COLUMBUS – With the Buckeyes idle this past weekend, Ohio State fans might have found themselves cheering for South Carolina in hopes that an upset win over unbeaten Georgia would leave OSU among the top two or three teams in the latest AP Top 25 college football poll.
They got their upset, but not the bump in the poll they hoped for.
The Buckeyes and Bulldogs were tied for No. 3 going into the weekend’s action and, although the Bulldogs dropped from third to 10th by losing to the Gamecocks, 20-17 in double-overtime, Ohio State actually slipped back to No. 4.
A season-high eight ranked teams lost this weekend, including Georgia and three others to unranked teams.
LSU jumped from No. 5 to No. 2, behind Alabama, after beating Florida in a matchup of unbeaten teams, while defending CFP champions Clemson fell to third despite Saturday’s 45-14 win over Florida State. Clemson has the nation’s longest current winning streak at 21 games.
Oklahoma rounded out the top five, followed by Wisconsin, Penn State, Notre Dame, Florida and Georgia.
Wisconsin and Penn State are among the six Big Ten teams in the poll, three of whom remain on the Buckeyes schedule: Wisconsin on Oct. 26, Penn State on Nov. 23, and No. 16 Michigan on Nov. 30.
No. 20 Minnesota and No. 23 Iowa are not on Ohio State’s regular season schedule.
The Buckeyes return from their first bye week of the season with a Friday night game at Northwestern (8:30 p.m./FS1).