Ohio State falls in the latest Joel Klatt rankings after USC loss

We're now nine weeks into the college football season, and Ohio State is in a precarious spot when it comes to winning the Big Ten and making it to the College Football Playoff after a loss to USC last week. We always knew the schedule was going to be a daunting one, and that has proven to be true. The Buckeyes have good wins at Indiana and Iowa, but with the CFP committee ranking the Buckeyes at No. 12, there's not much room for error the rest of the way.

Most media members believe Ohio State got the short end of the stick by falling outside the top ten in the first release of the CFP rankings, and Fox analyst Joel Klatt also believes that based on his latest opinion rankings. We like to follow Klatt because he sees a lot of teams across the country, is about as unbiased as they come, and has well-thought-out arguments and rationale.

The Buckeyes had been up in his top five all year, but he dropped the Buckeyes after the embarrassing loss to the Trojans. Here's how Klatt's top ten look after last weekend's games, and as Ohio State prepares to face Oregon on Saturday.

No. 10 - Alabama Crimson Tide

What we say

This is more accurate than where the CFP committee has Alabama. Somehow the folks in charge of ranking the teams have the Tide at No. 5 despite two losses out of the last three, including a butt-whooping at the hands of Tennessee. This team has been wildly inconsistent under new head coach Kalen DeBoer, and we see more of the same going forward.

No. 9 - Ohio State Buckeyes

What we think

This sure seems a little low, especially since the committee said that having Luke Fahey at quarterback didn't factor in much. Ohio State has the best win of any of the top teams with the win at No. 4 Indiana, a win at a ranked Iowa team, with the two losses coming on the road to ranked teams, Texas and USC. The committee seemed to take too much out of the USC loss rather than the body of work, and it just didn't do its homework on some of the metrics -- especially that stack up well against teams like Ole Miss.

No. 8 - Kentucky Wildcats

What we think

This sure seems like another case of the SEC getting the benefit of the doubt. At least there's only one loss, but that loss was a beatdown at the hands of Alabama. The only win against a currently ranked team is the one-point victory over LSU. Three of the last four games are against ranked teams (at least currently), so we'll know more about the Wildcats starting this week in a game at Tennessee.

No. 7 - Texas Longhorns

What we think

Texas has been pretty inconsistent as usual, but when it plays up to its capabilities, this team has enough talent to go on a deep College Football Playoff run. The losses against Florida and Oklahoma aren't great, but those are canceled out by the wins against Ohio State and Ole Miss. As Arch Manning goes, so do, most likely, the Longhorns.

No. 6 - Utah Utes

What we think

Utah might be a little undervalued as an undefeated team. The close shave against Colorado was surprising, but everything else has been handled with relative ease. Unfortunately for Utah, the schedule hasn't been that strong, and that means a loss against a ranked opponent could result in a pretty deep dive in these rankings. The game against BYU this Saturday will be huge.

No. 5 - UCLA Bruins

What we think

Nobody seems to want to give UCLA credit as an undefeated team, and even Klatt seems sheepish about not ranking the Bruins higher, but the reality is that there's a lack of a quality win in there. UCLA needs to hope for Oregon to keep winning because the only other chance for a ranked win won't come until the end of the season (maybe) against USC. Still, if this were an SEC team, do we think UCLA would be this low as an undefeated team? We all know the answer to that.

No. 4 - Notre Dame Fighting Irish

What we think

Klatt hasn't been very high on Notre Dame all season, but with all the chaos around it, this feels about right. Then again, with the schedule the Irish have, a loss against Miami Saturday could be a mortal wound when it comes to the playoff committee's thoughts, especially since Notre Dame was only ranked as the No. 11 team without much of a chance to come back from that if things don't go well against the 'Canes.

No. 3 - Indiana Hoosiers

What we think

Indiana hasn't exactly looked anywhere close to the team we saw last season, escaping close shaves almost weekly, but the Hoosiers just keep finding a way to win. The defense is really good, but the offense has to do much better down the stretch. There's not that much opportunity to make much of an impression the rest of the way, aside from the game against USC Saturday, and perhaps the Big Ten Championship game if it gets that far.

No. 2 - Georgia Bulldogs

What we think

This just isn't a year where there are teams that look unbeatable, but the Bulldogs might be the most complete team, with the lone loss coming inexplicably against Auburn. There's a ton of ranked wins in there and more to possibly come, so while the schedule is somewhat difficult, this team is playing well behind quarterback Gunner Stockton and a pretty solid defense.

No. 1 - Miami Hurricanes

What we think

There are flaws, but there is also a lot of talent. The defense hasn't been nearly as good as what we saw during the postseason run last year, and that might end up costing the 'Canes. However, with an undefeated ranking and so many playmakers on offense, who else deserves to be No. 1 right now? There's a bit one in store on Saturday at Notre Dame, and we'll see if Miami can get the job done without its superstar receiver Malachi Toney, who will be out the rest of the regular season with an ankle injury.

Joel Klatt's full rankings

A shake-up in @joelklatt's Top 10 after the weekend – did he get it right? pic.twitter.com/GfxRoshjh4

— The Joel Klatt Show: A College Football on FOX Pod (@JoelKlattShow) November 2, 2026

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This article originally appeared on Buckeyes Wire: Ohio State falls in the latest Joel Klatt rankings after USC loss