Associated Press
Mark another loss for Ohio State in a year full of setbacks.
The Buckeyes fell out of The Associated Press college football rankings for the first time in nearly seven years, ending the nation’s longest streak of appearances in the Top 25.
Coming off a 24-6 beating at Miami, the Buckeyes dropped from No. 17 in the media poll released Sunday. They had been ranked in 103 straight Top 25s since last being left out on Nov. 20, 2004.
Oklahoma remained No. 1 after a 23-13 victory at Florida State. The loss dropped the Seminoles six spots to 11th.
For the third consecutive week, LSU and Alabama flip-flopped at Nos. 2 and 3. The Tigers moved up to second after winning 19-6 at Mississippi State. The Crimson Tide slipped to third. Boise State stayed at No. 4 and Stanford moved up to fifth.
Oklahoma received 37 first-places votes out of 60. LSU received 14, Alabama had seven and Boise State got two.
Ohio State was one of five teams to drop from the rankings, along with Michigan State, defending national champion Auburn, Mississippi State and Arizona State.
Moving in this week was No. 21 Clemson, which snapped Auburn’s 17-game winning streak with a 38-24 victory in Death Valley, No. 22 Southern California, No. 23 Michigan, No. 24 Illinois and No. 25 Georgia Tech.
For Ohio State, it’s been a year of embarrassments stemming from NCAA violations committed by players.
Coach Jim Tressel was forced to resign on Memorial Day, star quarterback Terrelle Pryor left school early for the NFL with further NCAA scrutiny looming and several key players serving NCAA suspensions.
The loss of Pryor, who would have been a senior, has left Ohio State (2-1) with huge problems at quarterback, and not until the sixth game of the season will the Buckeyes get three other key offensive players back in the lineup — running back Dan Herron, receiver DeVier Posey and tackle Mike Adams.
The Buckeyes are 95th in the nation in passing offense (172.3 yards per game) and 85th in total offense (342 ypg).
Those offensive issues were exposed against Miami. Ohio State quarterbacks Joe Bauserman and Braxton Miller completed only four passes for 35 yards.
“I’m kind of shocked,” Ohio State’s Carlos Hyde said after the game in Miami. “I wasn’t expecting to lose to these guys.”
The Buckeyes face Colorado (1-2) in Columbus on Saturday then open their Big Ten schedule with a home game against Michigan State (2-1) before getting those starters back.
With Ohio State’s streak of Top 25 appearances over, Alabama now has the longest streak with 53. Boise State is next with 49.
The rest of this week’s top 10 has Wisconsin at No. 6, followed by Oklahoma State and Texas A&M. The Cowboys and Aggies meet in College Station, Texas, on Saturday.
Nebraska is No. 9 and Oregon 10th.
After Florida State at No. 11, South Carolina is 12th followed by Virginia Tech, Arkansas and Florida.
The big game in the Southeastern Conference this week has Arkansas heading to Alabama. The SEC, which had a record eight teams in the preseason Top 25, had five in the latest poll. The Big 12 also had five teams with No. 17 Baylor and No. 19 Texas, joining Oklahoma, Oklahoma State and Texas A&M.
No. 16 West Virginia, which hosts LSU on Saturday, and No. 18 South Florida give the Big East two ranked teams.
TCU is No. 20, giving the Mountain West two ranked teams, along with Boise State.
———
AP Sport Writer Tim Reynolds in Miami contributed to this report.
———
Follow Ralph D. Russo at http://twitter.com/ralphDrussoAP
The Associated Press
09/18/11 13:57