Buckeyes fall in latest AP Poll after last-minute loss at Oregon
EUGENE, Ore. — Ohio State assembled this ultra-talented roster with the goal of not losing in mind. The Buckeyes wanted to be historically great.
But after a one-point loss to Oregon in Autzen Stadium on Saturday night, the Buckeyes are now in an interesting spot. They can’t lose again if they want to make the Big Ten title game and still be safely in the College Football Playoff.
Nobody has entirely lost hope for the Buckeyes, especially after a one-point loss to a fellow top team. AP Poll voters certainly haven’t. That’s why they only dropped Ohio State to No. 4 after the loss to now-No. 2 Oregon.
Texas retained the top spot after easily beating rival Oklahoma in the Red River game. The Longhorns are followed by Oregon and Penn State. Ohio State and Georgia round out the top five.
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As for the No. 4 Buckeyes, they allowed a winnable game to come down to one play, one play they didn’t make at the end of the game.
“It shouldn’t come down to one play,” Day said. “And I’ve said that before. We want to leave no doubt. And I felt like we should have done that tonight. We did not. And so then you put in the hands of a call, and you don’t get it, and that that’s on us. It should never come down to that situation. Made too many [explosive] plays tonight. We turned the ball over in the first half, and it cost us.
“And so we have to do a better job of handling those situations and playing better overall.”
Ohio State must play better, especially defensively, if it wants to reach its goals for this season.
AP voters still believe the Buckeyes can do it. That’s why they didn’t drop Ohio State very far, even after a narrow loss on the road.
The full AP Poll can be found below. First-place votes are in parentheses.
AP Poll (Oct. 13)
1. Texas (56)
2. Oregon (6)
3. Penn State
4. Ohio State
5. Georgia
6. Miami
7. Alabama
8. LSU
9. Iowa State
10. Clemson
11. Tennessee
12. Notre Dame
13. BYU
14. Texas A&M
15. Boise State
16. Indiana
17. Kansas State
18. Ole Miss
19. Missouri
20. Pittsburgh
21. SMU
22. Illinois
23. Army
24. Michigan
25. Navy