For the first time all season, Urban Meyer's Ohio State Buckeyes do not find themselves atop a college football poll.
Ohio State checks in at No. 3 of the initial College Football Playoff rankings, released Tuesday evening on ESPN. Remember, these rankings are fluid and officially don't matter until the final set is released Dec. 6 at noon.
The Buckeyes sit at 8-0 and ranked No. 1 in both the Associated Press and Amway Coaches Polls, positions they've held the entire season. But the suspension of J.T. Barrett leaves Meyer's club with an unsettled quarterback situation once again, right after it appeared the offense had momentum following a 49-7 drubbing of Rutgers Oct. 24.
"Ohio State is strong," College Football Playoff committee chair and Arkansas athletic director Jeff Long said on a conference call after the release of the rankings. "The Buckeyes are undefeated and they have three wins against teams with better than .500 records."
The Big Ten's other two unbeatens, Michigan State and Iowa, check in at No. 7 and No. 9, respectively in the first set of rankings. Michigan is ranked 17th and Northwestern is 21st.
The Hawkeyes look dead set on a course to represent the Big Ten West in Indianapolis Dec. 5 at the Big Ten Championship game, with no game against a team currently with a winning record remaining on its schedule.
The Spartans and Buckeyes meet Nov. 21 in Columbus for a game that could all but decide the Big Ten East, just like in 2014.
The top six of the rankings are as follows: Clemson, LSU, Ohio State, Alabama, Notre Dame and Baylor.
"Really, it came down to evaluating their résumés, what they've done, who they've beaten and how they've played in those games," Long said on ESPN broadcast of the ranking process in place by the committee.
The full rankings can be seen here.
Ohio State hosts Minnesota Saturday at 8 p.m.
| Rank | Team | Conf. | Record | Key Games |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | CLEMSON | ACC | 8-0 | FLORIDA STATE (11/7) |
| 2 | LSU | SEC | 7-0 | @ ALABAMA (11/7), @ OLE MISS (11/21), TEXAS A&M (11/28) |
| 3 | OHIO STATE | BIG TEN | 8-0 | MICHIGAN STATE (11/21) @ MICHIGAN (11/28) |
| 4 | ALABAMA | SEC | 7-1 | LSU (11/7), @ MISSISSIPPI STATE (11/14) |
| 5 | NOTRE DAME | IND | 7-1 | @ PITTSBURGH (11/7), @ STANFORD (11/28) |
| 6 | BAYLOR | BIG 12 | 7-0 | OKLAHOMA (11/14), @ OKLAHOMA STATE (11/21), @ TCU (11/27) |
| 7 | MICHIGAN STATE | BIG TEN | 8-0 | @ OHIO STATE (11/21), PENN STATE (11/28) |
| 8 | TCU | BIG 12 | 8-0 | @ OKLAHOMA STATE (11/7), @ OKLAHOMA (11/21), BAYLOR (11/27) |
| 9 | IOWA | BIG TEN | 8-0 | @ NEBRASKA (11/27) |
| 10 | FLORIDA | SEC | 7-1 | FLORIDA STATE (11/28) |
| 11 | STANFORD | PAC-12 | 7-1 | OREGON (11/14), NOTRE DAME (11/28) |
| 12 | UTAH | PAC-12 | 7-1 | UCLA (11/21) |
| 13 | MEMPHIS | AAC | 8-0 | @ HOUSTON (11/14), @ TEMPLE (11/21) |
| 14 | OKLAHOMA STATE | BIG 12 | 8-0 | TCU (11/7), BAYLOR (11/21), OKLAHOMA (11/28) |
| 15 | OKLAHOMA | BIG 12 | 7-1 | @ BAYLOR (11/14), TCU (11/21) @ OKLAHOMA STATE (11/28) |
| 16 | FLORIDA STATE | ACC | 7-1 | @ CLEMSON (11/7), @ FLORIDA (11/28) |
| 17 | MICHIGAN | BIG TEN | 6-2 | @ PENN STATE (11/21), OHIO STATE (11/28) |
| 18 | OLE MISS | SEC | 7-2 | LSU (11/21), @ MISSISSIPPI STATE (11/28) |
| 19 | TEXAS A&M | SEC | 6-2 | AUBURN (11/7), @ LSU (11/28) |
| 20 | MISSISSIPPI STATE | SEC | 6-2 | ALABAMA (11/14), @ OLE MISS (11/28) |
| 21 | NORTHWESTERN | BIG TEN | 6-2 | PENN STATE (11/7), @ WISCONSIN (11/21) |
| 22 | TEMPLE | AAC | 7-1 | MEMPHIS (11/21) |
| 23 | UCLA | PAC-12 | 6-2 | @ UTAH (11/21), @ USC (11/28) |
| 24 | TOLEDO | MAC | 7-0 | NORTHERN ILLINOIS (11/3), @ BOWLING GREEN (11/17) |
| 25 | HOUSTON | AAC | 8-0 | CINCINNATI (11/7), MEMPHIS (11/14) |
