Ohio State’s spot on Stephen Means’ Week 6 AP Top 25 ballot comes with some real company at the top, but not the kind the Buckeyes probably want to see.
After Georgia knocked off Alabama 20-17 in Tuscaloosa, Means moved the Bulldogs to No. 1 and slotted Ohio State at No. 3, behind Notre Dame at No. 2.
Alabama, despite the loss at home, stayed right behind the Buckeyes at No. 4.
Means said Georgia’s win gave the Bulldogs the kind of resume point that stands above the rest right now, and he also made clear that the Buckeyes remain in the thick of the No. 1 conversation. After that fourth-quarter finish in Austin in Week 2, he wrote, the debate for the top spot is now between Georgia and Ohio State.
Still, he didn’t think the Buckeyes had done enough to jump Notre Dame. His view was that the Fighting Irish have “taken care of business,” while Ohio State has not. That’s the split that kept the Buckeyes at No. 3 rather than pushing them all the way to the top.
The ballot’s next tier starts with Texas at No. 10, a steep fall from No. 1 after the Longhorns beat Ohio State but also lost to Oklahoma. Means said that head-to-head matters, but it shouldn’t trap a voter into ignoring the bigger body of work. That logic helped him keep Ohio State ahead of Texas even with the early-season loss in Columbus.
Means also pointed to UCLA as one of the week’s loudest risers after the Bruins handed Oregon its second loss and improved to 5-0 for the first time since 2005.
Among the biggest changes to his ballot, Kentucky and USC returned after wins over LSU and Penn State, while Arizona and Boise State were new additions.
He also made his broader voting philosophy pretty clear for October: winning still has to matter, and second losses should carry serious weight. In his view, there should be “no place” in a top 25 for teams that can’t make it through the first full week of October without a second loss.
Means’ full top 25 after Week 6 had Georgia first, Notre Dame second, Ohio State third and Alabama fourth, followed by Indiana, UCLA, Miami, BYU, Texas Tech and Texas. The rest of the ballot listed Utah, Iowa, Missouri, Oklahoma State, Ole Miss, Wisconsin, Wake Forest, Northwestern, Kentucky, Nebraska, Tennessee, Boise State, Arizona, USC and James Madison.
In Other News...
Ohio State Enters Brutal Stretch With One Worry Fans Cant Ignore
Rainy conditions and a depleted lineup did little to slow Ohio State in its 45-16 win over Maryland, a result that kept the Buckeyes moving forward even as the injury and illness list trimmed key pieces from the rotation. Several starters were out, including multiple offensive linemen and wide receivers, but the group that did suit up handled the circumstances well enough to leave Saturday with a comfortable conference win.
Indiana now looms as the next test, and the Buckeyes are still projecting confidence heading into that matchup. The concern for fans is hard to miss, though: Ohio State is entering a demanding stretch while still waiting to get healthier up front and back on the perimeter, and that makes the coming days worth watching closely. [Read more 🡒]
Ohio State Just Got A New Ranking Test Before Indiana
Georgias win over Alabama shook up the top of both major college football polls, and Ohio State came out of the weekend a little higher in the conversation as a result. The Buckeyes climbed to No. 4 in the AP Poll and No. 5 in the Coaches Poll, keeping them firmly in the national title mix while the rest of the Top 5 continued to shuffle around them.
The new placement only adds more weight to what is coming next, because Ohio State is headed toward a Top-5 matchup with Indiana. With the rankings tightening and the stakes rising, the Buckeyes now have an even clearer read on where they stand, and a bigger test waiting to show whether this bump in the polls matches the on-field reality. [Read more 🡒]
Ohio State Just Turned Up The Heat On Two Committed 2027 Targets
A recent visit tied to Ohio States game against Maryland doubled as another reminder that the Buckeyes are already digging deep into the 2027 class. The program extended football scholarship offers to linebacker James Conrad and running back Kingston Allen, giving both prospects a fresh point of contact with one of the sports standard-bearers and putting two committed players on the radar in a very real way.
Conrad, who had been pledged to Buffalo, landed his first Power 4 offer from Ohio State, while Allen arrived in Columbus as a Wisconsin commit and left with an offer of his own. Both are regarded as highly ranked prospects with strong high school rsums, and the Buckeyes have clearly decided theyre worth pushing on early even with their current commitments elsewhere. [Read more 🡒]