Ohio State dropped two spots in the USA Today coaches' poll despite being off during the fourth week of the college football season.
The Buckeyes, who return to action Saturday with a visit from Cincinnati, fell from No. 18 to 20th on a weekend their conference brethren in the Big Ten went 12-1. Perhaps not helping Ohio State's perception among pollsters were losses by previous opponents Virginia Tech and Navy, although the Midshipmen fell to a Rutgers team the Buckeyes will host next month. Kent State, the other team the 2-1 Buckeyes have played, was also idle this weekend.
This is the third time in four weeks Ohio State has dropped in the coaches' poll. The Buckeyes fell from a preseason ranking of No. 6 to seventh after beating Navy in their opener (but losing starting quarterback Braxton Miller in the interim) then from seven to 18th after losing to Virginia Tech in week two. They remained 18th after beating Kent State 66-0 last week.
Ohio State is one of four Big Ten teams ranked in the top 20, joining No. 9 Michigan State, No. 17 Wisconsin and No. 19 Nebraska.
Cincinnati received 13 votes to check in 36th in the nation this week.
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