Ohio State keeps No. 1 ranking heading into bye week

COLUMBUS, Ohio (WCMH) -- A 3-0 record in nonconference play that was capped with a 37-9 victory over the Ohio Bobcats has kept the Ohio State Buckeyes as the top-ranked team in the land.

Ohio State (3-0) was once again voted by the Associated Press poll voters and the coaches of college football as the best team in the nation, ahead of Big Ten rivals Penn State, who remain ranked second. The Buckeyes won its nonconference games against Texas, Grambling State, and Ohio by a combined score of 121-16.

The third week of the season was highlighted by two incredible all-ranked shootouts as No. 5 Georgia beat No. 15 Tennessee 44-41 in overtime and new No. 10 Texas A&M dropped Notre Dame 16 places in the coaches rankings with a 41-40 win in South Bend on NBC4.

Three teams joined the top-25 heading into Week 4. Those teams are No. 18 Georgia Tech, No. 20 Vanderbilt, and No. 25 USC. All three are 3-0.

2025 Associated Press rankings (Sept. 14, 2025)

The Fighting Irish's 0-2 start has taken them out of the projected playoff picture completely. It has also once again swapped Ohio State's potential first round opponent. Using the current coaches rankings, the No. 1 Buckeyes would be projected to play either No. 8 Texas or No. 9 Illinois in a quarterfinal at the Rose Bowl.

Projected playoff bracket using AP poll

Ohio State will be off Saturday before kicking off Big Ten play on Sept. 27. The Buckeyes' first conference game is also its longest road trip of the regular season as they face Washington, who joined the Big Ten in 2024.

A kickoff time and broadcast assignment is expected to be announced Monday afternoon. Due to the west coast time zone, it is unlikely the game would kick-off at 12 p.m. Eastern and instead looks poised to kick-off at 3:30 p.m. Eastern or later.