Times Top 25: Ohio State takes top spot

Rankman made a painful executive decision to dump-frog Texas Christian, after only one week, in the aftermath of Ohio State’s statement win at Virginia Tech. That victory was obviously more impressive than TCU’s opening win at Minnesota. Assuming both teams keep winning impressively, the battle for No.1 will be settled when Ohio State hosts Minnesota on Nov. 7. It’s simple: TCU defeated Minnesota, 23-17, so we’ll compare common-opponent scores and make the call. Rankman hedged on Ohio State for No.1, in part, because the Buckeyes suspended players for the Virginia Tech opener. We all saw how much it mattered. … UCLA jumps four spots based on Josh Rosen’s stellar debut against Virginia. Losing schools from Virginia, by the way, had a huge impact on this week’s ranking. … Finally: Felt sorry for under-the-radar SEC and moved three more teams into top 25. It required moving three Big Ten schools out.

1; Ohio State 1-0; Columbus Philharmonic praises Meyer for orchestration of Monday’s three-quarterback concerto. (2).

2; Texas Christian 1-0; Horned Frogs will be fine so long as they don’t lose any starting linebackers. … Uh-oh. (1)

3; Alabama 1-0; Still can’t figure out if Saban is more miserable after defeats or victories. (3).

4; Oregon 1-0; Sir Walter Scott calls defense “a tangled web” after horrid performance vs. Eastern Washington. (4)

5; Michigan State 1-0; All substitutes in Saturday’s game with Oregon will be referred to as “Green Renewables.” (5)

6; Baylor 1-0; Bears may have a worse schedule than a gravedigger working the graveyard shift. (6)

7; Clemson 1-0; Great to hear receiver Mike Williams is going to be fine after scary neck injury. (7)

8; Auburn 1-0; Schedule miss means new coordinator Muschamp won’t face Florida’s prolific offense. (8).

9; USC 1-0; Can claim share of Sun Belt Conference title with Saturday win over Idaho. (9).

10; UCLA 1-0; True frosh euphoria alert: Barkley was 15 for 19, 233 yards, no picks in USC debut. (14)

11; Georgia 1-0; Some think Nick Chubb has a chance to be Herschel Walker with a lower voice. (10).

12; Florida State 1-0; Frankly, and we mean this, no team better prepares players coming off suspension. (12)

13; Notre Dame 1-0; At Virginia this week should tell us more about how well UCLA played last week. (17)

14; Texas A&M 1-0; Same old question: Has there ever been a better-looking program before Labor Day? (NR)

15; Georgia Tech 1-0; Clean: Jackets had 476 rushing yards and no penalties in romp over Alcorn State (15)

16; Oklahoma 1-0; Temperance board asks fans to downgrade Tennessee game from “do-or-die” to “do-your-best.’’ (18).

17; Arizona 1-0; Cartoon channel is sorry to hear about Scooby Wright’s knee injury. (13)

18; Tennessee 1-0; From outer space, sellout crowd for Oklahoma will look like a tiny glass of Tang. (20)

19; Arkansas 1-0; New dance rage on campus after opening romp called “The Texas-UTEP.” (21)

20; Missouri 1-0; Reprimanded by SEC office for scheduling at Arkansas State without expressed, written consent. (22)

21; Boise State 1-0; First-game QB play shakier than Barney Fife removing bullet from his pocket. (19)

22; Utah 1-0; School wants to know where to send 20 pairs of khaki pants found in Michigan locker. (23)

23; Mississippi 1-0; Rebels impressive in 76-3, lounge-act laugher over Tennessee Martin & Lewis. (NR)

24; Louisiana State 0-0; Needs 11 more canceled games to claim mythical Weather Channel national title. (NR)

25; Arizona State 0-1; Herbstreit clarifies to say he picked “softball” team to make this year’s final four. (11)

Moved in: Texas A&M, LSU, Mississippi

Dropped out: Michigan (25), Nebraska (24), Wisconsin (16)

chris.dufresne@latimes.com