Ohio State Buckeyes have historically dominated AP Poll in Ryan Day era

College football doesn’t have a contender quite like Ohio State. They’re always in it.

The Buckeyes, college football’s only program who has spent over 1,000 weeks ranked in the AP Poll, came in atop the Week 9 rankings receiving 60 of 66 first place votes.

Ole Miss, Texas Tech, and Miami (FL) all dropped out of the Top 10 after suffering their first losses of the season. Indiana, Texas A&M, Georgia Tech, and BYU are the remaining undefeated teams alongside Ohio State, with Curt Cignetti’s Hoosiers being the lone team to steal first place votes from the Buckeyes.

Outside of Ohio State, Indiana (No. 2), Oregon (No. 6), Illinois (No. 23), and Michigan (No. 25) round out the list of Big Ten teams in the ninth edition of the rankings. USC dropped out of the poll after losing to familiar foe Notre Dame.

With just one ranked game remaining on the schedule, a heavily anticipated bout with Michigan, it seems very likely the Buckeyes unprecedented streak of AP Poll dominance will continue. 

Every program has down years. Michigan struggled in the early years of Jim Harbaugh, and the Wolverines’ offense under Bryce Underwood is paltry, at best. Michigan State’s success under Mark Dantonio feels like centuries ago, and the Mel Tucker hire and ensuing contract extension was possibly the most unmitigated disaster in college football history.

Wisconsin football? Dead.

Penn State entered this season with its highest expectations under James Franklin, and the program is currently left in a state of free fall. Iowa is stuck in 8-4 purgatory under Kirk Ferentz and it’s time to pump the brakes on “Nebraska is back” after a blowout loss to PJ Fleck’s Golden Gophers. The only Big Ten blue blood to avoid these woes?

The one team that never seems to rebuild? Ohio State.

Since going 6-7 amidst a suspension and injury riddled 2011, Ohio State has lost 19 games in the last 14 seasons. In eight years in Columbus, Ryan Day is 77-10. For reference, Jim Harbaugh coached the Wolverines to a 74-25 record through his first eight seasons at the helm. While it’s fair to note that Urban Meyer and Brady Hoke left their respective programs in vastly different conditions, Day’s dominance in Scarlet and Grey is otherworldly. If your name isn’t Michigan or Oregon, you’ve never beaten Ryan Day in conference play.

Day is 50-5 in conference play, with four losses coming to Michigan and one to Oregon.