Ohio State got the kind of break the Buckeyes could actually enjoy in Week 6: while the AP Poll kept twisting itself into knots, Ohio State moved up from No. 5 to No. 4.
That climb felt earned. What came after it was where the latest rankings started to lose the plot.
There were a few placements at the top that mostly tracked. Georgia stayed at No.
1, Notre Dame moved up to No. 2, and Miami checking in at No. 3 ahead of Ohio State made enough sense for now. Georgia, as the piece puts it, is the best team in the country right now, while Notre Dame and Miami are teams that figure to settle into their proper spots as the season goes on.
Then the poll gets strange.
Texas, which entered last week ranked No. 1, was upset by unranked and struggling Oklahoma, and the Longhorns only fell to No. 7. That kind of drop barely seems to match the scale of the loss, especially for a team that had just been sitting at the top of the poll.
The real mess starts in the middle of the rankings, especially from Nos. 9 through 16. Ole Miss landed at No. 9 despite its lone loss being a blowout to Florida earlier this season. At the time, that loss looked passable; now that Florida is out of the rankings and may not be very good, it doesn’t look nearly as strong.
Missouri sits ahead of Mississippi State even though the Tigers’ only loss is to Mississippi State. The reasoning appears to be Missouri’s win over Florida, which circles right back to the issue above.
Mississippi State, meanwhile, is two spots behind Missouri because it was blown out by Alabama by 33 points. Fine, but that logic runs into a wall when you compare Mississippi State to Iowa, which has just one loss - to Ohio State by 17.
Kentucky, after its last-second win over LSU on Saturday night, looks correctly placed for now. But if the Wildcats keep playing like that, they should be climbing quickly.
Tennessee, though, is a tougher sell. The Volunteers have not beaten anyone of real consequence and are leaning heavily on a three-point loss to Texas - a Texas team that just suffered the worst loss of the weekend.
The one spot that drew clear agreement was Northwestern sneaking into the top 25. That move feels deserved, and the expectation here is that the Wildcats keep moving upward.
In Other News...
Marvin Harrison Jr And C.J. Stroud Just Revived A Buckeye Storyline
Marvin Harrison Jr. is heading from Arizona to Houston, and the move puts him back alongside the quarterback who helped make him one of the most electric receivers in college football. For Ohio State fans, it is a reminder of how quickly Harrisons Buckeye rsum came together, from big nights in the 2022 Rose Bowl and the 2023 Sugar Bowl to the kind of complete performance he delivered against Penn State in 2022.
The trade also gives Harrison a fresh chance after a difficult NFL start, and it arrives with a familiar face at quarterback in C.J. Stroud. For a former Buckeye star trying to reset his momentum, the reunion brings back the kind of setting where his talent looked at its most natural, and it leaves one obvious question hanging over the next chapter of his career. [Read more 🡒]
Ohio State Still Has One Problem Fans Cant Ignore
Ohio States special teams issues have become hard to brush aside, especially when games tighten and every point starts to matter more. The Buckeyes have already lived through missed opportunities in key moments, including a costly field goal miss in the previous Big Ten Championship, and the unit has remained a lingering concern even with Robby Discher brought in to coordinate the operation.
Connor Hawkins entered the season with a track record that suggested steadier days ahead, but his 2026 form has not matched expectations. For a program that usually expects clean execution in the kicking game, the continued uncertainty around field goals keeps showing up in the places Ohio State can least afford it, and until that changes, fans are going to keep watching this part of the team with unease. [Read more 🡒]
Ryan Day Faces One Big Lineup Question Before Ohio State's Indiana Test
Ryan Day sounded encouraged this week about Ohio States health heading into Indiana, saying most of the six starters who missed the Maryland game are expected back. That group included Brandon Inniss, Devin McCuin, Austin Siereveld, Phillip Daniels, Christian Alliegro and Jay Timmons, with some of those absences tied to non-football-related issues. Getting that much experience back would matter for a Buckeyes team trying to keep its rhythm intact as the season tightens.
Indiana, though, gives Ohio State little margin for error. Day pointed to the Hoosiers recent success and made clear they are not the kind of opponent to take lightly, especially with lineup questions still hanging over his own side. The Buckeyes should be closer to full strength, but this matchup still comes with one obvious layer of uncertainty: exactly how quickly those returning starters can settle back in and how much of the rotation changes with them. [Read more 🡒]