If someone tries to tell you that foresaw the college football upsets, or even the near upsets, that we saw transpire in Week 8, just know that they are absolutely lying. With all of the wildness that we witnessed for teams inside the AP Top 25 college football rankings, there's no way that any rational human being saw it coming.
Perhaps the most stunning result was previously the undefeated UNC Tar Heels getting upset by previously 1-5 Virginia in Chapel Hill, ending any sleeper College Football Playoff hopes for Mack Brown's team. However, we also saw Ohio State bully Penn State, USC lose for the second straight week (and third straight time to Utah), Texas, Oklahoma and Florida State all flirt with upset disasters as Top 10 teams, and much, much more throughout the country.
We're most certainly entering crunch time with the last month and change of the 2023 regular season. And frankly, some teams are looking like they may well crack under the pressure.
For now, though, let's see how a chaotic Week 8 leaves the college football rankings as we dive into our projections for Sunday's AP Top 25, the next-to-last rankings before the College Football PlayoffL Selection Committee gets involved.
Dropped out of Top 25 rankings: USC Trojans (18), Iowa Hawkeyes (24)
Projected AP Top 25 college football rankings after Week 8: No. 25-21
25. Liberty Flames
Clemson, had they been able to make a statement against Miami, might've taken this spot. Instead, the still-unbeaten Liberty Flames get it. Kaidon Salter and Jamey Chadwell's team struggled early on Tuesday night against MTSU but continued to counterpunch whenever it was completely necessary. Salter is putting up huge dual-threat numbers and Liberty might well have a stranglehold on Conference USA moving forward.
24. Tennessee Volunteers
There was full consideration given to the possibility of dropping Tennessee out of the AP Top 25 rankings. With the other losses from fringe teams, though, the Vols luck out and drop only to No. 24. This defense that had impressed up to this week was taken advantage of in the second half by Alabama while Joe Milton continues to be a problem more than a solution. With games at Missouri and against Georgia still looming, don't expect the Vols to end the season still ranked.
23. Duke Blue Devils
Riley Leonard gutted out a high-ankle sprain he's still dealing with to play on Saturday night at Florida State, but a penalized hit in the second half forced him out of action. That severely limited the Duke offense and allowed the Seminoles to take full control of the game, pulling away in the fourth quarter. Even still, the Blue Devils still deserve to be ranked.
22. James Madison Dukes
If JMU isn't ranked this week, we riot. While James Madison is (wrongfully) still ineligible for a bowl game due to a senseless rule regarding the move up from FCS to FBS that the Dukes made last year, this team is the best in the Sun Belt, which might be the best top-to-bottom Group of 5 league this season. They thoroughly dominated Marshall on Thursday night this week and remain unbeaten. Put simply, Jordan McCloud and the Dukes have earned your respect, and AP Top 25 voters need to give it to them.
21. UCLA Bruins (Playing at Stanford)
Perhaps quite contrastingly to recent Chip Kelly teams at UCLA, the Bruins boast arguably the best defense in the country, but the issue has been the offense. While facing a lowly Stanford team may not be an issue, Dante Moore and the attack just haven't been nearly as reliable as we're accustomed to seeing from this program. That has been and is what will likely continue being the thing that keeps UCLA from Pac-12 contention this season.
Projected AP Top 25 college football rankings after Week 8: No. 20-16
20. Tulane Green Wave
In the midst of the chaos among ranked teams on Saturday, Tulane shockingly found itself in that conversation for a bit, even at home against a .500 North Texas team that has most certainly been flawed throughout this season. But Michael Pratt completed a monster game with a rushing TD to give the Green Wave a win and keep them firmly atop the AAC standings and among the best G5 teams in the country.
19. Air Force Falcons
It's almost always a given that two service academies facing off can result in a slugfest, and that's exactly what Air Force found itself in on Saturday as they went on the road to face Navy. The Falcons defense stepped up hugely to completely shut down the Midshipmen, but the offense with a less-than-100% Zac Larrier had to survive. They did, though, and now Air Force is cruising still at 7-0 and looking to capture the Group of 5's New Year's Six bid.
