Breaking down David Briggs' AP Top 25 vote

Oklahoma's win over Ohio State shakes things up

9/11/2017

For me, the biggest question from Ohio State’s no-show loss to Oklahoma was not whether or not quarterback J.T. Barrett should be sent to the pine.

As an AP Top 25 voter, it was how far should we send the Sooners booming and the Buckeyes barreling in the polls.

Oklahoma proved the easy part of the equation. I vaulted the Sooners five spots from seventh to second on the grounds their win at the Horseshoe was easily the most impressive of the college football season. (Yes, more than Alabama’s neutral-site rout of then-No. 3 Florida State on opening weekend.) Even if the score did not indicate it — remember, Ohio State somehow led in the third quarter — the Sooners’ 31-16 win was a wire-to-wire beatdown. They were simply in a different class, and with a different class of superstar. Sooners quarterback Baker Mayfield sure feels like the rarest of playmakers who can almost single-handedly carry a program to a national title.

As for Ohio State, I’m normally against crushing a team for an early loss to a top-five opponent. Why punish teams for scheduling the kind of games fans want to see and reward others for gorging themselves silly on cupcakes?

But, well, you saw what happened. A beatdown at home is a special case. I dropped Ohio State seven spots to ninth, and even that felt generous.

For once, others even agreed with me. Almost. In the full Week 3 poll released Sunday afternoon, Oklahoma was second and Ohio State eighth. 

Here’s my full vote:

1. Alabama

2. Oklahoma

3. Penn State

4. Clemson

5. Southern California

6. Florida State

7. Michigan

8. Washington

9. Ohio State

10. Georgia

11. Oklahoma State

12. Wisconsin

13. LSU

14. Auburn

15. Louisville

16. Stanford

17. TCU

18. Virginia Tech

19. Kansas State

20. Washington State

21. Miami

22. Colorado

23. Utah

24. UCLA

25. Maryland

Contact David Briggs at dbriggs@theblade.com, 419-724-6084, or on Twitter @DBriggsBlade.