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Ohio State Moves To No. 2 In AP Poll, No. 3 In Coaches Poll After Blowout Win

By November 21, 2021 (2:14 pm)Football

College football coaches and the Associated Press think Ohio State and head coach Ryan Day keeps getting better with each game. 

After starting the year as the No. 4 team in the nation, the Buckeyes took a nosedive, falling as far as No. 11 after a loss to Oregon and a shaky win over Tulsa. Since then, Ohio State steadily climbed the rankings, reaching No. 2 in the AP and No. 3 in the Amway Coaches poll after Week 12. 

The Buckeyes are coming off consecutive wins over ranked opponents, including a 28-point win over then-No. 19 Purdue on Nov. 13 and a 59-7 defeat of then-No. 7 Michigan State the following week. The string of victories helped Ohio State move behind Georgia and Alabama in the Coaches poll and take the second spot behind the Bulldogs in the AP.

With its blowout loss in Columbus, Michigan State fell outside of the top 10 in both polls. Michigan is the sixth-best team according to the AP and Coaches, setting up a premier matchup on Nov. 27 in Ann Arbor, Mich.

The last time Ohio State and Michigan played in a top 10 matchup was on Nov. 25, 2015, with the No. 6-ranked Buckeye claiming a 30-27 overtime victory over the No. 10 Wolverines thanks to a game-winning 15-yard touchdown run from Curtis Samuel.

In the third College Football Playoff rankings released on Nov. 16, Ohio State was No. 4 behind Georgia, Alabama and Oregon. The first two teams out were Cincinnati and Michigan. With the Ducks suffering their second defeat with a 38-7 loss to Utah, they will undoubtedly be out of the top four, allowing the Buckeyes to solidify further their spot in the CFP in the next poll.

USA TODAY AMWAY COACHES POLL

RANKTEAMRECORDPTS1ST VOTESPREVCHANGE
1GEORGIA11–01550621
2ALABAMA10–114502
3OHIO STATE10–114284+1
4CINCINNATI11–013883-1
5NOTRE DAME10–112586+1
6MICHIGAN10–112507+1
7OKLAHOMA STATE10–112109+2
8MISSISSIPPI9–2104910+2
9OKLAHOMA10–1101011+2
10BAYLOR9–297713+3
11OREGON9–28645-6
12IOWA9–272214+2
13MICHIGAN STATE9–26988-5
14TEXAS A&M8–368316+2
15BRIGHAM YOUNG9–267515
16HOUSTON10–157217+1
17PITTSBURGH9–250719+2
18WISCONSIN8–348520+2
19UTAH8–347825+6
20TEXAS-SAN ANTONIO11–047518-2
21WAKE FOREST9–240412-9
22SAN DIEGO STATE10–125723+1
23UL LAFAYETTE10–123621-2
24NC STATE8–319624
25KENTUCKY8–391NR+1

AP POLL

RANKTEAMRECORDPTSPREVCONFERENCE
1GEORGIA11–01,550 (62)1SEC
2OHIO STATE10–11,4345Big Ten
3ALABAMA10–11,4232SEC
4CINCINNATI11–01,4163American Athletic
5NOTRE DAME10–11,2626IA Independents
6MICHIGAN10–11,2468Big Ten
7OKLAHOMA STATE10–11,2099Big 12
8OLE MISS9–21,06010SEC
9BAYLOR9–21,04611Big 12
10OKLAHOMA10–11,00112Big 12
11OREGON9–28494Pac-12
12MICHIGAN STATE9–27787Big Ten
13BRIGHAM YOUNG9–277114IA Independents
14TEXAS A&M8–362816SEC
15UTSA11–058315Conference USA
16UTAH8–356124Pac-12
17IOWA9–253818Big Ten
18WISCONSIN8–351719Big Ten
19HOUSTON10–151617American Athletic
20PITTSBURGH9–244520ACC
21WAKE FOREST9–234413ACC
22SAN DIEGO STATE10–127323Mountain West
23LOUISIANA-LAFAYETTE10–124622Sun Belt
24NORTH CAROLINA STATE8–314125ACC
25ARKANSAS7–410521SEC
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