18. Louisville Cardinals
Louisville is certainly thankful for the break on their week off given the number of Top 25 teams, particularly in this range, who went down on Saturday. They also probably needed it to pick themselves up after the stunning upset loss to Pitt last week. Even still, the Cardinals will come out of the break to host Duke, which could be a huge matchup in the ACC Championship race for the back-end of the regular season.
17. North Carolina Tar Heels
Chapel Hill was left completely stunned on Saturday night as Drake Maye and the Tar Heels fell to the previously one-win Virginia Cavaliers. Everything that haunted UNC last season showed up on Saturday, with the defense incapable of stopping the run, the offense stalling at the worst times, and North Carolina paid for it. They're still alive to make the ACC Championship Game, but this was a major blow to the team's dark-horse Playoff hopes.
16. Missouri Tigers
You have to wonder how badly Eli Drinkwitz would love to have the Week 6 loss to LSU back with the way Missouri is playing. With still just one loss on the year, it's looking more like the Tigers are the biggest challengers to Georgia in the SEC East this season. On Saturday, they dismantled the South Carolina defense, but also shut down Spencer Rattler to get a 34-12 win and remain a sneaky one-loss team with the chance to cause calamity in the conference.
Projected AP Top 25 college football rankings after Week 8: No. 15-11
15. LSU Tigers
No, LSU giving Army an unkind visit to Baton Rouge in a complete rout isn't enough in itself to vault the Tigers up four spots in the college football rankings from last week. However, with the likes of Tennessee, Duke, UNC and USC all falling on Saturday, LSU gets a big bump up back into the Top 15, despite having two losses. The Tigers remain one of the most lethal offenses in the sport, but the defense will have to step up if Brian Kelly's team is to cause chaos in the SEC West.
14. Notre Dame Fighting Irish
It was a well-deserved off week for Notre Dame on Saturday after a hellacious stretch of game that, unfortunately, clipped the Irish on multiple occasions. Marcus Freeman's team losing to Ohio State and Louisville all but surely takes them out of the Playoff mix, but they can still potentially punch a ticket to the New Year's Six with a manageable finishing stretch featuring no more ranked opponents over the final four contests.
13. Utah Utes
Utah owned USC and ruined any dreams the Trojans may have had last season. With no Cam Rising on the field still, that wasn't the case on Saturday night in Los Angeles. But the Utah defense played a phenomenal game, as did backup QB Bryson Barnes, perhaps the best game of his career. The Utes did cough up a 28-14 lead, but Barnes came up massively in the final minute after USC took a 32-31 lead to set up the game-winning field goal and hand the Trojans their third straight loss to the Utes.
12. Ole Miss Rebels
On the heels of upsetting LSU on Sept. 30, Ole Miss messed around and had to survive against Arkansas. The hope was that, after a week off, the Rebels would be back in form as they went on the road to face Auburn. Instead, Lane Kiffin's group ended up in another surprising dogfight. Credit to Ole Miss for pulling away and securing the win late, but they consistently make everyone doubt they're actually one of the 15 best teams in the country.
11. Oregon State Beavers
Jonathan Smith's Beavs picked up a huge win over UCLA last week, doing so in convincing fashion in Corvallis. They then had their bye in Week 8, which they might need before going on the road next week to face an Arizona team that has been tremendously on the upswing over the past few weeks. Having said that, Oregon State hasn't just replicated last year's success, they're building on it, which is a great sign to see for this program as they aren't out of the Pac-12 race just yet.
Projected AP Top 25 college football rankings after Week 8: No. 10-9
10. Penn State Nittany Lions
The one thing I was certain about regarding Penn State coming into their marquee matchup against Ohio State was that the defense was one of the best in college football. Even though the Nittany Lions lost 20-12, a final score that looks better thanks to a garbage-time touchdown, that belief still holds true.
