason, they're now on the outside looking in. They were No. 21 in last week's poll but are now unranked in the latest edition released by the AP on Monday afternoon. They collected 36 votes, the fifth-most among those not in the top 25.
Ohio State reached a season-high ranking of No. 2 on Dec. 23.
Since that date, the Buckeyes are 1-5. They went on a four-game losing streak, which ended with a home win against Nebraska on Tuesday, then lost on the road at Penn State on Saturday afternoon.
| Date of poll release | Ohio State's ranking |
|---|---|
| Preseason | No. 18 |
| Nov. 11 | No. 16 |
| Nov. 18 | No. 10 |
| Nov. 25 | No. 10 |
| Dec. 2 | No. 6 |
| Dec. 9 | No. 3 |
| Dec. 16 | No. 5 |
| Dec. 23 | No. 2 |
| Dec. 30 | No. 5 |
| Jan. 6 | No. 11 |
| Jan. 13 | No. 21 |
| Jan. 20 | Unranked |
The Big Ten currently has five teams in the top 25: No. 11 Michigan State, No. 17 Maryland, No. 19 Iowa, No. 21 Illinois and No. 24 Rutgers.
Before the next AP poll drops, the Buckeyes have two games to prove they belong in the top 25. They'll take on Minnesota at home on Thursday and Northwestern on the road on Saturday.
