COLUMBUS – Ohio State moved up to No. 6 in both major college football polls as the Buckeyes head into an off-week before a Big Ten East Division showdown with Penn State which could catapult OSU back into the national championship conversation or drop them out of the picture altogether.
No. 6 Ohio St. (6-1, 4-0 Big Ten) vs. No. 2 Penn St. (6-0, 3-0); Ohio Stadium, Oct. 28, 3:30 p.m./FOX
The Nittany Lions are ranked No. 2 in The Associated Press media poll and the coaches’ poll behind unanimous No. 1 Alabama after a wild weekend of upsets gave the Top 25 a major makeover.
A season-high seven ranked teams, including four in the top 10, lost to unranked teams, including defending national champion Clemson, which fell to Syracuse, and defending Pac-12 champion Washington, who lost to Arizona State, were the highest ranked teams to lose.
Georgia is now No. 3, TCU is No. 4 and Wisconsin is No. 5.
Ohio State quarterback J.T. Barrett was named the Big Ten offensive player of the week after the Buckeyes’ 56-14 victory over Nebraska in Lincoln on Saturday.
Barrett, whose 21 touchdown passes ties him with West Virginia’s Will Grier for the top spot in college football, completed 27 of 33 passes for 325 yards and five touchdowns before exiting the game early in the fourth quarter. He also rushed for 48 yards and two more touchdowns and tied his own school-record of seven touchdowns responsible for on the evening.
Barrett is tops in the nation in points responsible for with 158 and has the best touchdown-to-interception ratio at 21-1.