Ohio State's win was not pretty Saturday, squeaking out a 33-24 win at home against a top-25 Penn State team.
Ohio State head coach Ryan Day said after the game that he was not looking to earn any "style points" in the win against the Nittany Lions. In the eyes of AP voters, a lack of style points moved the Buckeyes down.
Heading into Week 10, Ohio State is ranked No. 6 in the latest edition of the AP Poll, moving down one spot after its nine-point victory Saturday night.
The Buckeyes remained at No. 5 in the latest USA Today Coaches Poll.
Here's how the latest polls affect Ohio State.
The margin is slim, but Ohio State's no longer the favorite
Unlike Ohio State, Michigan State made a statement Saturday.
The Spartans, hosting Michigan in a battle between the final two undefeated teams in the Big Ten, beat their rival for the second-straight year, 37-33, to take sole possession of the top of the Big Ten East.
In response, the AP Poll moved Michigan State into the top-five for the first time since Nov. 29, 2015 — the season in which the Spartans won the Big Ten before being blasted by Alabama in the College Football Playoff semifinal at the Cotton Bowl.
The Coaches Poll moved the Spartans up to No. 6.
Michigan State has won eight-straight to begin the 2021 season, the program's longest win streak since that 2015 season, a season in which the Buckeyes finished No, 7 in the final College Football Playoff rankings and the Spartans finished third.
With that said, it sees as though Ohio State and Michigan State have separated themselves as the Big Ten's only hope for a team in the College Football Playoff, something that will likely be decided Nov. 20 at Ohio Stadium.
The top-four is not even close to being decided
Days before the College Football Playoff committee releases its first rankings, the top of each poll seems to be rather volatile.
Georgia seems to be the only constant, sweeping first-place votes again in both the AP Poll and the Coaches Poll for the third-straight week.
But every spot between No. 2 and No. 6 still seem up for grabs, with the differential for each spot being on average 39.8 votes in the AP Poll.
In the Coaches Poll, things seem to be a bit more lopsided, with 87 votes separating No. 4 Oklahoma and No. 5 Ohio State, while seven votes separate No. 2 Cincinnati and No. 3 Alabama.
In the AP Poll, Michigan State is ahead of Ohio State by 44 votes, just two votes more than the margin between No. 2 Cincinnati and No. 3 Alabama, and No. 4 Oklahoma and the No. 5 Spartans.
In the Coaches Poll, it's even slimmer as Ohio State is ranked higher than Michigan State by 11 votes.
