It's been a strange couple of days for Ohio State football. The Buckeyes' game against the Illini was canceled due to COVID-19 concerns, and now we're all waiting to see what will happen with next weekend's road trip to East Lansing.
Though the only real important rankings now come out on Tuesday evenings, Ryan Day now finds his program holding steady at No. 3 in the AP Poll but down to No. 4 in the Coaches.
Clemson was impressive as Trevor Lawrence returned in a 52-17 handling of Pittsburgh. The Tigers have jumped Ohio State and now find themselves sitting at No. 3 according to the coaches. There are no changes at the very top with Alabama and Notre Dame holding steady at No. 1 and No. 2.
The coaches moved Indiana up to No. 11 following Saturday's win over Maryland. Northwestern dropped four spots down to No. 17 after its first loss of the season against Michigan State.
| RANK | TEAM | RECORD | PTS | 1st VOTES | PREV | CHANGE |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | ALABAMA | 8–0 | 1547 | 59 | 1 | — |
| 2 | NOTRE DAME | 9–0 | 1479 | 2 | 2 | — |
| 3 | CLEMSON | 8–1 | 1391 | – | 4 | +1 |
| 4 | OHIO STATE | 4–0 | 1382 | 1 | 3 | -1 |
| 5 | FLORIDA | 7–1 | 1255 | – | 5 | — |
| 6 | TEXAS A&M | 6–1 | 1254 | – | 6 | — |
| 7 | CINCINNATI | 8–0 | 1177 | – | 7 | — |
| 8 | BRIGHAM YOUNG | 9–0 | 1073 | – | 8 | — |
| 9 | MIAMI | 7–1 | 1026 | – | 9 | — |
| 10 | GEORGIA | 6–2 | 972 | – | 10 | — |
| 11 | INDIANA | 5–1 | 934 | – | 12 | +1 |
| 12 | IOWA STATE | 7–2 | 855 | – | 15 | +3 |
| 13 | OKLAHOMA | 6–2 | 816 | – | 14 | +1 |
| 14 | COASTAL CAROLINA | 9–0 | 625 | – | 17 | +3 |
| 15 | MARSHALL | 7–0 | 615 | – | 16 | +1 |
| 16 | SOUTHERN CALIFORNIA | 3–0 | 581 | – | 18 | +2 |
| 17 | NORTHWESTERN | 5–1 | 535 | – | 13 | -4 |
| 18 | OKLAHOMA STATE | 6–2 | 469 | – | 22 | +4 |
| 19 | WISCONSIN | 2–1 | 459 | – | 20 | +1 |
| 20 | OREGON | 3–1 | 343 | – | 11 | -9 |
| 21 | UL LAFAYETTE | 8–1 | 293 | – | 24 | +3 |
| 22 | TULSA | 5–1 | 228 | – | 25 | +3 |
| 23 | WASHINGTON | 3–0 | 186 | – | NR | +6 |
| 24 | IOWA | 4–2 | 125 | – | NR | +17 |
| 25 | LIBERTY | 9–1 | 87 | – | NR | +2 |
According to the AP, Ohio State still gets the edge over Clemson despite this weekend's missed opportunity. The Hoosiers moved up two spots to No. 10 and Northwestern dropped five down to No. 16.
| RANK | TEAM | RECORD | PTS | PREV | CONFERENCE |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | ALABAMA | 8–0 | 1,550 (62) | 1 | SEC |
| 2 | NOTRE DAME | 9–0 | 1,481 | 2 | ACC |
| 3 | OHIO STATE | 4–0 | 1,403 | 3 | Big Ten |
| 4 | CLEMSON | 8–1 | 1,392 | 4 | ACC |
| 5 | TEXAS A&M | 6–1 | 1,262 | 5 | SEC |
| 6 | FLORIDA | 7–1 | 1,226 | 6 | SEC |
| 7 | CINCINNATI | 8–0 | 1,204 | 7 | American Athletic |
| 8 | BRIGHAM YOUNG | 9–0 | 1,113 | 8 | IA Independents |
| 9 | MIAMI (FL) | 7–1 | 991 | 10 | ACC |
| 10 | INDIANA | 5–1 | 984 | 12 | Big Ten |
| 11 | GEORGIA | 6–2 | 919 | 13 | SEC |
| 12 | IOWA STATE | 7–2 | 873 | 15 | Big 12 |
| 13 | OKLAHOMA | 6–2 | 815 | 14 | Big 12 |
| 14 | COASTAL CAROLINA | 9–0 | 694 | 16 | Sun Belt |
| 15 | MARSHALL | 7–0 | 600 | 17 | Conference USA |
| 16 | NORTHWESTERN | 5–1 | 577 | 11 | Big Ten |
| 17 | USC | 3–0 | 540 | 19 | Pac-12 |
| 18 | WISCONSIN | 2–1 | 531 | 18 | Big Ten |
| 19 | OKLAHOMA STATE | 6–2 | 426 | 21 | Big 12 |
| 20 | LOUISIANA-LAFAYETTE | 8–1 | 352 | 23 | Sun Belt |
| 21 | OREGON | 3–1 | 326 | 9 | Pac-12 |
| 22 | TULSA | 5–1 | 244 | 24 | American Athletic |
| 23 | WASHINGTON | 3–0 | 218 | – | Pac-12 |
| 24 | IOWA | 4–2 | 119 | – | Big Ten |
| 25 | LIBERTY | 9–1 | 67 | – | IA Independents |
The Buckeyes are set to face the 2-3 Spartans next Saturday at noon in East Lansing. Just yesterday, Gene Smith said that the primary focus is trying to give Ohio State "a chance to compete next weekend." We'll obviously be watching things this week to see if that game is able to take place.
