Ohio State is No. 1 in the Associated Press college football poll this week
The Buckeyes ascended to the top spot after knocking off Texas, the No. 1-team in the preseason poll, 14-7 on Saturday.
Such a win convinced 55 voters to vote OSU No. 1 on their ballot this week (though 11 had them on top in the preseason, too), but that was no sure-thing in the eyes of some college football observers.
Pundits on television and social media argued LSU deserved to replace Texas at the top after the Tigers won 17-10 at Clemson to open the season.
.@CFBHeather believes LSU will be No. 1 in the country after their win over Clemson 👀 pic.twitter.com/NHsXEOxOgf
— Get Up (@GetUpESPN) September 1, 2025
Some AP voters agreed, but not enough for Brian Kelly’s team to reach the top.
LSU got 11 first-place votes and ended up jumping six spots to No. 3.
Ohio State jumped over Penn State, but the Nittany Lions are No. 2 for the second consecutive week. They whipped Nevada 46-11 in their season-opener and got seven first-place votes this week.
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The other first-place vote went to Oregon, a 59-13 winner over Montana State.
The Ducks are No. 6 this week, trailing No. 4 Georgia and No. 5 Miami (Fla.).
The Hurricanes also made a big jump, moving up five spots after topping Notre Dame 27-24 on Sunday night.
What to know about Ohio State
While Ohio State is the defending national champion, the Buckeyes lost a lot of top players to the NFL in the offseason.
Their new-look defense, coordinated by former Super Bowl-winning assistant Matt Patricia, stymied Texas for most of the afternoon last weekend with a handful of new players stepping up to fill the void.
They also got just enough offense from a unit led by new starting quarterback Julian Sayin, who was 13-for-20 passing for 126 yards and a touchdown.
What happened to Texas?
Texas was the preseason No. 1 on the strength of a strong returning core as well as the ascension of Arch Manning, a junior quarterback who was a highly regarded prospect coming out of high school.
He struggled against the Buckeyes, completing 17 of 30 passes for 170 yards with one touchdown pass and one interception.
Familiar Territory for Buckeyes
This will be the 107th week Ohio State is No. 1 in the AP poll.
Only Alabama has more with 141.
Oklahoma is third with 101 while Notre Dame is fourth with 98, and Southern California ranks fifth with 91.
Ohio State has been ranked in AP Top 25 for 80 consecutive weeks, the third-longest active streak behind Alabama (279) and Georgia (132).
The Crimson Tide entered the season ranked No. 8 but fell to 21st this week after being trounced by Florida State. Georgia moved up one spot after thumping Marshall 45-7.
Ohio State has played 88 games as a No. 1 team and is 75-12-1 in those games. That’s second most to Alabama, which has played 123 games as a No. 1.
This week they put the No. 1 ranking on the line against Grambling in Columbus.
