Ohio State Stays Steady at No. 3 in Both the AP and Coaches Polls Following a Win in Happy Valley

By Johnny Ginter on November 1, 2020 at 2:55 pm
Jean-Baptiste of Ohio State goes after Sean Clifford of Penn State
Adam Cairns/Columbus Dispatch via Imagn Content Services, LLC
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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.

AP TOP 25 Poll
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
USA Today Coaches Poll
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.

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