The story of the week was Tennessee taking down Alabama in a shootout. That was their first win over the Crimson Tide in 15 years! Three other teams also moved up significantly with Oklahoma State, Penn State & USC all losing for the first time.
Further down, it proved to be a short stay for Sun Belt new boys James Maddison whose wining start to FBS life came to a halt in a thriller against Georgia Southrn. The other departure was Kansas who had been one of the years big surprises. They have a tough Big 12 shedule ahead and it would be ironic if the lost out and missed out on a bowl game after their terrific start.
Making a Statement
Tennessee were tot the only team to win big on Saturday. Michigan showed they were for real, hammering then No 10 Penn State. The Wolverines schedule had bee a bit light up to this game but the way they won this one indicated they will be a handful for anyone. They had 418 yards rushing and although they trailed early in the third they then put up 25 unanswered points to run out easy winners.
Welcome To The Rankings
Two new arrivals again this week with North Carolina being rewarded for their recent good run. Also, it’s good to see Tulane finally get ranked. They might just be the best team in the AAC. Head coach Willie Fritz should be in consideration for coach of the year given they were 2-10 last season.
On The Cusp
Purdue has the best chance of capitalizing on any slip-ups this week. They take on Wisconsin and a road win over the Badgers would most likely edge them in. It’s a tough ask though and the team we are keeping an eye on is LSU. They travel to Florida and could go 3-1 in SEC play with a win. It will also be a good indicator of whether Tennessee is for real too given that was their only conference loss.
Anyway, the week eights rankings are below…
AP Top 25 Rankings Week Eight
No. 1 Georgia 7-0
No. 2 Ohio State 6-0
No. 3 Tennessee 6-0
No. 4 Michigan
No. 5 Clemson 7-0
No. 6 Alabama 6-1
No. 7 Ole Miss 7-0
No. 8 TCU 6-0
No. 9 UCLA 6-0
No. 10 Oregon 5-1
No. 11 Oklahoma State 5-1
No. 12 USC 6-1
No. 13 Wake Forest 5-1
No. 14 Syracuse 6-0
No. 15 Utah 5-2
No. 16 Penn State 5-1
No. 17 Kansas State 5-1
No. 18 Illinois 6-1
No. 19 Kentucky 5-2
No. 20 Texas 5-2
No. 21 Cincinnati 5-1
No. 22 North Carolina 6-1
No. 23 NC State 5-2
No. 24 Mississippi State 5-2
No. 25 Tulane 6-1
All Change
In – North Carolina & Tulane
Out – Kansas & James Madison
Conference representation
SEC 6
ACC 5
Big 12 4
Big Ten 4
PAC-12 4
AAC 2
You can check week Sevens rankings here
