Ohio State Drops 2 Spots In AP Top 25 Poll

The Ohio State Buckeyes won against the Indiana Hoosiers, but it wasn't convincing enough in the eyes of the AP Top 25 voters.

The Ohio State Buckeyes were punished for their "clunky" offensive performance against the Indiana Hoosiers Saturday.

Ohio State rolled off at No. 5 in the latest Associated Press Top 25 Poll after its 23-3 Week 1 win, trailing Georgia, Michigan and Alabama, respectively. The Buckeyes were leap-frogged by the Crimson Tide who beat Middle Tennessee 56-7 Saturday and No. 4 Florida State which demolished then-No. 5 LSU 45-24.

As head coach Ryan Day said after the game, step 1 was to get a win in Bloomington, Indiana.

"You don't need to be playing your best football in the first game of the year," Day said Saturday. "You got to make sure that win's under your belt because in a few weeks, nobody cares. The win's a win and then you move on, but the goal is to get it and then we got to grow."

Ohio State still has to settle its quarterback battle, which appeared to be tipping in Kyle McCord's favor. He led eight of the Buckeyes' 10 drives and went 20-for-33 for 239 yards and an interception, managing the game just enough to where their defense could carry them to a victory.

Now, the Buckeyes look ahead to Youngstown State — their first FCS opponent since Florida A&M in 2013 when they won 76-0. Day said Tuesday that Ohio State is not focused on the quality of its opponents, but rather taking the necessary steps to improve the team.

His plan for McCord and Devin Brown appear to remain the same with the latter starting the game and the former garnering valuable snaps. That was supposed to be the plan against Indiana, but Day said with the lack of offensive momentum that keeping Brown on the sidelines was his "gut instinct."

Against the Penguins, fears of throwing the offense out of whack should be eliminated which should allow for Brown and McCord to get a more even split.

The Buckeyes kick off against Youngstown State at noon ET on Big Ten Network.