Following perhaps the biggest win of Urban Meyer's tenure at Ohio State, the Buckeyes moved up to No. 8 in the third set of College Football Playoff rankings Tuesday night.
After being on the outside looking in for most of the season thanks to a stunning loss to Virginia Tech in September, Ohio State (8-1, 5-0 Big Ten) find itself in the thick of the national picture.
The Spartans, which were handed their first conference loss in a year, dropped to No. 12. Nebraska is ranked 16th, Wisconsin is 20th and Minnesota checks in at 25th.
Ahead of Ohio State are: Mississippi State, Oregon, Florida State, TCU, Alabama, Arizona State and Baylor.
The Buckeyes play the Golden Gophers Saturday at noon in Minneapolis.
You can view the full rankings here.
| Rank | Team | Conf. | Record |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | MISSISSIPPI STATE | SEC | 9-0 |
| 2 | OREGON | PAC-12 | 9-1 |
| 3 | FLORIDA STATE | ACC | 9-0 |
| 4 | TCU | BIG 12 | 8-1 |
| 5 | ALABAMA | SEC | 8-1 |
| 6 | ARIZONA STATE | PAC-12 | 8-1 |
| 7 | BAYLOR | BIG 12 | 8-1 |
| 8 | OHIO STATE | BIG TEN | 8-1 |
| 9 | AUBURN | SEC | 7-2 |
| 10 | OLE MISS | SEC | 8-2 |
| 11 | UCLA | PAC-12 | 8-2 |
| 12 | MICHIGAN STATE | BIG TEN | 7-2 |
| 13 | KANSAS STATE | BIG 12 | 7-2 |
| 14 | ARIZONA | PAC-12 | 7-2 |
| 15 | GEORGIA | SEC | 7-2 |
| 16 | NEBRASKA | BIG TEN | 8-1 |
| 17 | LSU | SEC | 7-3 |
| 18 | NOTRE DAME | IND/ACC | 7-2 |
| 19 | CLEMSON | ACC | 7-2 |
| 20 | WISCONSIN | BIG TEN | 7-2 |
| 21 | DUKE | ACC | 8-1 |
| 22 | GEORGIA TECH | ACC | 8-2 |
| 23 | UTAH | PAC-12 | 6-3 |
| 24 | TEXAS A&M | SEC | 7-3 |
| 25 | MINNESOTA | BIG TEN | 7-2 |
