Ohio State began the 2026 season as the unanimous No. 1 team in the country, receiving 40 first-place votes in the preseason AP Poll. A one-point road loss to Texas in Week 2 knocked the Buckeyes down to No. 6 — their first time outside the top five since late 2024. Now, after a dominant 59-3 win over Kent State in Week 3, Ohio State has fallen yet again, this time to No. 7 in both the AP and Coaches polls. It’s Ohio State’s lowest ranking since December 1, 2024, and it’s happening despite the Buckeyes not losing a single game this week.
The Exact Voting Numbers Behind Ohio State’s Drop
The specific numbers make the situation even more pointed. Ohio State received 1,415 total poll points in this week’s AP Top 25 — actually up slightly from the 1,407 points the Buckeyes received after Week 2 — but other teams simply gained more ground. Perhaps most notably, Ohio State received zero first-place votes from the 69-member media panel. Three voters still had the Buckeyes as high as No. 2, but three others dropped them as low as No. 8, showing a real split in how national media members currently view the program.
Why Ole Miss Jumping Ohio State Feels Inconsistent
The catalyst behind the drop was Ole Miss’s 32-24 win over then-No. 7 LSU in Saturday night’s marquee matchup — a result that always seemed likely to shake up the rankings no matter who won. Ole Miss vaulted from No. 8 all the way to No. 4, jumping over Indiana, Miami, and Ohio State in the process. LSU, meanwhile, only slid three spots, from No. 7 to No. 10, despite being the team that actually lost the game.
That discrepancy is exactly what’s fueling frustration among Ohio State fans. The Buckeyes dropped five full spots after a one-point road loss to a Texas team that many analysts consider at least as good as Ole Miss, if not better — Texas has remained the unanimous No. 1 team in the country in both polls for two straight weeks, receiving 58 of 69 first-place votes this week alone. Meanwhile, LSU lost outright to a lower-ranked opponent and barely moved. For a fan base already sensitive about earlier ranking drops, that inconsistency isn’t going unnoticed.
Ohio State’s Résumé, By the Numbers
It’s worth stepping back and actually comparing résumés directly. Ohio State is 2-1, with its only loss coming by a single point on the road to the current unanimous No. 1 team in the country. Ole Miss, by contrast, improved to 3-0 with two genuinely impressive wins over ranked opponents — Louisville and LSU — making a real case that its résumé is the strongest of any one-loss-or-better team in the country right now. Indiana and Miami, the two teams sandwiched directly around Ohio State, both won comfortably against lesser competition (Indiana beat Western Kentucky 38-0, Miami beat Wake Forest 33-20) and each only dropped one spot themselves, the same penalty Ohio State absorbed despite Ohio State’s win being far more lopsided.
The frustrating reality for Ohio State fans is that this is simply how the modern AP Poll tends to work: a marquee win between two ranked teams almost always reshuffles the board more dramatically than a blowout win over an overmatched Group of Five opponent, regardless of how well the blowout team actually played.
A Historic Streak Continues Despite the Drop
Buried inside the disappointment is a genuinely remarkable stat: Ohio State has now been ranked in 100 consecutive AP Top 25 polls, the third-longest active streak in the country behind only Alabama (299 straight) and Georgia (152 straight). Whatever frustration exists about the exact number next to Ohio State’s name, the program’s sustained level of excellence over that stretch remains historically rare.
Jeremiah Smith’s Record-Breaking Day Got Overshadowed
One other note from Saturday’s Kent State game deserves more attention than the ranking discourse has given it: Jeremiah Smith officially became Ohio State’s all-time leader in career receiving yards during the win, a milestone that arrived in the same week the Buckeyes’ national ranking took its second hit of the season. It’s a reminder that even during a stretch of external frustration, this Ohio State roster remains loaded with individual talent performing at a historic level.
Full Week 3 AP Top 25 Poll
- Texas
- Georgia
- Notre Dame
- Ole Miss
- Indiana
- Miami (FL)
- Ohio State
- Alabama
- BYU
- LSU
- Texas Tech
- USC
- Penn State
- Tennessee
- Utah
- Louisville
- Iowa
- Michigan
- Missouri
- Oregon
- Florida
- SMU
- Texas A&M
- Mississippi State
- Houston
The Big Ten placed seven total teams in this week’s poll — Indiana, Ohio State, USC, Penn State, Iowa, Michigan, and Oregon — while the SEC led all conferences with 10 ranked teams.
Why the AP Poll Doesn’t Actually Determine Ohio State’s Fate
Despite the frustration, it’s important to keep this ranking in proper context. The AP Poll generates plenty of conversation, but it carries no formal weight in determining who actually makes the College Football Playoff. That responsibility belongs entirely to the College Football Playoff selection committee, whose rankings won’t even be released until later in the season, and which evaluates teams using its own criteria rather than simply mirroring the AP’s week-to-week movement.
As long as Ohio State continues taking care of business on the field, the committee’s eventual ranking should reflect the Buckeyes’ actual body of work far more accurately than a poll swayed heavily by a single marquee primetime result involving other teams. Ohio State still has meaningful challenges ahead — road trips to USC and Indiana, plus home games against both Oregon and Michigan — giving the Buckeyes plenty of opportunities to control their own narrative regardless of where they sit in the AP Poll on any given Sunday.
What’s Next for Ohio State
Ohio State opens Big Ten play this Saturday at noon on FOX against Illinois, its first true conference test of the season. A confident, complete performance would go a long way toward refocusing the conversation on the field rather than on poll math — and toward proving that this week’s ranking, whatever the media panel decided, doesn’t reflect where this team is truly headed.
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