There wasn’t much optimism for Penn State’s chances against Ohio State Saturday night, but the Nittany Lions hung around and gave the Buckeyes a tough test in a 33-24 loss.
As such, the Lions only dropped spots in the Week 10 AP Poll, checking in as the No. 22 in the nation. Despite three losses on the season now, back-to-back-to-back losses at that, the performance against Ohio State points toward a team that hasn’t given up.
POLL ALERT: Michigan State jumps to No. 5 in AP Top 25, Wake Forest joins top 10 for 1st time, Houston enters rankings, same top four.
Full poll presented by @askRegions >> https://t.co/1UnLucV9H1 pic.twitter.com/xSJkkbfIUS
— AP Top 25 (@AP_Top25) October 31, 2021
Georgia (1,575 points, 64 first-place votes) remains the consensus top-ranked team in the nation, coming off a 34-7 win over Florida. The top four teams remain the same from the Week 9 poll with Cincinnati (1,455 points), Alabama (1,413 points) and Oklahoma (1,382 points) checking in as the second-, third- and fourth-ranked teams in the poll.
Michigan State (1,340 points) jumped to No. 5 after a huge win over then-No. 6 Michigan in East Lansing, Michigan to round out the Top 5.
Ohio State (1,296 points) dropped a spot to No. 6 despite a win over then-No. 20 Penn State and Oregon (1,233 points), Notre Dame (1,067 points), Michigan (1,048) and Wake Forest (1,025 points) complete the Top 10.
The Top 10 is still loaded with Big 10 teams, although none are currently in the current playoff picture. Michigan State and Ohio State would be the two alternates if the playoffs began today, both coming off ranked wins.
Michigan only fell three spots after the close loss to Michigan State, still firmly in the picture in the Big 10.
Iowa (342 points) somehow remained in the Top 20 after two bad losses to Purdue and Wisconsin over the last weeks, checking in at No. 19. The Lions (182 points) remain three spots behind Iowa.
Wisconsin (91 points) and Minnesota (51 points) are third and sixth, respectively, in the “Others Receiving Votes” category.
To check out the full Week 10 AP Poll, click here.