On the other hand, though, the Penn State offense might have more questions than answers coming out of the loss.
Drew Allar and the Nittany Lions attack had not been tested truly this season. So when they came up against a fierce OSU defense, they could get absolutely nothing going for them. They converted just one third down in the entirety of the action and the eye test was failed miserably. It's not a death sentence for Penn State's CFP hopes, but it certainly doesn't help – and it might be that if the offense doesn't make strides moving forward.
9. Alabama Crimson Tide
For as many times as people have already tried to write Nick Saban's team off this season, including in the first half on Saturday while hosting rival Tennessee, the Alabama Crimson Tide are still very much in the mix.
After falling behind 13-0 early against the Vols, Jalen Milroe and the Alabama offense found their groove in a massive way. They flashed it to answer midway through the second quarter, but the defense let up another TD drive for Tennessee. But Milroe found Isaiah Bond for a deep shot in the first minute of the second half and things were off and running for the Tide from there.
It's not wrong to remain dubious of Alabama's upside offensively. But the defense is still supremely talented, as evidenced by shutting out Tennessee in the second half, and the offense has been able to find big plays consistently. Point being, don't call the Tide dead until you're absolutely certain, or they'll just prove you wrong.
Projected AP Top 25 college football rankings after Week 8: No. 8-7
8. Oregon Ducks
Back at home in Autzen for the Oregon Ducks after taking the heartbreaking loss to rival Washington last week, there was no time to rest for Dan Lanning's team with a down-on-their-luck but incredibly frisky Washington State Cougars team coming to town for an unfriendly visit. And early on, it looked like the Ducks might be in a bit of trouble after Wazzu took a 10-3 lead in the second quarter. That, however, was just a wake-up call for Oregon.
From that point on, the Ducks outscored their opponents 35-14 behind a monster game from running back Bucky Irving, who finished the game with 129 rushing yards on just 15 carries with two scores along with a 42-yard touchdown catch as well. Bo Nix got his two with three total scores, and Oregon affirmed the still-standing belief that they are still one of the best teams in college football.
7. Texas Longhorns
The skinny of the situation on Saturday is that the Texas Longhorns, coming off of the loss to rival Oklahoma and then the bye week, went on the road to Houston as big-time favorites and escaped the game against a resurgent Cougars team by the skin of their teeth (and perhaps with the help of a favorable late-game spot) with a 31-24 win.
However, the bigger takeaway coming out of this game is the long-term health and outlook of quarterback Quinn Ewers.
Ewers took a big hit in the second half of this game and did not return to the action, though he did come back to the sidelines wearing a sling. Head coach Steve Sarkisian called it a "shoulder strain" after the game, but we won't know the full extent of the injury until after he undergoes further testing. While the Longhorns have a great QB room with Maalik Murphy and, of course, Arch Manning, losing Ewers would be a massive blow to Texas' still-alive CFP hopes.
Projected AP Top 25 college football rankings after Week 8: No. 6-5
6. Oklahoma Sooners
You have to wonder if Brent Venables' Oklahoma Sooners spent the bye week and this past week celebrating their Red River victory over rival Texas. Because what we saw on Saturday in Norman against a hot-and-cold UCF team seemed indicative of a highly talented team that was just simply not ready for competition. As a result of that, though, OU undoubtedly got a scare put into them by the Gus Bus.
In the end, the Sooners defense stepped up to blow up a trick play for what would've been a game-tying two-point conversion in order to seal the victory. Dillon Gabriel had a bit of a letdown day going 25-of-38 for only 253 yards with an interception, but he did add three touchdown throws to his tally. The big takeaway from this game, though, is that Oklahoma can't be playing with its food in the Big 12. While they and Texas might be the class of the conference on their way out, they can still get clipped at any time.
