Ohio State avoided disaster Saturday, holding off Northwestern for a 24-20 victory.
The victory, coupled with a pair of losses by undefeated teams previously ranked ahead of the Buckeyes, allowed them to move up in the polls. Ohio State came in at No. 6 in Sunday's USA Today Coaches Poll, two spots up from last week.
The Top 5 remained unchanged with Alabama holding steady at No. 1. Michigan is ranked No. 2, Clemson is third, Washington is No. 4 and Louisville comes in fifth.
With its win over Nebraska, Wisconsin moved up to No. 8. The Cornhuskers suffered their first loss and fell to 10th. Penn State is the only other Big Ten team ranked. The Nittany Lions came in at No. 23.
Remember, the first official College Football Playoff rankings come out Tuesday evening.
| RANK | TEAM | RECORD | PTS | 1st VOTES | PREV | CHANGE |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | ALABAMA | 8-0 | 1599 | 63 | 1 | – |
| 2 | MICHIGAN | 8-0 | 1492 | – | 2 | – |
| 3 | CLEMSON | 8-0 | 1488 | 1 | 3 | – |
| 4 | WASHINGTON | 8-0 | 1434 | – | 4 | – |
| 5 | LOUISVILLE | 7-1 | 1322 | – | 5 | – |
| 6 | OHIO STATE | 7-1 | 1269 | – | 8 | +2 |
| 7 | TEXAS A&M | 7-1 | 1207 | – | 10 | +3 |
| 8 | WISCONSIN | 6-2 | 1147 | – | 11 | +3 |
| 9 | FLORIDA | 6-1 | 1039 | – | 12 | +3 |
| 10 | NEBRASKA | 7-1 | 963 | – | 6 | -4 |
| 11 | OKLAHOMA | 6-2 | 907 | – | 15 | +4 |
| 12 | AUBURN | 6-2 | 896 | – | 17 | +5 |
| 13 | BAYLOR | 6-1 | 810 | – | 6 | -7 |
| 14 | LOUISIANA STATE | 5-2 | 652 | – | 19 | +5 |
| 15 | WEST VIRGINIA | 6-1 | 642 | – | 9 | -6 |
| 16 | UTAH | 7-2 | 523 | – | 16 | – |
| 17 | NORTH CAROLINA | 6-2 | 500 | – | 20 | +3 |
| 18 | WESTERN MICHIGAN | 8-0 | 448 | – | 21 | +3 |
| 19 | FLORIDA STATE | 5-3 | 432 | – | 14 | -5 |
| 20 | COLORADO | 6-2 | 394 | – | 23 | +3 |
| 21 | VIRGINIA TECH | 6-2 | 335 | – | 25 | +4 |
| 22 | OKLAHOMA STATE | 6-2 | 298 | – | 28 | +6 |
| 23 | PENN STATE | 6-2 | 296 | – | 27 | +4 |
| 24 | BOISE STATE | 7-1 | 266 | – | 13 | -11 |
| 25 | WASHINGTON STATE | 6-2 | 146 | – | 26 | +1 |
