Week 8 has wrapped up as we officially reach the midseason point of the regular season. Five of the 17 games including Top 25 teams were won by no more than one score, including the matchup between then-No. 7 Alabama and No. 11 Tennessee.
The outcome of the Crimson Tide’s trip to Neyland Stadium this past weekend wasn’t what they had hoped for. Tennessee’s defense shined while Alabama’s offense suffered, as the Tide lost two conference games before November for the first time since 2006. With this loss, what does Alabama need to do to get back into the playoff conversation?
Meanwhile, No. 5 Georgia upset No. 1 Texas on the road, as the Bulldogs’ defense shut down the Longhorns’ passing attack. As conference play continues, what does Texas’ offense need to improve on going forward?
Following Week 8, both Army and Navy remain in our top 25 list as they gained big wins Saturday. As playoff conversations heighten as we head into the second half of the regular season, could we see one of these teams in the College Football Playoff?
Here’s the latest top 25 from our college football experts, who provide their insight on each team’s Week 8 performance.
Previous ranking: 2
After quickly coming off the high of beating Ohio State at home, the Ducks had to travel to Purdue for a Friday night game that could have been a trap. Instead, what transpired was a clean 35-0 drubbing of the Boilermakers. There’s a lot to wax poetic about when it comes to Oregon, but perhaps the biggest surprise is that it has been able to get off to this start without running the ball that well.
Last year, the Ducks ranked 30th in the nation in rushing yards per game; this year, they’re 70th and averaging 30 yards per game fewer than they did last season. Junior Jordan James does have over 700 rushing yards and eight touchdowns, so the production has been satisfactory. Maybe we’re nitpicking a bit, but for Oregon to continue this undefeated season and continue to excel against tougher opponents (especially if it makes the playoff), there’s certainly room for improvement. — Paolo Uggetti
Previous ranking: 6
For a program that has been absolutely dominant over the past three seasons, this year’s theme has been a frustrating lack of such dominance, something Kirby Smart might have foreshadowed in August when he said the Dawgs might have the least depth since he arrived. There was a 13-12 grind of a win over Kentucky. A 41-31 scuffle with 1-6 Mississippi State. The Bulldogs’ 41-34 loss to Alabama snapped a school-record 42-game regular-season winning streak (including 28 straight in SEC play) and encapsulated Georgia’s season.
The Bulldogs were down 28-0 early in the second quarter, then stormed back and didn’t allow a Bama touchdown again until there was 2:18 left in the fourth quarter — a 75-yard highlight-reel catch for Ryan Williams — only to drive with a chance to score again until Carson Beck threw an interception in the end zone.
The Dawgs put together a stellar showing in Austin on Saturday night, allowing just 29 rushing yards on 27 carries and racking up seven sacks in a 30-15 upset of the No. 1 team on the road. But Beck threw for 175 yards with three interceptions, leaving the possibility that Georgia’s most complete game might still be in front of them. That’s a scary thought for the rest of the SEC. — Dave Wilson
Previous ranking: 3
The Buckeyes’ second bye week arrived at a good time, giving Ryan Day and his squad plenty of time to regroup from their 32-31 road loss at Oregon and get ready for the tests ahead. Nebraska (5-2) is coming to Columbus this week but is currently reeling from a 56-7 loss at Indiana that exposed its weaknesses. After struggling to slow down Dillon Gabriel and the Ducks, Jim Knowles’ defense will be looking to send a message against a true freshman QB. The week off also provided plenty of time to work ahead on studying No. 3 Penn State and all the challenges it’ll present on both sides of the ball. We’re now a week away from a battle at Beaver Stadium that will define the rest of the Big Ten race. — Max Olson
Previous ranking: 4
It’s impossible to suggest Miami is a well-oiled machine right now. The pass defense struggled in three straight games, including allowing 342 yards and four touchdowns to Louisville‘s Tyler Shough. The special teams was a disaster against Louisville, too, allowing a 100-yard kick return and failing to cover a fake punt. But the offense — well, that’s special, and it has been enough to escape even the most challenging of circumstances, including in Saturday’s 52-45 shootout in Louisville. Cam Ward remains the most electric QB in the country, adding 319 yards and four touchdowns in the win over the Cardinals. — David Hale
Previous ranking: 5
The improvement of Penn State’s offense under new offensive coordinator Andy Kotelnicki has been remarkable. Not only are the Nittany Lions one of the top 10 units in the country (471 yards per game, 7.21 yards per play) but the way they’ve done it has been impressive. Utilizing players like quarterback Drew Allar, running backs Kaytron Allen and Nick Singleton and a versatile tight end like Tyler Warren, Kotelnicki has injected the offense with some much-needed creativity and energy that has catapulted them to new heights.
