No. 2 Ohio St set to take fall in AP Top 25 after losing at USC, bottom of rankings due for shakeup

Yet another big shuffle is in store when The Associated Press Top 25 is released Sunday afternoon.

For the fourth straight week, a No. 1 or 2 team lost to an unranked opponent, and a total of seven Top 25 teams lost in Week 9.

The biggest loss Saturday belonged to No. 2 Ohio State, which was without injured quarterback Julian Sayin and went down 30-18 at Southern California. The Buckeyes lost for the second time this season and probably will take a big fall with Oregon heading to Columbus next Saturday.

Miami escaped North Carolina 38-35 and should hang on to the No. 1 ranking for a third straight week.

With Ohio State going down, No. 6 Utah is in line to crack the top five for the first time since 2019 by virtue of its 49-25 win over Cincinnati.

Major changes probably are coming toward the bottom the poll. Six teams between Nos. 17 and 25 lost.

No. 17 Florida lost to No. 3 Georgia, No. 19 SMU to Syracuse, No. 20 Northwestern to Oregon, No. 22 Arizona to No. 13 Texas Tech, No. 24 Oklahoma State to Iowa State and No. 25 Wisconsin to Iowa.

Iowa, which shut out Wisconsin 30-0 at home, should return to the rankings after a one-week absence. USC also could return after its first top-five win since the 2018 Rose Bowl against Penn State and its highest-ranked win since it beat Oklahoma in the 2004 season’s national championship game.

Also keep an eye on New Mexico, which could get its first-ever ranking with its 7-1 start.

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