By Matt McCoy

Even though Ohio State had the weekend off and even though the nation's top ranked team lost, the Buckeyes moved down a spot, to number six in this week's Associated Press poll.

The Buckeyes, tied with Georgia for fifth last week, stayed behind Alabama (No. 4) who lost to Texas A&M and also ended up behind the Bulldogs by 11 points (1,223 to 1,212).

On my ballot, for most of the season, I have had Ohio State lower than its actual rank but not this week. I am now in agreement with the overall poll and have Ohio State sixth.

The overall AP poll already had the Buckeyes ahead of Florida. I made the move this week after the Gators second consecutive survival. Last week, it was a seven point win over Missouri...this week, it took a last second blocked punt to avoid overtime in a 27-20 win over Louisiana Lafayette.

I also thought long and hard about the Buckeyes versus both Georgia and Alabama. There is a strong argument that Ohio State, still undefeated, should be ahead of both of those one loss SEC teams. Right now, however, I'm keeping Ohio State behind them. That could easily change though. The Buckeyes have arguably, their two toughest games left. Two wins, over good teams to finish 12-0 would boost Ohio State's overall resume significantly.

Here's my latest AP ballot, with each team's overall AP rank in parentheses.

1.    Oregon 10-0 (1)

2.    Kansas State 10-0 (2)

3.    Notre Dame 10-0 (3)

4.    Georgia 9-1 (5)

5.    Alabama 9-1 (4)

6.    Ohio State 10-0 (6)

7.    Florida 9-1 (7)

8.    Florida State 9-1 (10)

9.    LSU 8-2 (8)

10.  Texas A&M 8-2 (10)

11.  Clemson 9-1 (11)

12.  South Carolina 8-2 (12)

13.  Stanford 8-2 (14)

14.  Oklahoma 7-2 (13)

15.  Oregon State 7-2 (15)

16.  UCLA 8-2 (17)

17.  Nebraska 8-2 (16)

18.  Texas 8-2 (18)

19.  USC 7-3 (21)

20.  Louisville 9-1 (20)

21.  Louisana Tech 9-1 (19)

22.  Texas Tech 7-3 (23T)

23.  Michigan 7-3 (23T)

24.  Wisconsin 7-3 (NR)

25.  Kent State 9-1 (25)

**The AP has Rutgers ranked 22nd**