Ohio State’s steady climb in the AP Poll continued Sunday, and the Buckeyes are back where they belong: inside the top three.
That bump comes after a hard-fought win over Indiana on Saturday, a game that looked every bit like a showdown between two of the nation’s best teams. The Hoosiers had a late shot to steal it, but wide receiver Nick Marsh stepped out of bounds on the game-winning catch, ending Indiana’s last chance.
Even with that finish, the bigger takeaway was clear: Ohio State and Indiana both made their case as elite teams, and neither one is disappearing from the national conversation.
The Buckeyes entered the weekend at No. 5 and rose to No. 3 in the newest AP Poll. With the chaos that hit college football on Saturday, Ohio State had a real path to moving even higher if Miami had ended up on the wrong side of Florida State’s upset bid. That didn’t happen, but the Buckeyes still moved up.
The top of the rankings took a major hit across the board in Week 7. Georgia lost to Auburn, Notre Dame fell, Alabama was blown out, Texas lost, and Missouri got hammered. The result was a reshuffled AP Poll that reflected just how much parity is showing up week after week.
There was also one notable wrinkle near the top of the rankings: BYU is now No. 2 in the country. That is the highest ranking for the program since it reached No. 5 in 1993. BYU won the national championship in 1984, but beyond that, this is its best ranking ever.
Ohio State’s road ahead is only getting tougher. After the bye week, the Buckeyes head west to face No.
16 USC, then they have an unranked matchup against Oregon and a difficult game against No. 24 Northwestern.
In Other News...
Ohio State Suddenly Has A Quarterback Problem It Cant Ignore
Ohio State got the win it wanted against Indiana, but it came with a major concern as starting quarterback Julian Sayin went down with a right shoulder injury in the fourth quarter. Head coach Ryan Day said Sayin is expected to miss several weeks, leaving the Buckeyes to navigate a stretch without the player who had been steering the offense.
Luke Fahey, a true freshman, finished the game after Sayin exited, and Ohio State still managed to hold on for a 19-15 victory that snapped Indianas 22-game winning streak. The result will sit well in the standings, but the next question is far more pressing for the Buckeyes: how they adjust at quarterback while waiting for Sayin to heal. [Read more 🡒]
Indiana May Have Changed Ohio State's Entire Season
Ohio State's win over Indiana did more than hand the Buckeyes a hard-fought 19-15 victory and snap the Hoosiers' 22-game winning streak. It also came with a potential season-altering hit when starting quarterback Julian Sayin went down with a right arm injury in the fourth quarter, forcing Ohio State to keep the rest of the afternoon moving without the player who had been steering the offense.
Coach Ryan Day said Sayin is expected to be out for several weeks, leaving the Buckeyes to lean on backup Luke Fahey in a situation that immediately tested the depth chart. Fahey took over, but the offense had trouble advancing while he was on the field, which turned a statement win into a much bigger concern about how Ohio State will handle the next stretch. [Read more 🡒]
Ohio State's Huge Win May Have Come With A Serious Cost
Ohio States 19-15 win at Indiana was the kind of victory that can reshape a season, snapping the Hoosiers 22-game winning streak and ending a 19-game run at home. Julian Sayin provided the biggest offensive play of the day with a 38-yard touchdown pass that helped the Buckeyes get enough separation in a tight, tense game where every possession seemed to matter.
The concern afterward was less about the result and more about what it may have cost. Sayin appeared to injure his right arm during the game, leaving Ohio State to wonder how serious it is after a performance that had already become central to the outcome, while Indiana also had a chance to flip the script when Nick Marshs potential go-ahead touchdown was wiped out because he stepped out of bounds. [Read more 🡒]