Meanwhile, No. 2 TCU and No. 3 Baylor edged forward, No. 4 Michigan State slipped and No. 5 Utah and No. 6 Clemson took big jumps.
After four top-10 teams lost on Saturday, the rankings were rattled and five teams received first-place votes. The Buckeyes received 38 first-place votes, their fewest this season after beginning as the first unanimous preseason No. 1. TCU has five first-place votes, Baylor received 10, Utah has seven and No. 9 Texas A&M has one.
Ohio State was the only team in the top 16 to have the same ranking this week as last.
The Buckeyes held off Indiana 34-27 on Saturday and have now been top-ranked 101 times, matching Oklahoma for the most in the 79-year history of the media poll.
The Top 25 teams in The Associated Press college football poll, with first-place votes in parentheses, records through Oct. 3, total points based on 25 points for a first-place vote through one point for a 25th-place vote, and previous ranking:
| Record | Pts | Pv | |
| 1. Ohio St. (38) | 5-0 | 1,444 | 1 |
| 2. TCU (5) | 5-0 | 1,371 | 4 |
| 3. Baylor (10) | 4-0 | 1,364 | 5 |
| 4. Michigan St. | 5-0 | 1,291 | 2 |
| 5. Utah (7) | 4-0 | 1,254 | 10 |
| 6. Clemson | 4-0 | 1,217 | 12 |
| 7. LSU | 4-0 | 1,212 | 9 |
| 8. Alabama | 4-1 | 1,026 | 13 |
| 9. Texas A&M (1) | 5-0 | 1,009 | 14 |
| 10. Oklahoma | 4-0 | 976 | 15 |
| 11. Florida | 5-0 | 935 | 25 |
| 12. Florida St. | 4-0 | 922 | 11 |
| 13. Northwestern | 5-0 | 753 | 16 |
| 14. Mississippi | 4-1 | 731 | 3 |
| 15. Notre Dame | 4-1 | 721 | 6 |
| 16. Stanford | 4-1 | 617 | 18 |
| 17. Southern Cal | 3-1 | 498 | 17 |
| 18. Michigan | 4-1 | 452 | 22 |
| 19. Georgia | 4-1 | 441 | 8 |
| 20. UCLA | 4-1 | 415 | 7 |
| 21. Oklahoma St. | 5-0 | 332 | 20 |
| 22. Iowa | 5-0 | 254 | NR |
| 23. California | 5-0 | 233 | 24 |
| 24. Toledo | 4-0 | 87 | NR |
| 25. Boise St. | 4-1 | 65 | NR |
Others receiving votes: Oregon 39, Duke 31, Houston 31, Temple 23, Memphis 19, Navy 19, Arizona St. 15, Mississippi St. 11, West Virginia 8, Texas Tech 4, BYU 3, Kansas St. 1, Missouri 1.
