Ohio State Drops to No. 11 After 30-18 Loss at USC
Miami holds the No. 1 spot after a narrow win, while Florida falls to the bottom of the AP Top 25 following a defeat by Georgia.
By Zoe Harrison ·
The College Football Playoff selection committee releases its initial rankings on Tuesday night, but the landscape shifted dramatically in the AP Top 25 poll released on Saturday.
Miami (Fla.) retained the No. 1 ranking for a third consecutive week after defeating North Carolina 38-35. The Hurricanes survived a close contest against a team coached by Bill Belichick to maintain their position atop the list.
Ohio State suffered the largest drop among the top teams, falling nine spots to No. 11. The Buckeyes lost 30-18 to Southern California on Saturday. They played without starting quarterback Julian Sayin due to injury. This marked the team's second loss of the season. It was the only loss by a top-10 team in the final week of games before the CFP rankings.
Florida also took a steep tumble, landing at No. 25 after a 28-7 loss to No. 3 Georgia. The Gators were part of a group of six teams between Nos. 17 and 25 that lost their weekend matches. The other losers in that range were SMU, Northwestern, Arizona, Oklahoma State, and Wisconsin.
Four teams entered the rankings for the first time this week. The newcomers were Iowa, South Carolina, New Mexico, and USC. For New Mexico, this is the first appearance in the AP Top 25 in program history. Iowa secured the slot after a 30-0 shutout of Wisconsin. USC entered the poll following its victory over Ohio State. That win was their first against a top-five opponent since 2017 and their highest-ranked victory since beating Oklahoma in 2004.
UCLA remains at No. 5 after an 8-0 season. The Bruins are one of only three undefeated FBS teams alongside Miami and Utah. However, UCLA is playing without starting quarterback Nico Iamaleava. Backup Ty Dieffenbach has thrown for three touchdowns since taking over on Oct. 10. Indiana sits at No. 6 and won 23-16 in overtime against Minnesota. Quarterback Josh Hoover left that game at halftime with an arm injury.
Utah moved up to No. 3 after a 49-25 win over Cincinnati. The Utes are 5-0 in conference play and hold a one-game lead over BYU and Texas Tech in the Big 12. BYU beat Arizona State 27-20 to stay in the race. Texas Tech defeated Arizona 34-26, which likely eliminates the Wildcats from contention for the conference title.
Seven top-25 teams lost in Week 9. This is the fourth consecutive week where a No. 1 or No. 2 team fell to an unranked opponent. The AP poll uses 69 voters who are writers and broadcasters covering college football. AP employees do not vote. Voters are urged to base rankings on performance rather than reputation or preseason speculation.
Oregon is scheduled to play at Ohio State next Saturday. The Buckeyes' loss to USC was their first against a top-10 team this season. The AP poll serves as a precursor to the CFP selection committee's rankings, which will determine the initial playoff bracket.
