Week 9 Chaos Reshuffles AP Top 25 as Ohio State Plummets After USC Loss

A weekend of high-stakes college football matchups has set the stage for a major shakeup in the upcoming AP Top 25 rankings, with several ranked teams falling in early upsets and one of the nation's top programs tumbling out of the top 10 for the first time in years. According to WPLG, yet another big shuffle is in store when the Associated Press Top 25 is released Sunday afternoon. Ohio State, previously ranked No. 2, is the most prominent casualty of Week 9. The Buckeyes lost to USC on Saturday, and elevenwarriors reported that Ohio State is out of the AP's top 10 for the first time in more than five years, dropping to No. 11 following Saturday's loss to USC. The same outlet noted the team also fell eight spots in the Coaches Poll, underscoring the severity of the defeat. "Yet another big shuffle is in store when The Associated Press Top 25 is released Sunday afternoon." On3.com highlighted the broader chaos, noting that there were a handful of really juicy matchups in the Top 25 on Saturday, and the upsets rolled in early. Three ranked teams dropped games in the noon window alone, and the rest of the day also provided ample drama. On3 has since published projections for the updated rankings based on the day's events. MyNewsLA framed the coming changes in terms of which teams are heading up and tumbling down in the new AP top 25 rankings coming out of the last October action of the 2026 season. The Lawyers Guns and Money blog, which runs a weekly top 10 games column based on The Athletic's 1-138 rankings, reported a rough week for its picks, going just 2-8 after several weeks of strong performance. The blog noted a season record of 49-46, adding a personal scorecard to the weekend's upheaval.

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