Ohio State (1) and Michigan State (2) may well have officially ushered in the Year of the Big Ten, claiming the top two spots of the Associated Press College Football Poll.

After beating Northern Illinois by only a touchdown, Ohio State's stranglehold on the top spot loosened, as the Spartans received seven first-place votes. Despite losing 17 first-place votes from a week ago, Ohio State remains in firm control.

According to The AP, it is the first time the Big Ten occupied both the top two spots of the college football Top 25 since 2006 when Ohio State and Michigan did so in 2006.

But the story of the week was Ole Miss (3) rising 12 places and receiving 11 first-place votes to tie for third overall with TCU. For the second year in a row, Ole Miss upset Alabama (12), but this time the Rebels won in Tuscaloosa.

Also on the rise was LSU (8), who beat Auburn handily 45-21 thanks to a dominant performance from running back Leonard Fournette, who certainly showed why there is already Heisman buzz surrounding him.

The remainder of the Top 10 is: Baylor (5), Notre Dame (6), Georgia (7), UCLA (9), and Florida State (10).
Auburn was the lone team to leave the rankings, as Stanford (23) rose to take its place after beating USC (19), which fell 13 spots.

Continuing an impressive, if unexpected start - and bolstering the Big Ten's presence in the Top 25 - was Northwestern (17), which rose six places after beating Duke and improving to 3-0. Wisconsin (22) continued its recovery from an opening night loss to Alabama by beating Troy 28-3, a week after demolishing Miami-Ohio 58-0.

The ACC, Pac-12, and Big 12 experienced a fairly routine week, all things considered. With the exception of USC, Georgia Tech (20), and Arizona, no team from those conference rose or fell more than three places.

(Source: Associated Press)

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