COLUMBUS – Ohio State’s commanding 38-7 victory over then-13th ranked Wisconsin on Saturday was not enough to move the Buckeyes in the latest AP Top 25 college football poll.
LSU flip-flopped with Alabama to become the new No. 1 in The Associated Press college football poll presented by Regions Bank, though No. 3 Ohio State (8-0, 5-0) was not far behind in one of the tightest polls in history.
Clemson is No. 4.
The Buckeyes have won their eight games by an average margin of 40.4 points per game, best in the nation, against the 16th-toughest schedule, which is best among the undefeated teams, and that is enough to prompt a lot of observers and poll voters to say that OSU should be the nation’s No. 1 team.
More voters, obviously, think it should be the Tigers or the Tide, who have a week off before playing each other.
The Buckeyes also have a bye week before hosting Maryland on Nov. 9.
Penn State rounds out the top five, one of four other Big ten teams in the Top 25. The Nittany Lions are midway through a grueling stretch, having played at Iowa, hosted Michigan and traveled to Michigan State, winning all of those games, but still must pay a visit to unbeaten and 13th-ranked Minnesota, host 6-2 Indiana and make a Nov. 23 road trip to face the Buckeyes.
Given up for dead a couple of weeks ago, Michigan rebounded with an upset pounding of Notre Dame to climb up to No. 14.
The Badgers plummeted from No. 6 to No. 18 and will face 19th-ranked Iowa on Nov. 9
Cincinnati (6-1) continues to enjoy its run, coming in at No. 17.
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DEUCES WILD:
Ohio State running back J.K. Dobbins and defensive end Chase Young, both of whom wear jersey No. 2, have been named the Big Ten Conference offensive and defensive players of the week for their performances in the win over Wisconsin.
Dobbins rushed for over 100 yards for the fourth consecutive game while totaling 221 all-purpose yards and two touchdowns.
Young tied school records for tackles for loss with five and quarterback sacks with four while also forcing two fumbles and setting a personal best with six solo tackles.