Between using Warren as a runner, receiver, thrower and even snapper in the plethora of formations he throws at opposing defenses, Penn State has become must-watch TV on that side of the ball. It helps, too, that Kotelnicki’s work has resulted in six wins, including four by more than two scores. Penn State was on a bye this week, but as it turns toward the season’s most important stretch, its new-look offense will continue to have even bigger stages to showcase its abilities. — Uggetti
Previous ranking: 1
A year ago, Steve Sarkisian made it a point to say the Longhorns were committed to improving their passing attack, and they did, rolling through their final season in the Big 12 and earning a College Football Playoff berth behind the efficient arm of Quinn Ewers, who threw for 3,479 yards and 22 TDs to six interceptions. The Longhorns lost receivers Xavier Worthy, Adonai Mitchell and Jordan Whittington and tight end Ja’Tavion Sanders to the NFL draft, and with that went 76% of their receptions and 80% of their receiving yardage. Ewers has always been a distributor, trying to get the ball to his playmakers, but the field has shortened for him considerably this year.
The Longhorns are still stacked with star power at receiver with Isaiah Bond, Ryan Wingo, DeAndre Moore and Silas Bolden and at tight end with Gunnar Helm, but Ewers is averaging 2.6 air yards per completion this season, down from 5.1 a season ago. He ranks 128th nationally in air yards per attempt (5.65), down from 7.49 a year ago, and 115th in percentage of throws 20 or more yards downfield (9.3%). The lack of explosiveness in a Texas passing attack, despite the experience of Ewers and the creativity of Sarkisian’s calls, has been the most surprising challenge facing the Longhorns this year. — Wilson
Previous ranking: 8
Considering the way the Clemson offense performed in a 34-3 season-opening loss to Georgia, the biggest surprise to date has been the way Cade Klubnik and his teammates have responded. Following a 48-31 win over Virginia, Clemson now has five 500-yard games in the first seven games of a season for the first time in school history. They also have five 40-point games, marking the third time in school history they’ve reached that mark over the first seven games (five in both 2019 and 2020).
Klubnik, meanwhile, has shown growth and an ability to limit his mistakes — something that had plagued him leading into the season. Klubnik has thrown for 1,836 yards with 20 touchdowns and just three interceptions. He already has more passing touchdowns than last season (19) and has a career-high three 300-yard games. Bigger tests await after the open date, but it’s safe to say the Clemson offense is one of the most improved units in the country. — Andrea Adelson
Previous ranking: 13
The doubts should be significantly diminished, if not gone completely, about Curt Cignetti’s first Hoosiers team. Indiana is for real, and Cignetti has done a masterful job flipping both a roster and a mindset in Bloomington. The only surprise is how dominant and consistent IU continues to be, as the offense diced up a veteran Nebraska defense for 56 points, 24 first downs and 495 yards (including 343 in the first half) on Saturday.
IU eclipsed 50 points in a Big Ten game for the first time since 2016, and its team-record streak of six games with 40 or more points tied the second-longest mark for a Big Ten team in the AP poll era. Quarterback Kurtis Rourke showed why he’ll be an NFL draft pick, completing 17 of 21 passes before leaving the game with an injury to his right thumb. Rourke’s status will be worth watching for the stretch run, but Indiana’s dominance goes beyond him. The Hoosiers forced five turnovers and held Nebraska scoreless for the final 37:40, as linebacker Jailin Walker and others shined. — Adam Rittenberg
Previous ranking: 10
The Cougars are still unbeaten after Jake Retzlaff’s 35-yard, go-ahead touchdown strike to Darius Lassiter with 10 seconds remaining that vaulted BYU past Oklahoma State on Friday night. Lassiter reached a career-best 129 yards on six receptions, and LJ Martin found the end zone twice while rushing for a career-high 120 yards in a 38-35 win that improved the Cougars to 7-0. BYU has created more turnovers (16) than all but three defenses nationally this fall, and that playmaking defensive unit had the Cougars on the right side of the turnover battle in three of their first six games.
