Penn State fell to No. 7 in the latest Associated Press college football poll released Sunday after its narrow 39-38 loss at Ohio State.
The Nittany Lions (7-1, 4-1 Big Ten) had been ranked second for the last two weeks but dropped five spots after they couldn't hold on to a 15-point fourth-quarter lead on Saturday.
Ohio State moved up from sixth to third in the poll, behind No. 1 Alabama and No. 2 Georgia. The Crimson Tide, who were voted unanimously to the top berth last week, drew 59 of 61 first-place votes this week in the balloting by members of the media, with the other two votes going to the Bulldogs.
Penn State was the fourth team in the rankings with one loss, behind the Buckeyes, No. 5 Notre Dame, and No. 6 Clemson. The Lions were ahead of eighth-ranked Oklahoma, which defeated Ohio State in September. They also were ranked No. 7 in the coaches' poll.
Penn State's opponent this Saturday, Michigan State (6-2), dropped from 16th to 24th after losing in triple overtime to Northwestern.
Rounding out the top 10 were undefeated Miami (Fla.) and previously unbeaten Texas Christian, which tumbled six spots after losing to Iowa State. The Cyclones jumped from No. 25 to No. 14.
The AP poll will take a backseat for the rest of the season because the College Football Playoff selection committee will be releasing its initial 2017 rankings on Tuesday night. Quite a few teams, particularly those with one loss, will be wondering where they stand in the early going.
In other poll news Sunday, Central Florida, the only other unbeaten team in FBS besides Alabama, Georgia and Miami, came in at No. 15, and the biggest fall came from Washington State, which lost to Arizona and dropped from 15th to 25th.
