Ohio State’s last-second loss to Texas made it fall out of the top five for the first time in about 21 months. The Buckeyes stayed in the AP Top 5 through 2025 and finished that season at No. 5. They were No. 1 in the 2026 preseason and Week 1 polls.

In the AP Top 25 released Sunday, September 13, the Buckeyes dropped from No. 1 to No. 6. Meanwhile, Texas jumped from No. 4 to No. 1. The latest top five is Texas, Georgia, Notre Dame, Indiana, and Miami. Stephen A. Smith didn’t like how far the Buckeye dropped.

“There’s not five teams in America better than Ryan Day’s Buckeyes,” Stephen A. Smith said this during the September 14 episode of First Take on ESPN. “You don’t knock them out of the Top five. That’s ridiculous,” he added. 

Voters were not only punishing the loss but the way it ended. Ohio State led 23-3 entering the fourth quarter after field goals and a late first-half touchdown pass from Julian Sayin to Jeremiah Smith. Texas then scored 21 unanswered points on three long touchdown drives. The winner came with 25 seconds left. 

Ohio State also missed a 45-yard field goal with 4:16 remaining that would have made it a two-possession game. Since 2004, AP No. 1 teams had been 197-0 when holding a 20-point lead in the fourth quarter. Texas’ rally was the largest fourth-quarter comeback ever against an AP No. 1 team.

That collapse left Ohio State at 1-1 while every team above them is 2-0. Georgia beat Western Kentucky 70-20 and stayed at No. 2. Notre Dame beat Rice 52-0 and stayed at No. 3. Indiana beat Howard 55-0 and moved up one spot to No. 4. Miami beat Florida A&M 77-7 and jumped from No. 7 to No. 5. 

However, Ohio State fans can argue that they were the only ones who played a ranked opponent in last Week’s Top 5 teams. In comparison, Indiana played another non-conference team. Similarly, Georgia has yet to play a tough opponent. Even Mario Cristobal’s Miami had scheduled an FCS opponent.

Scheduling Texas shouldn’t have cost Ryan Day’s team that much, considering the result could have gone either way late in the fourth quarter. The loss left Ryan Day with plenty to answer, especially some decisions in the fourth quarter. Ohio State went conservative after securing a 20-point lead. On defense, Matt Patricia couldn’t find any answers for the Texas offense in the foruth quarter.

“We really played well for three quarters and then didn’t play well enough in the fourth quarter; that’s the bottom line… We won the first three quarters and did not, obviously, win the fourth quarter.” Day said this after Saturday’s loss in Austin.

“And we know that that’s the biggest part of the season; we have to win the fourth quarter, especially on the road. So I can’t really sit here and tell you exactly I know why that happened. But we all gotta take accountability and get this thing corrected and fixed moving forward,” the head coach added. 

Ohio State now hosts Kent State on September 19. Tougher games are scheduled after that, including Iowa, Indiana, USC, Oregon and Michigan. Day is 83-13 at Ohio State, but six of those 13 losses involved blowing a second-half lead. 

The Buckeyes have also lost three of their last four games dating back to last season. In two of those losses, Ohio State missed critical field goals, an issue that has plagued Ryan Day throughout his tenure at Columbus.