Buckeyes climb AP Poll after thrilling last-second win over Notre Dame
COLUMBUS — Down four late in the fourth quarter Saturday night, it appeared Ohio State was on its way to a brutal nonconference loss to Notre Dame.
That loss would have sent the Buckeyes, who haven’t looked all that impressive so far this year, tumbling down the AP Poll. Instead, the defense stood tall in the biggest moments. And the offense delivered a clutch 65-yard touchdown drive that ended with one second remaining.
And instead of slipping down the rankings, Ohio State walked out of a raucous, sold-out Notre Dame Stadium with a thrilling win that vaulted the Buckeyes back into the top four of the latest AP Poll, which was released Sunday.
Georgia remained in the top spot. The Bulldogs have been there all year. Michigan, Texas, Ohio State and Florida State rounded out the top five. Ohio State received one first-place vote in the AP Poll after the win over Notre Dame.
For the Buckeyes, it’s a tough win that the program needed, according to head coach Ryan Day.
“It was brewing for a couple of days,” Day said nearly immediately after taking the podium Saturday night. “I said it earlier and I’ll say it again: a lot of people took a lot of shots at this team over the last 48 hours. It really hit home to me. The way that our team played, not only did we physically get after these guys last year, we did it again this year at the end of the game. It says a lot about this team. I’m really upset and disrespected by what Lou Holtz said publicly about our team, Ohio State and Buckeye Nation. And we’re not going to stand for it. That’s not even close to true.
“We had one bad half a couple of years ago up in Ann Arbor. We did in the second half. But every game we play in, we’re physical. We are. I don’t know where that narrative comes from. But that ends tonight.”
And following one of the wildest wins in program history, Ohio State is climbing the AP rankings ahead of the idle week.
Lettermen Row has the entire Week 4 AP Top 25 Poll (Sept. 17) below:
- Georgia
- Michigan
- Texas
- Ohio State
- Florida State
- Penn State
- Washington
- Southern Cal
- Oregon
- Utah
- Notre Dame
- Alabama
- LSU
- Oklahoma
- North Carolina
- Washington State
- Duke
- Miami
- Oregon State
- Ole Miss
- Tennessee
- Florida
- Missouri
- Kansas
- Fresno State
