No. 1 no longer: Buckeyes bumped from top spot in AP poll

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For the first time this season, Ohio State is not the top-ranked team in the AP poll.

The latest top 25, released Sunday afternoon, had Clemson dethroning Ohio State atop the top 25, with the Buckeyes dropping down to No. 2.

Ohio State remains undefeated on the season, 9-0 after beating Minnesota on Saturday night. But those wins have not always come in the overly dominant fashion that pollsters like to see.

Also, when the meaningful College Football Playoff rankings debuted for the first time this season last week, Clemson was No. 1, with Ohio State at No. 3. The shift in the AP poll could be just as much a result of the playoff rankings as an actual change in perception.

Elsewhere in the AP top 25, Iowa climbed to No. 8, up two spots after improving to 9-0 with a win over Indiana on Saturday. The Hawkeyes likely won't do much more impressing with a weak trio of teams remaining on the regular-season schedule, but their ranking could improve as undefeated and one-loss teams ahead of them continue to lose.

[SHOP BIG TEN: Get your Buckeyes gear right here]

Michigan State fell out of the top 10, down a whopping eight spots from No. 6 to No. 14 following its upset loss at Nebraska on Saturday night. That loss came in controversial fashion, but pollsters deemed the Spartans' performance poor enough to warrant that massive drop.

Michigan sits right behind its in-state rival at No. 15. The Wolverines improved to 7-2 with their crushing of Rutgers on Saturday. Michigan is likely out of the College Football Playoff picture with two losses, but there is still a way it could win the Big Ten East Division championship and play in the conference title game.

Two more Big Ten teams reentered the top 25 this week after not being ranked a week ago. Wisconsin is the new No. 23 team in the country after improving to 8-2 with a win over Maryland on Saturday, while Northwestern is back in the rankings at No. 24 after moving to 7-2 with a win over Penn State. The Cats were ranked in last week's College Football Playoff rankings. It remains to be seen whether the Badgers will join them there this week.

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