After 10 years, the "Victors" are finally victorious again.
In wake of arguably the biggest win of Jim Harbaugh’s career at Michigan, Ohio State fell to No. 7 in the AP and Coaches Poll on Sunday afternoon following a 42-27 defeat to the school's greatest rival. Ryan Day’s first loss in Big Ten play yesterday saw Ohio State drop several spots from their No. 2 & 3 overall rankings the team earned after its win over Michigan State.
This is the first time the Buckeyes have seen themselves outside of the top 5 in either poll since the end of Week 7, when Ohio State had a 5-1 record. The five spot drop is the second largest the Buckeyes have had in the AP Poll this season, with the greatest being the six ranks the team fell after losing to Oregon in September. It is the most significant move in the Coaches poll for the Buckeyes since Week 6 after the win over Rutgers that saw Ohio State move up three spots.
As for Michigan, the Wolverines earned a ranking ahead of the Buckeyes for the first time since the build-up to the 2018 edition of The Game. Michigan entered that contest at No. 4 overall, while Ohio State was barely clinging to top 10 status before Dwayne Haskins and one of the speediest group of Buckeye receivers ever turned The Game into a 62-39 track meet. Cincinnati, Oklahoma State, and Notre Dame also all moved up ahead of Ohio State in the polls.
Check out each of the new top 25 rankings below:
| RANK | TEAM | RECORD | PTS | 1st VOTES | PREV | CHANGE |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | GEORGIA | 12–0 | 1550 | 62 | 1 | — |
| 2 | ALABAMA | 11–1 | 1440 | – | 2 | — |
| 3 | MICHIGAN | 11–1 | 1408 | – | 6 | +3 |
| 4 | CINCINNATI | 12–0 | 1399 | – | 4 | — |
| 5 | OKLAHOMA STATE | 11–1 | 1285 | – | 7 | +2 |
| 6 | NOTRE DAME | 11–1 | 1250 | – | 5 | -1 |
| 7 | OHIO STATE | 10–2 | 1133 | – | 3 | -4 |
| 8 | MISSISSIPPI | 10–2 | 1097 | – | 8 | — |
| 9 | BAYLOR | 10–2 | 1046 | – | 10 | +1 |
| 10 | OREGON | 10–2 | 932 | – | 11 | +1 |
| 11 | OKLAHOMA | 10–2 | 851 | – | 9 | -2 |
| 12 | IOWA | 10–2 | 845 | – | 12 | — |
| 13 | MICHIGAN STATE | 10–2 | 840 | – | 13 | — |
| 14 | BRIGHAM YOUNG | 10–2 | 741 | – | 15 | +1 |
| 15 | PITTSBURGH | 10–2 | 640 | – | 17 | +2 |
| 16 | HOUSTON | 11–1 | 607 | – | 16 | — |
| 17 | UTAH | 9–3 | 596 | – | 19 | +2 |
| 18 | WAKE FOREST | 10–2 | 531 | – | 21 | +3 |
| 19 | SAN DIEGO STATE | 11–1 | 396 | – | 22 | +3 |
| 20 | NC STATE | 9–3 | 334 | – | 24 | +4 |
| 21 | UL LAFAYETTE | 11–1 | 268 | – | 23 | +2 |
| 22 | KENTUCKY | 9–3 | 226 | – | 25 | +3 |
| 23 | TEXAS A&M | 8–4 | 202 | – | 14 | -9 |
| 24 | CLEMSON | 9–3 | 170 | – | NR | +3 |
| 25 | ARKANSAS | 8–4 | 128 | – | NR | +1 |
| RANK | TEAM | RECORD | PTS | PREV | CONFERENCE |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | GEORGIA | 12–0 | 1,550 (62) | 1 | SEC |
| 2 | MICHIGAN | 11–1 | 1,449 | 6 | Big Ten |
| 3 | CINCINNATI | 12–0 | 1,422 | 4 | American Athletic |
| 4 | ALABAMA | 11–1 | 1,388 | 3 | SEC |
| 5 | OKLAHOMA STATE | 11–1 | 1,291 | 7 | Big 12 |
| 6 | NOTRE DAME | 11–1 | 1,264 | 5 | IA Independents |
| 7 | OHIO STATE | 10–2 | 1,147 | 2 | Big Ten |
| 8 | OLE MISS | 10–2 | 1,105 | 8 | SEC |
| 9 | BAYLOR | 10–2 | 1,066 | 9 | Big 12 |
| 10 | OREGON | 10–2 | 932 | 11 | Pac-12 |
| 11 | MICHIGAN STATE | 10–2 | 877 | 12 | Big Ten |
| 12 | BRIGHAM YOUNG | 10–2 | 839 | 13 | IA Independents |
| 13 | OKLAHOMA | 10–2 | 837 | 10 | Big 12 |
| 14 | UTAH | 9–3 | 667 | 16 | Pac-12 |
| 15 | IOWA | 10–2 | 662 | 17 | Big Ten |
| 16 | HOUSTON | 11–1 | 603 | 19 | American Athletic |
| 17 | PITTSBURGH | 10–2 | 589 | 20 | ACC |
| 18 | WAKE FOREST | 10–2 | 485 | 21 | ACC |
| 19 | SAN DIEGO STATE | 11–1 | 416 | 22 | Mountain West |
| 20 | LOUISIANA-LAFAYETTE | 11–1 | 317 | 23 | Sun Belt |
| 21 | NORTH CAROLINA STATE | 9–3 | 310 | 24 | ACC |
| 22 | CLEMSON | 9–3 | 269 | – | ACC |
| 23 | ARKANSAS | 8–4 | 214 | 25 | SEC |
| 24 | TEXAS A&M | 8–4 | 117 | 14 | SEC |
| 25 | KENTUCKY | 9–3 | 82 | – | SEC |