5. Washington Huskies (Playing vs. Arizona State)
On the heels of the highly emotional win over Oregon last week, the Washington Huskies very opaquely came into a letdown spot in Week 8, even playing at home in Seattle once again. The good news for Michael Penix Jr. and the rest of Kalen DeBoer's team is that the visiting Arizona State Sun Devils don't appear to be anywhere near the same ballpark as the current favorites to capture the Pac-12 title.
Washington has more than proven itself coming into this game. The win over Oregon was a coin-flip, but they made the plays – and got the fortunate bounces – necessary to pull out the victory. Outside of that, however, the Huskies have dominated the majority of the competition set before them. But they have more tests looming to finish out conference play, and they'll likely have to remain perfect or slip up just once while still winning the Pac-12 title game to have a chance at the Playoff.
Projected AP Top 25 college football rankings after Week 8: No. 4-3
4. Florida State Seminoles
Mike Norvell must have a lucky rabbit's foot that might've been rubbed down to the hide at this point in the 2023 season. Florida State was very much on the ropes at home against Duke on Saturday night, trailing 17-7 early in the second quarter and down 20-17 at halftime as well.
The Seminoles undeniably benefitted from Riley Leonard exiting the game for the Blue Devils in the second half, which gave their defense far more opportunities to make plays. But credit to Jordan Travis and the offense for also finally breaking through against Mike Elko's defense with 21 unanswered points in the second half to secure the win and remain very much alive in the College Football Playoff conversation.
Miami and Florida still loom on FSU's schedule, but they've now survived the most concerning parts of the schedule.
3. Ohio State Buckeyes
As much as I've been critical of the Ohio State Buckeyes this season, they've passed every big test set before them this season. Saturday afternoon in Columbus was no different with the previously No. 7-ranked Nittany Lions making the trip to The Shoe. It was far from a perfect game, yet again, from Kyle McCord as he continued to struggle under pressure, but he made enough plays behind a superhuman defensive effort to get the win.
The more you watch Ryan Day's team, though, the more you start to realize that, in contrast to years past, it's the defense that is leading the charge. Jim Knowles' unit looks like one of the best in the country, proving it again by all but completely shutting down a Penn State offense that had been humming all season long to this point.
If McCord can keep showing improvement, we know the weapons around him are elite. And we now know the defense is on that level too. However, we still need to see if the QB can elevate enough to get this team past Michigan and truly in the Playoff picture.
Projected AP Top 25 college football rankings after Week 8: No. 2-1
2. Michigan Wolverines
Michigan had absolutely, positively, most certainly, nothing going on this week outside of their game against rival Michigan State. Unless you count a potential sport-altering sign-stealing scandal that Jim Harbaugh and his staff are being accused of as something major to consider, of course.
With that dark cloud hanging over Ann Arbor after the news cycle this week, the Wolverines indeed had to travel to East Lansing to try to continue their tour de force through the Big Ten. They did just that as they made life completely miserable for the rival Spartans in every facet, snuffing out any life for MSU offensively and continuing to methodically move down the field when they had possession. They jumped out to a 28-0 halftime lead and never looked back.
It remains to be seen how the sign-stealing allegations affect Michigan this season, if they will at all. The way things stand, though, the Wolverines clearly look like the Big Ten favorites and perhaps a national championship favorite as well.
1. Georgia Bulldogs
Even after a relatively uninspiring win a week ago over Vanderbilt, Georgia being on their bye in Week 8 might've had you thinking that Kirby Smart's team might not be in the news cycle for the week. Then came the Brock Bowers news.
The Bulldogs will now be without their all-world tight end until perhaps the season finale against Georgia Tech at the soonest, but most likely the SEC Championship Game or the College Football Playoff – should they make it there. It's a crushing blow for the offense, losing one of the most dynamic and dangerous weapons in the sport.
It is fortunate that Mike Bobo and the Georgia offense get the off week to figure things out moving forward, especially with the Cocktail Party rivalry game against Florida looming next week. The Dawgs will remain at the No. 1 spot in the rankings, but where they go from here after that injury will be fascinating to watch in the coming weeks.
