Ohio State Buckeyes running back CJ Donaldson (12) celebrates a touchdown with offensive lineman Carson Hinzman (75) during the first half of the NCAA football game against the Texas Longhorns at Ohio Stadium on Aug. 30, 2025. Adam Cairns/Columbus Dispatch / USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images

AP Does Right by Ohio State, Buckeyes Come in at No. 1

Originally posted on Ohio State Buckeyes on SI
By Andy Quach | Last updated Sep 2, 2025 2:23 PM ET

To begin the 2025 NCAA season, the Ohio State Buckeyes opened as the AP's No. 3 team in the country. They also had a juicy matchup to kick off their schedule, slated against the No. 1 Texas Longhorns in Week 1.

Ultimately, the actual game didn't live up to the hype that was built up around it heading into the clash. Head Coach Ryan Day's defense held the Longhorns and top NFL quarterback prospect Arch Manning to just seven points. While Texas racked up 336 yards of total offense, the Buckeyes' D limited them to just 5-14 on third-down conversions and 1-5 on fourth downs.

Manning finished with just 17 of 30 passing for 170 yards, one touchdown, and one interception. His getting shut down had social media abuzz about his stinker and Ohio State's vaunted defense. After toppling the No. 1 team in the country, the Buckeyes had a great chance to take the top spot on the AP rankings.

AP does the right thing

Even though the Ohio State Buckeyes dominated the Texas Longhorns in their season opener, not everyone was convinced that this was the best team in the country. Detractors stated that OSU simply took care of business at home against a Longhorns team that was well overhyped.

There was no possibility that Texas was a great squad that was just overwhelmed by a better one. The Buckeyes' defense didn't get nearly enough credit for their performance against the Longhorns; instead, the rhetoric was almost entirely centered around Arch Manning either failing to meet expectations or being far overrated coming into the game in the first place.

Some said that the victory wasn't enough to move Ohio State to No. 1, stating instead that LSU's victory over No. 4 Clemson as the ninth-ranked team in the country was much more impressive and convincing. Ultimately, the AP decided that the Buckeyes showed enough to be the new No. 1.

Defending national champion Ohio State is the new No. 1 in the AP Top 25 college football poll while Alabama plummets to No. 21.

See where other teams rank. https://t.co/7dTTUiSC1j
— AP Top 25 (@AP_Top25) September 2, 2025

Penn State came in at two, while LSU was able to jump to third after upsetting Clemson. The Longhorns dropped to seven while Dabo Swinney's Tigers fell to eight.

No. 8 Alabama had the steepest slide of the Top 25, landing at 21 after their 17-31 loss to unranked FSU. Meanwhile, the Seminoles climbed to 14 after their impressive victory.

The Crimson Tide are the country's all-time leader in weeks spent at No. 1 with 141. After the latest ranking, Ohio State sits in second with 107. Now, Head Coach Ryan Day and the Buckeyes have a great opportunity to close that gap if they maintain their place at the pinnacle throughout the season. They have four straight matchups against unranked teams until they face No. 12 Illinois on October 11.

This article first appeared on Ohio State Buckeyes on SI and was syndicated with permission.

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