College Football Rankings 2015: Top Reaction to Week 9 AP Poll and Standings
Perhaps a quarterback change was all Ohio State needed to get its offense going—and to remain the overwhelming No. 1 team in the nation in the latest Associated Press Top 25 poll.
The Buckeyes notched 39 first-place votes in the Week 9 poll, a step up from the 28 they received the week prior. The improvement is largely from a change under center from the struggling Cardale Jones to J.T. Barrett, who led Ohio State to a dominating 49-7 win over Rutgers to improve to 8-0.
While Urban Meyer's crew stayed atop the rankings yet again and Baylor remained right behind OSU, that's where the stability ends. Clemson made a big jump up to No. 3 in the newest AP poll, a move up three spots after its emphatic blowout of Miami on the road.
.jpg?w=256 "Ohio State Team Doctor")
That's only the beginning of the takeaways from the AP's new Top 25 poll, so let's take a look below at how it shakes out and what to take from all of it.
| 1 | Ohio State (39) | 8-0 |
| 2 | Baylor (7) | 7-0 |
| 3 | Clemson (6) | 7-0 |
| 4 | LSU (5) | 7-0 |
| 5 | TCU (3) | 7-0 |
| 6 | Michigan State | 8-0 |
| 7 | Alabama (1) | 7-1 |
| 8 | Stanford | 6-1 |
| 9 | Notre Dame | 6-1 |
| 10 | Iowa | 7-0 |
| 11 | Florida | 6-1 |
| 12 | Oklahoma State | 7-0 |
| 13 | Utah | 6-1 |
| 14 | Oklahoma | 6-1 |
| 15 | Michigan | 5-2 |
| 16 | Memphis | 7-0 |
| 17 | Florida State | 6-1 |
| 18 | Houston | 7-0 |
| 19 | Ole Miss | 6-2 |
| 20 | Toledo | 7-0 |
| 21 | Temple | 7-0 |
| 22 | Duke | 6-1 |
| 23 | Pittsburgh | 6-1 |
| 24 | UCLA | 5-2 |
| 25 | Mississippi State | 6-2 |
Poll Reaction
Let's begin at the very top, shall we?
That's where the Ohio State Buckeyes have sat ever since their surprising national championship at the end of last season. Even amid troubling times and near-defeats throughout 2015, the Buckeyes are appearing to find their groove as the season passes the midway point.
That was on display Saturday, when Ohio State walked into Rutgers' house and outgained them by more than 200 yards. The Buckeyes didn't allow any points until the fourth-quarter garbage time, playing a penalty-free game and finally looking like the nation's No. 1 team.
Most importantly, they seemed to find the answer on offense, as Barrett dazzled with more than 100 rushing yards and five total touchdowns. There's no telling what it means for Jones' future, but the important part is Ohio State is rolling, as ESPN's Mike Greenberg noted:
As nice as that victory proved to be, it wasn't even close to the most impressive win of Week 8. That title undoubtedly goes to the Clemson Tigers, who dominated Miami 58-0 and handed the Hurricanes their worst loss in program history.
With Florida State losing to Georgia Tech, Clemson is the lone unbeaten left in the ACC and holds the conference's hopes of a College Football Playoff berth.
Right behind Clemson lies the top-ranked SEC team, as the LSU Tigers moved to No. 4 after dispatching Western Kentucky at home. It marks LSU's highest ranking in years, as Ross Dellenger of the Advocate reported:
"#LSU's No. 4 AP ranking is its highest since Sept. 30, 2012. Tigers were ranked fourth that week before a loss.
— Ross Dellenger (@DellengerAdv) October 25, 2015"
LSU, Clemson and Ohio State are only half of the teams that notched first-place votes among the new AP poll. Also joining that group is Baylor, TCU and Alabama, which all sit in the Top Seven and very much in the CFP picture.
There appears to be a new king of the Pac-12 as well, with previously third-ranked Utah falling on the road to USC in a blowout. The Utes dropped to 13th in the new poll, leaving No. 8 Stanford as the top-ranked Pac-12 squad.
Throughout a weekend that only produced one matchup between Top 25 foes, not much movement was expected heading into the Week 9 standings. But as college football tends to do, surprises emerged when we least expected them.
.jpg?w=480 "Ohio State Team Doctor")
