Ohio State is one of the five best teams in the country according to Associated Press voters. All it took was one dominant victory over a MAC opponent and losses by LSU and Oklahoma.
The Buckeyes find themselves ranked No. 4 in the first in-season AP Poll of the year, released Tuesday, after their 77-10 win against Bowling Green. Voters ranked Ohio State sixth in the preseason AP poll. Ohio State is also ranked fourth in the Coaches Poll.
Alabama remains the top team in the rankings, followed by Clemson and Florida State. LSU's loss to Wisconsin and Houston's defeat of Oklahoma dropped both the Sooners and Tigers out of the top-10. The Sooners fell to 14th while the Cougars are ranked sixth this week. LSU is now ranked No. 21.
The Buckeyes are the highest of the five ranked Big Ten teams, leading No. 5 Michigan, No. 10 Wisconsin, No 12 Michigan State and No. 14 Iowa. The Badgers began the season unranked.
Full poll:
| Rank | Team | RECORD | POINTS | 1st | MOVE |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | ALABAMA CRIMSON TIDE | 1-0 | 1,518 | 54 | – |
| 2 | CLEMSON TIGERS | 1-0 | 1,416 | 2 | – |
| 3 | FLORIDA STATE SEMINOLES | 1-0 | 1,413 | 4 | – |
| 4 | OHIO STATE BUCKEYES | 1-0 | 1,324 | – | +2 |
| 5 | MICHIGAN WOLVERINES | 1-0 | 1,261 | 1 | +2 |
| 6 | HOUSTON COUGARS | 1-0 | 1,243 | – | +9 |
| 7 | STANFORD CARDINAL | 1-0 | 1,140 | – | +1 |
| 8 | WASHINGTON HUSKIES | 1-0 | 884 | – | +6 |
| 9 | GEORGIA BULLDOGS | 1-0 | 877 | – | +9 |
| 10 | WISCONSIN BADGERS | 1-0 | 759 | – | +22 |
| 11 | TEXAS LONGHORNS | 1-0 | 743 | – | +25 |
| 12 | MICHIGAN STATE | 1-0 | 722 | – | – |
| 13 | LOUISVILLE CARDINALS | 1-0 | 686 | – | +6 |
| 14 | OKLAHOMA SOONERS | 0-1 | 664 | – | -11 |
| 15 | TCU HORNED FROGS | 1-0 | 635 | – | -2 |
| 16 | IOWA HAWKEYES | 1-0 | 588 | – | +1 |
| 17 | TENNESSEE VOLUNTEERS | 1-0 | 573 | – | -8 |
| 18 | NOTRE DAME FIGHTING IRISH | 0-1 | 528 | – | -8 |
| 19 | MISSISSIPPI REBELS | 0-1 | 493 | – | -8 |
| 20 | TEXAS A&M AGGIES | 1-0 | 477 | – | +7 |
| 21 | LSU TIGERS | 0-1 | 423 | – | -16 |
| 22 | OKLAHOMA STATE COWBOYS | 1-0 | 409 | – | +1 |
| 23 | BAYLOR BEARS | 1-0 | 296 | – | – |
| 24 | OREGON DUCKS | 1-0 | 242 | – | – |
| 25 | MIAMI HURRICANES | 1-0 | 137 | – | +1 |
