COLUMBUS – With nine ranked teams off this weekend, there was little movement throughout the AP Top 25 presented by Regions Bank with Ohio State holding steady at No. 3 behind LSU and Alabama.
This is the last Associated Press poll before the first College Football Playoff selection committee rankings, which come out on Tuesday.
In the next two weeks the Buckeyes play Maryland and Rutgers so their ranking likely won’t change for a while.
LSU is No. 1 for a second consecutive week and Alabama is No. 2. Clemson and Penn State round out the top five and are followed in order by Georgia, Oregon, Utah, Oklahoma and Florida.
Georgia jumped two spots to No. 6 after beating Florida in the biggest game of the weekend.
So many teams were idle because this is another “double-bye” season in college football.
Because the Saturday before Labor Day fell early and Thanksgiving is on its latest possible date, there are 14 weeks for each team to play 12 regular-season games before conference championship games, which usually take place on the first Saturday in December. Hence, the Buckeyes, Tigers, Tide and other top teams have two off weeks.
“Double-bye” seasons also occurred in 2008, 2013 and 2014.
The calendar fluke also means one less week for consumers to do their Christmas shopping.