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Ohio State football remains No. 2 in AP, coaches polls after Week 1

Vaseline September 8, 2024

Ohio State remained at No. 2 in the updated Top 25 polls after its season-opening win over Akron.

Both the Associated Press poll and the LBM U.S. coaches poll, released Tuesday after Labor Day weekend, showed the Buckeyes remaining one spot behind top-ranked Georgia.

The Bulldogs beat Clemson 34-3 in Atlanta to open their season. This dominant performance gave the national championship favorites even more first-place votes in the preseason.

The Buckeyes ultimately lost two-thirds of their first-place votes in the AP poll, going from 15 to five. In the coaches poll, they went from seven first-place votes to three.

In the Buckeyes’ 52-6 win over Akron, they turned it on in the second half with five touchdowns after a slow start. Two of those were on the defensive side of the ball, including a 27-yard fumble return by safety Lathan Ransom and a 29-yard interception return by linebacker Gabe Powers

Oregon, which was ranked No. 3 in both polls going into the preseason, fell out of the top five after a lackluster win over Idaho, which is in the Football Championship Subdivision. The Ducks dropped to No. 7 in the AP poll, after being ranked No. 6 in the coaches poll.

In the rest of the top five, the polls had Texas at No. 3 and Alabama at No. 4, while Mississippi and Notre Dame swapped places. The coaches had the Rebels at No. 5, while the media had the Irish at No. 5.

Joey Kaufman covers Ohio State football for The Columbus Dispatch. Follow him on X, the platform formerly known as Twitter, @joeyrkaufman or send him an email at [email protected].