TULSA, Okla., Sporting Alert – Ohio State is no longer the No. 1 team in the ESPN NCAA College Football Power Rankings, according to the latest update this weekend.
The Buckeyes (5-0) dipped three places in Sunday’s rankings after needing to dig deep into their reserves in the second half to earn a 34-27 win at Indiana in both teams opening Big Ten game.
The defending champions remain No. 1 in the AP top 25 poll, though, after receiving 38 first place votes despite not playing like the best team in the country this season.
Replacing the Buckeyes in the top slot of the ESPN NCAA College Football Power Rankings is Utah.
The Utes (4-0) were on a bye week this weekend, following their stunning 62-20 win over Oregon, but climbed eight slots to the top after those which had ranked above them failed to either impress or suffered defeats.
Several pundits believe the win over the Ducks make Utah a very strong candidate to win the Pac-12 championships, and after being recognized with seven of the first-place votes in the AP top 25 poll – it is obvious that some people also think this Utes side is a genuine national title contender.
On the move also this week is TCU (5-0).
Fresh off their one-sided 50-7 victory over Texas on Saturday, the Horned Frogs jumped five places to No. 3 in the Power Rankings with their undefeated early season record. Senior quarterback Trevone Boykin is the force behind this powerful offense and if he can continue to play with the same kind of energy for the rest of the season, who knows what TCU will do.
Baylor moved up seven spots to No. 4 and Clemson climbed eight spots to No. 5 after holding off No. 6 Notre Dame in a thriller on Saturday.
Making the biggest move in this week’s rankings were the Florida Gators (5-0) after their impressive win over Ole Miss pushed them 15 places to No. 9.
Mississippi dropped 14 places from second to 16.
UCLA were the biggest dippers this week – dropping 15 slots to No. 18.
ESPN NCAA College Football Power Rankings
NCAA College Football Power Rankings
1 Utah 4-0 294
2 TCU 5-0 293
3 Baylor 4-0 280
4 Ohio State 5-0 276
5 Clemson 4-0 260
6 LSU 4-0 257
7 Michigan State 5-0 241
8 Oklahoma 4-0 229
9 Texas A&M 5-0 222
Florida 5-0 222
11 Alabama 4-1 216
12 Northwestern 5-0 176
13 Florida State 4-0 169
14 Notre Dame 4-1 155
15 Stanford 4-1 148
16 Ole Miss 4-1 138
17 Michigan 4-1 108
18 UCLA 4-1 97
USC 3-1 97
20 Georgia 4-1 82
21 Oklahoma State 5-0 60
22 Iowa 5-0 53
23 California 5-0 51
24 Boise State 4-1 30
25 Temple 4-0 13
25 Houston 4-0 13
