Buckeyes vault up to No. 1 in AP Poll after win over Texas

COLUMBUS — For the second time in the last three AP Polls, Ohio State is the No. 1 team in the country.

After winning the national title in January, the Buckeyes were named the No. 1 team in the country by the AP. In the preseason, they opened the 2025 season as the No. 3 team and faced top-ranked Texas on Saturday.

Now after that marquee win over the Longhorns, Ohio State is back on top, claiming the No. 1 spot in the latest AP Poll that was released Tuesday. The poll is typically released on Sundays in-season, but the extra games on Sunday and Monday pushed the poll back two days.

Ohio State received 55 first-place votes. Penn State received seven, while LSU received three and Oregon received one.

According to Eric Olson at the AP, Ohio State has played 88 games as a No. 1 team and is 75-12-1 in those games as the top-ranked team. That’s second most to Alabama, which has played 123 games as a No. 1. The Buckeyes are ranked No. 1 for the 107th week, second all-time behind Alabama, which has been ranked at No. 1 for 141 weeks.

Penn State, LSU, Georgia and Miami rounded out the top five for the Week 2 poll. Penn State destroyed Nevada, LSU beat No. 8 Clemson on the road, Georgia easily beat Marshall and Miami beat No. 9 Notre Dame.

But nobody has a better win through the first week of the college football season than Ohio State, taking down the top-ranked Longhorns thanks to a dominant defensive performance.

“The game plan was excellent, but the buy-in was what’s important,” Ohio State coach Ryan Day said after the game about the defense. “Plays are plays. Scheme is scheme. But what matters are the warriors on the field believing in it and the work that’s put in. … Was it perfect? No.

“There’s a lot of things we need to improve on — a ton. But at least we have a starting point.”

The starting point before last week was a No. 3 ranking and a date with No. 1. Now the Buckeyes are the top-ranked team in college football after winning that game.

The full AP Poll can be found below.

AP Poll (Sept. 2)

1. Ohio State (55 first-place votes)
2. Penn State (7)
3. LSU (3)
4. Georgia
5. Miami
6. Oregon (1)
7. Texas
8. Clemson
9. Notre Dame
10. South Carolina
11. Illinois
12. Arizona State
13. Florida
14. Florida State
15. Michigan
16. Iowa State
17. SMU
18. Oklahoma
19. Texas A&M
20. Ole Miss
21. Alabama
22. Tennessee
23. Indiana
24. Texas Tech
25. Utah