Penn State remains No. 2, but Big Ten rival Ohio State leapfrogs to No. 1 in AP poll
Ohio State is back at No. 1 in The Associated Press Top 25 college football poll ahead of No. 2 Penn State and No. 3 LSU, which was joined this week by No. 5 Miami in the top five
Penn State got seven first-place votes in the latest Associated Press Top 25 poll, but remained No. 2. And after a season-opening defeat of former No. 1 Texas, Ohio State, the defending national champion and closest Big Ten rival to the Nittany Lions, climbed to the top.
LSU, which received three first-place votes, was followed by Georgia and Miami to round out the top five. LSU jumped six spots after winning at Clemson and Miami got a five-rung promotion for its victory over Notre Dame.
The defending national champion Buckeyes received 55 of 66 first-place votes to move up two spots after their win over preseason No. 1 Texas. Ohio State is at the top of a regular-season Top 25 for the first time since November 2015.
Texas dropped to No. 7 as the media voters shuffled the rankings following a topsy-turvy Labor Day weekend. It was only the second time, and first since 1972, that two top-five teams lost in Week 1 and the first time four top-10 teams lost. Only three teams in the Top 25 are in the same spot they were in the preseason poll.
Ohio State is the first team to take over the top spot in the first regular-season poll since Alabama in 2012. It was the biggest jump to No. 1 in the first regular-season poll since Southern California was promoted from No. 3 in 2008.
Oregon got the other first-place vote and was followed by Texas, Clemson, Notre Dame, and South Carolina.
Penn State returns to action this week at home against Florida International (noon, Big Ten Network), a game that isn’t expected to sway voters too much.