That flipped in Week 8 on three BYU interceptions — two by Retzlaff, another from Hinckley Ropati — and it nearly resulted in the Cougars’ first defeat of 2024. A Week 9 trip to turnover-prone UCF should provide BYU a chance to get back to maintaining its elite edge on turnover margin. — Eli Lederman
Previous ranking: 9
The Cyclones narrowly avoided a major home upset Saturday, storming from behind to beat UCF on Rocco Becht‘s 1-yard touchdown run with 30 seconds remaining. With the 38-35 escape, Matt Campbell and Iowa State are 7-0 for only the second time in program history (first set in 1938). Becht accounted for all three second-half touchdowns and Jaylin Noel caught eight passes for 153 yards in the win, but this was another perplexing performance from Jon Heacock’s defense.
The Cyclones lead the Big 12 in total defense (304.0 YPG), passing defense (133.7 YPG) and scoring defense (14.4 PPG). However, Oklahoma State is the only Big 12 defense giving up more rushing yards per game than Iowa State (170.3), and UCF gashed the Cyclones for 354 on Saturday, the second-most Campbell’s defense has allowed since 2016. Iowa State remains the Big 12’s playoff favorite, but the Cyclones’ run defense is a concerning Achilles’ heel with matchups in November against two of the conference’s top three rushing offenses: Kansas State and Kansas. — Lederman
Previous ranking: 14
There’s no getting around Tennessee’s struggles on offense, especially in the first half, but the Vols’ defense is playing at a championship level. That was never more apparent than Saturday night, when Tennessee’s defense stood tall despite a third straight scoreless first half by the offense and steered the Vols to a 24-17 victory over Alabama at Neyland Stadium. It was Tennessee’s second win over Alabama in the past three seasons — after losing 16 straight to the Crimson Tide.
The Vols (6-1, 3-1) generated some big plays in the passing game in the second half, something that had been sorely missing. Nico Iamaleava‘s 16-yard touchdown pass to Chris Brazzell II in the back of the end zone put Tennessee ahead for good in the fourth quarter. Coach Josh Heupel called his defense “elite” but said finding more consistency on offense and avoiding poor starts will be critical, especially if the Vols are going to stay in the thick of the SEC race. Tennessee gets a bye week this Saturday and then games at home against Kentucky and Mississippi State before visiting Georgia on Nov. 16. — Chris Low
Previous ranking: 12
The Irish walloped Georgia Tech 31-13 in Week 8, a third straight win over an ACC team in which Notre Dame eclipsed 30 points. Given the lingering offensive worries following a slow start to the season, that’s cause for ample optimism. Given the chaos around the top of the rankings, too, Notre Dame’s case for a playoff bid remains strong. On the other hand, all three of those ACC opponents rank 66th or worse in ESPN’s defensive efficiency. This week, the Irish get undefeated Navy, and while the talent differential should heavily favor Notre Dame, the Midshipmen may well be the biggest challenge the Irish have faced yet this season. — Hale
Previous ranking: 11
LSU might have been a bit of an afterthought in the playoff conversation after a season-opening loss to USC. But not anymore. The Tigers (6-1, 3-0) have won six in a row and took care of Arkansas 34-10 on the road Saturday. LSU controlled the second half after leading 16-7 at the break. The Tigers had the football 17 minutes more than the Razorbacks and finished with 393 total yards.
One of the big questions about this LSU team was how much better it would be on defense. The Tigers are clearly better on that side of the ball and forced three turnovers Saturday. Their game at Texas A&M on Saturday looms large for their quest for a playoff spot. The Tigers still have Alabama at home and Florida on the road in November after getting a bye following the Texas A&M game. — Low
Previous ranking: 15
Last season, the Aggies averaged 3.9 yards per carry and 136.2 yards per game behind a much-maligned offensive line. A season later under offensive coordinator Collin Klein, the Aggies are averaging 218.6 yards per game on the ground and 5.4 yards per carry despite a passing game that is still developing. Despite losing potential starter Rueben Owens before the season with a foot injury, junior Le’Veon Moss has scored multiple TDs in three games this season, including 138 yards and three TDs against then-No. 9 Missouri. Amari Daniels has also scored twice in two games. No Aggies running back did that once last season.
