AP Poll: Buckeyes tumble after inexplicable rivalry loss
COLUMBUS — The unthinkable happened for Ohio State on Saturday; the Buckeyes lost to Michigan for the fourth straight year.
This time was supposed to be different. The Buckeyes entered as a three-score favorite and No. 2 in the AP Poll. Michigan entered as a 6-5 team having one of its worst seasons in the last decade. Ohio State was even at home for this game. And it still could not beat the rival as Ryan Day fell to a ghastly 1-4 record in The Game.
With that loss, the Buckeyes fell all the way down to No. 7 in the latest Associated Press Top 25 rankings on Sunday.
Oregon retained the top spot after beating rival Washington. Texas moved into the second spot, while Penn State, Notre Dame and Georgia rounded out the top five.
The Buckeyes do not care about any rankings, especially this set. It’s just another part of a disappointing weekend for the program.
“We’re very disappointed,” Day said. “Never thought this would happen right here. And we’re expecting to win this game and then go play in the Big Ten Championship game, and neither of those things happened. So we don’t know what’s going on now. This is just too soon to try to figure out what’s next.
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“But once we have more information in about a week, we’ll figure that part of it out. I’ll bring them together here pretty soon and talk to them. But there’s a lot of guys who are crushed right now.”
Of course, these rankings are diminished now that the Buckeyes and the rest of the sport are getting rankings every Tuesday night from the College Football Playoff committee. Those rankings hold more weight because they determine who will play for the national title in December and January, especially as we get closer to the 12-team field being set in just one week. Ohio State is very likely to be in the 12-team field.
But the AP Poll is still a good barometer for how the media from around college football feels about the Buckeyes and other teams.
The full AP Poll can be found below.
AP Poll (Dec. 1)
1. Oregon (61)
2. Texas
3. Penn State
4. Notre Dame
5. Georgia
6. Tennessee
7. Ohio State
8. SMU
9. Indiana
10. Boise State
11. Alabama
12. Arizona State
13. South Carolina
14. Miami
15. Ole Miss
16. Iowa State
17. BYU
18. Clemson
19. UNLV
20. Colorado
21. Illinois
22. Missouri
23. Syracuse
24. Army
25. Memphis
