Continuing the tradition of Oklahoma, Michigan and Michigan State, Ohio State struggled against Nebraska.
The Buckeyes mustered only 12 points on offense, deciding the game with 14 points from kicker Noah Ruggles on four field goals and two extra points. However, the Buckeyes still beat the Cornhuskers by nine.
In the latest editions of the AP Poll and the USA Today Coaches Poll, Ohio State remained where it was last week, coming in as the No. 6 and No. 5 team in the country according to those respective polls.
Here's a look at what each poll means for Ohio State heading into its meeting with Purdue, along with the second week of the College Football Playoff rankings, which will be released Tuesday night.
Polls remain steady
In terms of distance between No. 1 Georgia and where Ohio State landed in each of the two major polls, things stayed relatively similar from Week 10 to Week 11.
The Buckeyes lost three points in the latest edition of the AP Poll, enlarging its gap to 282 from the Bulldogs at No. 1 — 26 points behind Oregon at No. 5 and 113 points behind Oklahoma at No. 4.
After the Buckeyes' nine point win against Nebraska Saturday, Ohio State actually gained some ground in the USA Today Coaches Poll, earning 20 more points than last week to make the margin from Georgia 264 points. The Buckeyes are 67 points behind Oklahoma at No. 4 and 65 points ahead of No. 6 Oregon.
In other words, the close win against Nebraska didn't do much. And while the teams in front of the Buckeyes may have changed a bit, the margin between Ohio State and the top-four still remains the same.
Where's Purdue?
Purdue didn't only beat Michigan State. The Boilermakers killed the Spartans.
Purdue earned its second top-three win of the season, beating Michigan State at home, 40-29, using 536 passing yards from QB Aidan O'Connell, stopping the Spartans just enough despite averaging just under eight yards per play.
Michigan State, obviously, jumped down quite a few spots, moving from No. 3 to No. 9 in the Coaches Poll and No. 5 to No. 8 in the AP Poll.
But while Purdue got more votes — adding 174 in the AP Poll, while adding 77 in the Coaches Poll — the Boilermakers finished just out of the top-25 in each poll.
Purdue will have a chance to jump into the rankings facing Ohio State on the road next Saturday.
What does this mean for Ohio State and the College Football Playoff?
Honestly, not much.
Because of Michigan State's loss to Purdue, expect the Buckeyes to possibly sneak into the top-four, with Oregon at No. 3 and Ohio State at No. 4. I don't see any team jumping the Buckeyes because of this win, especially with a close win by Cincinnati.
However, it really doesn't mean much. It just shows another team in Michigan State that seems to be out of the Playoff picture.
