Tom Fornelli's College Football Power Ratings: Ohio State falls from No. 1 amid Julian Sayin injury

While the Buckeyes were one of the few top-10 teams that delivered last weekend, uncertainty at quarterback is enough to drop Ohio State for the first time all season Oct 20, 2026 at 10:04 am ET • 7 min read Imagn Images If you think the AP Top 25 had a rough week, the top four teams and five of the top seven teams in my power ratings lost last week. Overall, seven of the 12 teams I featured last week lost.Ironically, one of the few teams to win may have taken the biggest loss of them all.Yes, Ohio State beat Indiana, but it came with a cost. Quarterback Julian Sayin will be out "several weeks," according to Ryan Day, and that's the kind of development that impacts Ohio State's season, and it certainly impacts them in my power ratings.There is no position on the field more important than QB, and we don't know anything about Sayin's backups to this point. Luke Fahey filled in after the injury and struggled. The good news is the Buckeyes have a bye before returning to action, so Fahey will have plenty of time to prepare for his new role. He will also have Jeremiah Smith at his disposal, which is a plus for any QB.But how big of a drop-off is it for Ohio State as a whole? That I cannot be sure about, but it's enough of a drop-off that the Buckeyes fall out of the No. 1 spot in my ratings for the first time this season, even though they were one of only two teams in my top five that won last week.Title odds via DraftKings. Dropped Out: Utah, Missouri, Nebraska