AP Poll: Shake-up in top four; Oregon moves up to No. 18

Posted on November 22, 2015

Originally Posted on Emerald Media via UWIRE

Ohio State dropped from No. 2 to No. 8 in the latest AP Top 25 Poll, released on Sunday, following a 17-14 loss to then-ranked No. 9 Michigan State. Buckeyes running back and Heisman candidate Ezekiel Elliot only received three carries in the second half, and ripped the coaching staff after the game. Michigan State moved up to No. 6 with the win.

Ohio State’s blunder opened the door for Alabama to advance one spot to No. 2, and Iowa to move up from No. 6 to No. 3 after a 40-20 win over Purdue.

The Oregon Ducks climbed from No. 23 to the No. 18 spot after stomping No. 22 USC 48-28 at home. USC fell out of the rankings and will take on UCLA, who jumped to No. 22 after beating No. 18 Utah in Salt Lake City, at home next Saturday to determine the winner of the Pac-12 South. Utah also fell out the rankings.

The winner of UCLA-USC will play No. 13 Stanford in the Pac-12 championship game at Levi’s Stadium on Dec. 5. But first, Stanford will challenge No. 4 Notre Dame at home. Notre Dame climbed into the top four with a narrow 19-16 win over Boston College, overtaking Oklahoma State, who fell from No. 4 to No. 9 with a 45-35 loss to Baylor. Baylor improved from No. 10 to No. 7 with the upset.

Oklahoma jumped up to No. 5 from No. 9 after beating TCU at home. TCU dropped to No. 15 from No. 11 with the loss.

Florida fell two spots to No. 10 despite a win, in which it needed overtime to defeat Florida Atlantic (2-8, 2-5 Conference USA) on its home turf.

Here are the full rankings:

1. Clemson

2. Alabama

3. Iowa

4. Notre Dame

5. Oklahoma

6. Michigan State

7. Baylor

8. Ohio State

9. Oklahoma State