Ohio State beat Penn State 38-25 in Happy Valley on Saturday, but held serve in both the AP and Coaches polls as both Alabama (who cruised to a win over Mississippi State) and Clemson (who staged a comeback win against Boston College) stayed steady according to the voters.
Even with Trevor Lawrence out, the voters gave Clemson the benefit of the doubt and looked to the Crimson Tide demolishing an SEC opponent to cement their status as the clear top two teams in the country. The rest of the season may not provide the Buckeyes with many opportunities to make a move up if the Tigers and the Tide don't lose.
| RANK | TEAM | RECORD | PTS | PREV | CONFERENCE |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | CLEMSON | 7–0 | 1,515 (33) | 1 | ACC |
| 2 | ALABAMA | 6–0 | 1,513 (29) | 2 | SEC |
| 3 | OHIO STATE | 2–0 | 1,430 | 3 | Big Ten |
| 4 | NOTRE DAME | 6–0 | 1,351 | 4 | ACC |
| 5 | GEORGIA | 4–1 | 1,289 | 5 | SEC |
| 6 | CINCINNATI | 5-0 | 1,199 | 7 | American Athletic |
| 7 | TEXAS A&M | 4-1 | 1,156 | 8 | SEC |
| 8 | FLORIDA | 3-1 | 1,066 | 10 | SEC |
| 9 | BRIGHAM YOUNG | 7-0 | 1,014 | 11 | IA Independents |
| 10 | WISCONSIN | 1-0 | 985 | 9 | Big Ten |
| 11 | MIAMI (FL) | 5-1 | 946 | 12 | ACC |
| 12 | OREGON | 0-0 | 831 | 14 | Pac-12 |
| 13 | INDIANA | 2-0 | 765 | 17 | Big Ten |
| 14 | OKLAHOMA STATE | 4-1 | 760 | 6 | Big 12 |
| 15 | COSTAL CAROLINA | 6-0 | 527 | 20 | Sun Belt |
| 16 | MARSHALL | 5-0 | 523 | 19 | Conference USA |
| 17 | IOWA STATE | 4-2 | 427 | 23 | Big 12 |
| 18 | SMU | 6-1 | 420 | 22 | American Athletic |
| 19 | OKLAHOMA | 4-2 | 405 | 24 | Big 12 |
| 20 | USC | 0-0 | 354 | 21 | Pac-12 |
| 21 | BOISE STATE | 2-0 | 336 | 25 | Mountain West |
| 22 | TEXAS | 4-2 | 190 | – | Big 12 |
| 23 | MICHIGAN | 1-1 | 151 | 13 | Big Ten |
| 24 | AUBURN | 4-2 | 144 | – | SEC |
| 25 | LIBERTY | 6-0 | 118 | – | IA Independents |
| RANK | TEAM | RECORD | PTS | 1st VOTES | PREV | CHANGE |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | CLEMSON | 7–0 | 1527 | 43 | 1 | — |
| 2 | ALABAMA | 6-0 | 1503 | 17 | 2 | — |
| 3 | OHIO STATE | 2-0 | 1407 | 2 | 3 | — |
| 4 | NOTRE DAME | 6-0 | 1358 | – | 4 | — |
| 5 | GEORGIA | 4-1 | 1304 | – | 5 | — |
| 6 | CINCINNATI | 5-0 | 1157 | – | 7 | +1 |
| 7 | TEXAS A&M | 4-1 | 1154 | – | 8 | +1 |
| 8 | FLORIDA | 3–1 | 1101 | – | 9 | +1 |
| 9 | BRIGHAM YOUNG | 7-0 | 1025 | – | 10 | +1 |
| 10 | MIAMI | 5-1 | 964 | – | 12 | +2 |
| 11 | WISCONSIN | 1–0 | 908 | – | 11 | — |
| 12 | OKLAHOMA STATE | 4-1 | 783 | – | 6 | -6 |
| 13 | INDIANA | 2-0 | 730 | – | 19 | +6 |
| 14 | OREGON | 0-0 | 725 | – | 15 | +1 |
| 15 | MARSHALL | 5-0 | 473 | – | 18 | +3 |
| 16 | COSTAL CAROLINA | 6-0 | 464 | – | 21 | +5 |
| 17 | IOWA STATE | 4-2 | 433 | – | 22 | +5 |
| 18 | SMU | 6-1 | 421 | – | 23 | +5 |
| 19 | OKLAHOMA | 4-2 | 413 | – | 24 | +5 |
| 20 | USC | 0–0 | 365 | – | 20 | — |
| 21 | AUBURN | 4-2 | 246 | – | NR | +5 |
| 22 | ARMY | 6-1 | 208 | – | 25 | +3 |
| 23 | BOISE STATE | 2-0 | 204 | – | NR | +6 |
| 24 | NORTH CAROLINA | 4-2 | 192 | – | 13 | -11 |
| 25 | MICHIGAN | 1-1 | 141 | – | 14 | -11 |
Michigan took a huge hit following an embarrassing loss to Michigan State, dropping to No. 25 in the Coaches Poll and to No. 23 in the AP Poll. Penn State, at 0-2 on the season, is nowhere to be found.
Somewhat surprisingly, Indiana finds itself at No. 13 in both polls, having beaten the Nittany Lions and Rutgers in consecutive weeks with an opportunity to step on the neck of a Michigan team that looked totally out of sorts on Saturday.
Wisconsin didn't play because of a slew of positive COVID tests, but that didn't hurt them in the rankings (yet). We'll see what happens in the next several weeks. Right on the cusp of both polls is Northwestern, which staged a comeback win against Iowa on Saturday.
