Being idle on conference championship weekend certainly isn't fun.
With Ohio State being the only program among the top eight teams in the country not to compete in its respective conference championship game this weekend, it was somewhat expected that the Buckeyes could fall in the rankings depending on what happened throughout the Power 5 title games.
That's exactly what happened, as Ohio State fell one spot to No. 7 in both the Associated Press Top 25 and Coaches Poll ahead of Sunday’s College Football Playoff selection.
In the AP Poll, Michigan jumped one spot to No. 1 following its dominant win over Iowa in the Big Ten championship, Washington moved up one spot to No. 2 after beating Oregon (again) in the final Pac-12 championship and Texas climbed four spots to No. 3 after dominating Oklahoma State in the Big 12 championship. Florida State remained at No. 4 following its win over Louisville in the ACC championship to remain undefeated. Alabama jumped three spots after beating Georgia – who dropped from No. 1 to No. 6 – in the SEC title game.
Michigan is ranked No. 1 in both the AP and Coaches polls for the first time since 1997.
Along with the Buckeyes and Wolverines, Penn State (No. 10) and Iowa (No. 20) are the other two teams representing the Big Ten in the AP Poll.
| RANK | TEAM | RECORD | POINTS | CHANGE |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | MICHIGAN | 13-0 | 1539 (51) | +1 |
| 2 | WASHINGTON | 13-0 | 1499 (11) | +1 |
| 3 | TEXAS | 12-1 | 1375 | +4 |
| 4 | FLORIDA STATE | 13-0 | 1358 | - |
| 5 | ALABAMA | 12-1 | 1329 | +3 |
| 6 | GEORGIA | 12-1 | 1256 | -5 |
| 7 | OHIO STATE | 11-1 | 1185 | -1 |
| 8 | OREGON | 11-2 | 1119 | -3 |
| 9 | MISSOURI | 10-2 | 1014 | - |
| 10 | PENN STATE | 10-2 | 960 | - |
| 11 | OLE MISS | 10-2 | 944 | - |
| 12 | OKLAHOMA | 10-2 | 867 | - |
| 13 | LSU | 9-3 | 823 | - |
| 14 | ARIZONA | 9-3 | 740 | - |
| 15 | NOTRE DAME | 9-3 | 634 | +1 |
| 16 | LOUISVILLE | 10-3 | 584 | -1 |
| 17 | SMU | 11-2 | 432 | +8 |
| 18 | LIBERTY | 13-0 | 424 | +2 |
| 19 | NC STATE | 9-3 | 377 | +2 |
| 20 | IOWA | 10-3 | 356 | -2 |
| 21 | OREGON STATE | 8-4 | 309 | - |
| 22 | OKLAHOMA STATE | 9-4 | 256 | -3 |
| 23 | TULANE | 11-2 | 201 | -6 |
| 24 | JAMES MADISON | 11-1 | 177 | - |
| 25 | TENNESSEE | 8-4 | 98 | - |
Texas and Alabama finished tied for the fourth spot in the Coaches Poll, with each receiving the same exact number of voting points for the coaches’ panel. Michigan, Washington and Florida State finished as the top three teams in the Coaches Poll entering bowl season.
| RANK | TEAM | RECORD | POINTS | CHANGE |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | MICHIGAN | 13-0 | 1535 (51) | +1 |
| 2 | WASHINGTON | 13-0 | 1482 (8) | +1 |
| 3 | FLORIDA STATE | 13-0 | 1358 | +1 |
| T-4 | TEXAS | 12-1 | 1351 | +3 |
| T-4 | ALABAMA | 12-1 | 1351 | +4 |
| 6 | GEORGIA | 12-1 | 1275 | -5 |
| 7 | OHIO STATE | 11-1 | 1187 | -1 |
| 8 | OREGON | 11-2 | 1092 | -3 |
| 9 | MISSOURI | 10-2 | 1023 | - |
| 10 | PENN STATE | 10-2 | 952 | - |
| 11 | OLE MISS | 10-2 | 932 | - |
| 12 | OKLAHOMA | 10-2 | 898 | - |
| 13 | LSU | 9-3 | 796 | - |
| 14 | ARIZONA | 9-3 | 707 | +1 |
| 15 | LOUISVILLE | 10-3 | 642 | -1 |
| 16 | NOTRE DAME | 9-3 | 633 | - |
| 17 | IOWA | 10-3 | 426 | - |
| 18 | NC STATE | 9-3 | 423 | +2 |
| 19 | SMU | 11-2 | 375 | +5 |
| 20 | LIBERTY | 13-0 | 315 | +2 |
| 21 | OKLAHOMA STATE | 9-4 | 299 | -2 |
| 22 | OREGON STATE | 8-4 | 295 | -1 |
| 23 | TENNESSEE | 8-4 | 226 | - |
| 24 | TULANE | 11-2 | 139 | -6 |
| 25 | JAMES MADISON | 11-1 | 114 | - |
Despite being ranked in the top four of both the AP and Coaches polls, Florida State was left out of the College Football Playoff as the selection committee selected Michigan, Washington, Texas and Alabama as the four teams who will compete for a national championship.
Ohio State is likely to also be ranked seventh in the final CFP rankings, with the full top 25 set to be revealed at approximately 2:30 p.m. Sunday.