Moss, the Aggies’ second-leading rusher last season, has already eclipsed his 2023 season totals in yardage and TDs and added a new career long with a 75-yarder against Missouri. A stingy defense and a running game that can keep offenses off the field has been a winning formula for the 6-1 Aggies (4-0 SEC). — Wilson
Previous ranking: 16
The Broncos’ bye week arrived at a great time as they have won every game except for one — against the No. 1 team in the country — and are preparing for what could be their toughest regular-season matchup remaining against UNLV this coming week. What Ashton Jeanty has done has been nothing short of heroic as he has carried this offense while being on pace to break Barry Sanders’ single-season rushing record. But beyond Jeanty, the lopsided Boise State defense has been a key figure in how its games have gone.
The Broncos have been fantastic at stopping the run (23rd in the country) while also being abysmal at stopping the pass (124th). Their passing defense has often kept teams in games against them and made them closer than they should be. Against Mountain West opponents, that might not come back to hurt them. Against potential future playoff matchups, that could be a problem. — Uggetti
Previous ranking: 17
Pitt is coming off its second bye week and gets ready for a challenging stretch run of six consecutive games, including showdowns with No. 9 Clemson and No. 22 SMU. But first up is a Thursday night battle with Syracuse (5-1). Syracuse and Pitt were picked to finish 12th and 13th, respectively, in the ACC’s preseason media poll and have far exceeded expectations. Quarterback Eli Holstein had a rough outing against California (133 passing yards, two INTs), but Pitt coach Pat Narduzzi is confident his redshirt freshman playmaker will bounce back nicely. “There’s no lost trust in Eli,” Narduzzi told reporters. “I think he’s spectacular.” — Olson
Previous ranking: 18
It’s still probably hard for the Wildcats to accept that they got blown out by BYU a few weeks ago despite outgaining the Cougars 367-241. Alas, they don’t allow mulligans in this sport. But the expanded playoff does make it easy to bounce back from a loss given there is still everything to play for. K-State turned in a resounding 45-18 win against West Virginia on Saturday, as quarterback Avery Johnson completed 19 of 29 passes for 298 yards and three touchdowns. Perhaps more noteworthy is that Johnson didn’t register a single rush attempt, despite coming into the game with 306 yards rushing on the season. If K-State can win big without needing to tap into that part of Johnson’s game, it bodes well for the rest of the year. — Kyle Bonagura
Previous ranking: 19
New week, same results. The SMU offense is rolling, and Stanford provided little resistance in a 40-10 rout. Kevin Jennings continued to shine, throwing for 322 yards and three touchdowns. The Mustangs are averaging 3.3 points per drive since installing Jennings as QB1 in Week 4, the 13th-best rate in the country over that span. Their road to the ACC championship game could hinge on these next two weeks, however, as they hit the road to face 6-1 Duke before hosting undefeated Pitt. — Hale
Previous ranking: 7
Kalen DeBoer knew nothing about replacing Nick Saban would be easy, and it hasn’t been for the Crimson Tide (5-2, 2-2). Their 24-17 loss to Tennessee on Saturday marked the first time they’ve lost two SEC games before November since 2006, which was the year before Saban arrived in Tuscaloosa. It was Alabama’s defense that was shredded in the 40-35 loss to Vanderbilt two weeks ago, but the offense was the chief culprit in their loss to the Vols — along with penalties and mistakes. The Tide committed a season-high 15 penalties.
Quarterback Jalen Milroe was intercepted twice and was held to 11 yards on 14 carries. One of his interceptions was in the end zone in the first quarter on second-and-goal from the 3. There’s no dismissing the win over Georgia last month, but the Tide will likely need to go unbeaten the rest of the way if they’re going to get in the playoff. The next two weeks won’t be easy against ranked foes. They face Missouri at home on Saturday and then travel to LSU on Nov. 9. — Low
Previous ranking: 21
The hype is growing in West Point, and Army is welcoming the attention. The Black Knights dominated East Carolina to move to 7-0 on Saturday, rolling to a 31-0 third-quarter lead before allowing garbage-time points in a 45-28 win. Quarterback Bryson Daily was again devastating, rushing 31 times for 171 yards and five touchdowns while completing 7 of 10 passes for 147 yards and another score. With 102 rushing yards, Kanye Udoh contributed his third 100-yard game of the season, too. Army is now 7-0 overall and 6-0 in conference play in its first year in the AAC.
