After being No. 9 going into the Nebraska game, a strong showing and a slew of losses by top-10 teams propelled the Ohio State to No. 6 in the nation, just behind Big Ten rival Wisconsin.
Penn State moves up to No. 2 following Clemson dropping a road game at Syracuse. The Tigers — despite losing to an unranked opponent for the second year in a row — only dropped to No. 7, not totally eliminating them from CFP contention.
The rest of the top five is occupied by No. 3 Georgia and No. 4 Texas Christian.
Michigan is now No. 19, moving back two spots with South Florida and NC State tying for No. 16 and Michigan State moving ahead of the Wolverines.
The Big Ten has five teams in the AP top 25. The SEC has four, with Alabama, Georgia, No. 21 Auburn and No. 24 LSU rounding out their rankings.
| RANK | TEAM | RECORD | PTS | 1st VOTES | PREV |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | ALABAMA | 7-0 | 1,525 | 61 | 1 |
| 2 | PENN STATE | 6-0 | 1,432 | – | 3 |
| 3 | GEORGIA | 7-0 | 1,417 | – | 4 |
| 4 | TCU | 6-0 | 1,322 | – | 6 |
| 5 | WISCONSIN | 6-0 | 1,241 | – | 7 |
| 6 | OHIO STATE | 6-1 | 1,184 | – | 9 |
| 7 | CLEMSON | 6-1 | 1,117 | – | 2 |
| 8 | MIAMI (FL) | 5-0 | 1,109 | – | 11 |
| 9 | OKLAHOMA | 5-1 | 1,066 | – | 12 |
| 10 | OKLAHOMA STATE | 5-1 | 900 | – | 14 |
| 11 | USC | 6-1 | 886 | – | 13 |
| 12 | WASHINGTON | 6-1 | 811 | – | 5 |
| 13 | NOTRE DAME | 5-1 | 798 | – | 16 |
| 14 | VIRGINIA TECH | 5-1 | 727 | – | 15 |
| 15 | WASHINGTON STATE | 6-1 | 578 | – | 8 |
| 16 | SOUTH FLORIDA | 6-0 | 573 | – | 18 |
| 16 | NORTH CAROLINA STATE | 6-1 | 573 | – | 20 |
| 18 | MICHIGAN STATE | 5-1 | 563 | – | 21 |
| 19 | MICHIGAN | 5-1 | 558 | – | 17 |
| 20 | UCF | 5-0 | 387 | – | 22 |
| 21 | AUBURN | 5-2 | 303 | – | 10 |
| 22 | STANFORD | 5-2 | 274 | – | 23 |
| 23 | WEST VIRGINIA | 4-2 | 157 | – | – |
| 24 | LSU | 5-2 | 108 | – | – |
| 25 | MEMPHIS | 5-1 | 62 | – | – |
