Ohio State strengthens hold on No. 1 spot in AP poll

Utah dropped from the ranks of the unbeaten and so did Florida State. The two losses led to a shakeup in The Associated Press Top 25.

Ohio State (8-0) strengthened its season-long hold on the top spot, adding 11 first-place votes in Sunday's balloting after rolling over Rutgers.

Baylor (7-0) remained at No. 2 but lost five first-place votes and now have seven. Clemson (7-0) climbed three spots to No. 3 and received six first-place votes.

LSU (7-0) moved up a spot and received five first-place votes following its win over Western Kentucky. TCU (7-0) dropped a spot to No. 5 despite not playing over the weekend.

No. 7 Alabama (7-1), a spot behind Michigan State (8-0) in the poll, was the only one-loss team to receive a first-place vote after holding off Tennessee.

UCLA is back in the poll at No. 24 after knocking off Cal on Thursday. The Bruins climbed as high as No. 7 before consecutive losses to Arizona State and Stanford dropped them from the Top 25.

Mississippi State also is ranked again after beating Kentucky.

Texas A&M and Cal dropped out of the poll.

Utah (6-1) had been gaining on Ohio State, receiving 16 first-place votes last week while moving up to No. 3, its highest regular-season ranking ever.

Considered a contender for the College Football Playoff, Utah was no match for unranked USC, losing 42-24 as Cameron Smith returned one of his three interceptions 54 yards for a touchdown.

The loss dropped the Utes 10 spots to No. 13 and made them a long shot for a CFP spot.

Florida State (6-1) didn't last long in the top 10, falling eight spots to No. 17.

The Seminoles were on the short end of the season's second bizarre special-teams ending, losing to Georgia Tech 22-16 after Lance Austin scooped up a blocked field goal and returned it 78 yards for a touchdown on the game's final play.