After another weekend of turmoil, the Ohio State Buckeyes are back at the top yet again.
In the Associated Press Poll, the Buckeyes are No. 1, followed by South Florida and Boston College
NEW YORK (AP) — Ohio State has risen — all the way to No 1.
A day after the top two teams in the Associated Press Top 25 lost, the Buckeyes jumped two spots Sunday in the media poll and became the third school this season to hold the No. 1 ranking.
“We’ve improved each week but we understand that the only poll that counts is the last one,” Ohio State coach Jim Tressel said in a statement.
The Buckeyes (7-0) beat Kent State 48-3 Saturday and have played only one team that’s been in the rankings at any point this season. In a season in which 10 ranked teams have been beaten by unranked teams, just avoiding the upset bug has been enough for Ohio State.
And, going by at least this week’s rankings, the Buckeyes are not scheduled to play a ranked team until they face Michigan, which made it back into the Top 25 for the first time since losing to Appalachian State, at the end of the season.
The rankings in the USA Today Coaches poll are much the same:
The Buckeyes ascended to the No. 1 post in the coaches poll that they occupied for the entire 2006 regular season before losing to Florida in the BCS title game. Ohio State improved to 7-0 with an easy win over Kent State and received 56 of 60 first-place votes. The Buckeyes are the only top-10 preseason team is still undefeated.
Boston College, also 7-0, climbed to No. 2 and picked up one first-place nod. It is the highest ranking for the Eagles in any poll since 1942, when they spent a week atop the AP poll.
South Florida claimed the other three No. 1 votes and rose to third in the poll after blasting Central Florida 64-12. It is another all-time high mark for the Bulls, whose resume includes wins over No. 7 West Virginia and No. 19 Auburn.
The Bulls also are No. 1 in Jeff Sagarin’s computer ratings which are part of the BCS formula. That means South Florida could be No. 2 in the BCS standings. In the Associated Press poll, South Florida is No. 2.
Rounding out the top five are Oklahoma, which knocked Missouri from the unbeaten ranks, and LSU, which could still compete for the Southeastern Conference and BCS crowns.
Of course, given the way this season has gone, all of this could change by next Sunday.
