After another week of just being good enough to win, the Associated Press voters lost faith in Ohio State (2) and dropped them in the poll for the first time all season.
After one week running on all cylinders with J.T. Barrett at quarterback, the Buckeyes' offense slowed down considerably with Cardale Jones. While Jones did not commit an interception and accounted for two touchdowns, Ohio State could not finish drives and punted seven times.
It is unclear if Barrett will regain his the QB position for Ohio State, but the Buckeyes are coming on their biggest test of the season. After playing Illinois this weekend, they have Michigan State (14) and Michigan (15) to close out their season.
With Michigan State's loss to Nebraska, both teams trail Ohio State in the Big Ten East by one game.
Taking the top spot was Clemson (1), who beat Florida State (19) and clinched the ACC Atlantic division. Clemson is now three wins from going into the conference championship undefeated, where they may face a surging North Carolina (18) team that rose another four places in the AP poll after beating Duke 66-31.
Alabama (3) jumped up to third overall with a win over LSU (9) and also seized control of the SEC West thanks to Ole Miss' loss to Arkansas. Florida (11) was the only team in the Top 25 to not move, but their 9-7 win over Vanderbilt clinched them the SEC East.
Rounding out the AP's Top 10 was Baylor (4), Oklahoma State (5), Notre Dame (6), Stanford (7), Iowa (8), LSU (9), and Utah (10).