It’s going to be hard to keep the Black Knights out of the AAC championship, and their Week 13 game against Notre Dame at Yankee Stadium could have legitimate playoff stakes. What a turnaround it has been for an Army offense that had to deal with rule changes outlawing cut blocks — a staple of the option game — and unsuccessfully converted to more of a shotgun spread attack last year. It has gone back to basics this year, and it has worked shockingly well. — Bill Connelly
Previous ranking: 24
The 6-0 Midshipmen looked unstoppable yet again on Saturday in a 51-17 rout of Charlotte. Navy never gave Charlotte a chance, scoring on its first five drives and running out to a 38-0 lead early in the second quarter. Defense won the day with five takeaways, led by cornerback Dashaun Peele scoring on 61- and 84-yard interception returns for touchdowns. The Midshipmen are bowl eligible for the first time since 2019. Now, they’ll try to beat No. 12 Notre Dame for the first time since 2016. This year’s neutral-site game at MetLife Stadium presents a perfectly timed opportunity to prove they’re a real CFP contender. — Olson
Previous ranking: 23
The surprise wasn’t that Illinois beat Michigan — the Illini have performed better than the Wolverines throughout the season — but how coach Bret Bielema’s team delivered a win. Illinois leaned on its run game, which entered Saturday ranked 87th nationally (139.5 YPG), for 187 yards on 38 carries against a sturdy Michigan defensive front led by Mason Graham and Kenneth Grant. The Illini were outstanding on special teams with a perfectly executed fake punt in the third quarter, two field goals and a blocked Michigan field goal attempt.
Illinois also got a big lift from its defensive front seven, particularly outside linebacker Gabe Jacas and lineman TeRah Edwards, who combined for 4.5 sacks and two forced fumbles. The performance more closely resembled those of Bielema’s Wisconsin teams, which won the Big Ten in his final three seasons there. Illinois is very much alive in the league title race as it prepares for a difficult trip to Oregon. — Rittenberg
Previous ranking: 20
Lane Kiffin’s Rebels had a bye week to figure out how the rest of the season is going to be defined. They suffered their second loss of the season, 29-26 to LSU, a week ago, and they might need to win out to feel good about the CFP chances they thought they had heading into the season.
Considering they’ll get a visit from Georgia in a few weeks, with trips to wild cards Arkansas and Florida sandwiching that big game, winning out seems like a long shot. But they’ll have a chance to build confidence next week against a spiraling Oklahoma team. We’ll see what happens from there. We’ll also see whether the bye week brings the offense back. The Rebels have averaged a surprisingly low 23.3 points over their past three games (including two losses). — Connelly
Previous ranking: 22
It took a trip to the hospital for Brady Cook to play his best ball of the season. The Mizzou senior quarterback suffered an ankle injury on the first drive of the day against Auburn and left for an MRI, but he surprised fans by reentering the game late with Mizzou down 17-6 late in the third quarter and led a pair of touchdown drives, the last finishing with under a minute left to win the game.
Auburn had gone up 17-3 on a Cam Coleman touchdown and a score off a muffed punt, but while Mizzou’s offense was stagnant with Cook out, the defense made enough stops to buy time. It was rewarded with Cook’s late heroics. Missouri hasn’t looked like the borderline playoff team it was supposed to be this year, but the Tigers are still 6-1, and fans will talk about the Brady Cook Game for quite a while. — Connelly
Previous ranking: NR
After the offense surprisingly struggled in its past two games, Wazzu got back on track with a resounding 41-10 win against Hawai’i to reach bowl eligibility. Without a conference title to play for, the Cougars still came into the year hoping to chase a playoff spot.
Those chances took a major blow with a loss to Boise State, but until the Cougars suffer a second defeat, there’s some hope they can sneak in. Quarterback John Mateer turned in his best passing performance of the season against Hawai’i, going 23-of-27 for 295 yards with three touchdowns and no picks. He also added a pair of rushing touchdowns. — Bonagura
