Ohio State Falls as USC Upset Reshapes CFB Power Rankings

Ohio State dropped out of the top two in ESPN's Week 9 college football Power Rankings after losing to USC on Saturday night, a result the network's panel called the most impressive win of Lincoln Riley's tenure at USC, according to ESPN's Week 9 Power Rankings.

The loss made Ohio State the fourth consecutive AP top-2 team to fall to an unranked opponent, ESPN reported, though the network's panel noted new Buckeyes quarterback Luke Fahey was "far from the problem" in the setback.

How did USC's win over Ohio State alter the rankings?

The turnaround was swift. A week earlier, USC was field-stormed at Wisconsin after producing the lowest point total — seven — for a Riley-coached team, per ESPN. Saturday, it was USC fans doing the storming after the Trojans "blitzed" Ohio State, the network wrote, pushing a team that had been written off after its Wisconsin loss back into the national conversation and dropping Ohio State out of the rankings' upper tier.

ESPN's panel framed the swing as evidence that "college football has truly become a week-to-week sport," pointing to USC's reversal in fortune within seven days as the clearest example from Week 9.

What happened atop the rankings with Miami, UCLA and Utah?

Top-ranked Miami needed a fourth-quarter rally to escape North Carolina, according to ESPN, which described the Hurricanes as having been "on the ropes" before closing out the win on the road.

ESPN's panel singled out UCLA and Utah as "the surest things" near the top of the rankings. Utah avoided a letdown following its win over Houston and routed Cincinnati behind two defensive touchdowns, the network reported. ESPN did not detail UCLA's specific result in the excerpted material beyond grouping the Bruins with Utah as the week's most stable top-tier teams.

Indiana also kept pace, winning a low-scoring overtime game for the second straight week. ESPN credited a 60-yard field goal from kicker Paddy McAteer and overtime play from backup quarterback Grant Wilson with sealing the result.

Which other ranked teams moved after Week 9?

Georgia returned from its open week and beat Florida in Atlanta, forcing four takeaways in the process, ESPN reported. Ole Miss, BYU and Texas Tech each bounced back from recent losses with home wins; Texas Tech turned to new starting quarterback Thomas Castellanos against Arizona, according to the network.

Notre Dame came off its own open week and struggled for a half against Navy before pulling away behind what ESPN called a "remarkably balanced offense." Texas leaned on its defense for what the network described as a "business-like win" over Mississippi State.

Not every ranked team moved up. Wake Forest strengthened its position in the ACC race with another dominant performance, ESPN reported, while SMU suffered what the network called a "damaging loss" to Syracuse. Several SEC playoff contenders were on bye weeks and did not play, according to ESPN.

Week 9 by the numbers

• 7 — Points USC scored in its loss at Wisconsin the week before beating Ohio State, the lowest total for a Lincoln Riley-coached team, per ESPN.
• 60 yards — Length of Paddy McAteer's field goal that helped Indiana win in overtime for the second consecutive week.
• 4 — Consecutive AP top-2 teams, including Ohio State, that have now lost to unranked opponents this season, according to ESPN's panel.

What to watch in the CFB power rankings next

• Whether Ohio State can regroup under quarterback Luke Fahey after dropping out of the top tier, per ESPN's panel.
• If UCLA and Utah remain the rankings' most stable teams as ESPN's panel described them.
• Indiana's ability to keep winning close, low-scoring games after back-to-back overtime finishes.
• Texas Tech's offense under new starter Thomas Castellanos following the home win over Arizona.
• SMU's path back into contention after the Syracuse loss ESPN called "damaging."

ESPN's full breakdown, including team-by-team movement across the rest of the top 25, is available in the complete Week 9 Power Rankings.