Week 8 college football rankings: Oregon, Iowa State, LSU climb as Ohio State, Georgia drop

With a few top-25 teams going down this weekend, a spot finally opens up for the Navy Midshipmen. While Navy isn’t the best military academy in college football right now, they are one of the few teams in the nation with an undefeated record. Coming out of the bye, the Midshipmen should be able to handle Charlotte. If that happens, that sets up a Notre Dame vs Navy clash with far higher stakes than anyone expected coming into the year.

The lone blemish on the SMU Mustangs’ resume this season is an 18-15 loss to the BYU Cougars, arguably a top-12 program right now. Outside of that, the Mustangs have two-score wins over TCU and Florida State along with a ranked victory (Louisville). This is a golden opportunity for SMU, with Stanford (2-4) and Duke (5-1) potentially setting the stage for a must-see game on Nov. 2 between Pittsburgh and the Mustangs.

It’s time to give the military academies their due at this point in the college football season. Army Black Knights quarterback Bryson Daily needed just 3 completions to eclipse the 100-yard mark in Week 7, also rushing for 4 touchdowns with 136 rushing yards. Army is officially 6-0, already earning bowl eligibility in early October. At 6-0, that’s enough to make it into our Week 8 college football rankings, especially since Army has never trailed in a game this year.

The California Golden Bears put the same scare in Pittsburgh that they did the Miami Hurricanes. It certainly didn’t help the Panthers that quarterback Eli Holstein was abysmal in Week 7, completing just 50 percent of his passes with 2 interceptions and a 4.8 ypa average. Fortunately, running back Desmond Reid (139 scrimmage yards and 2 touchdowns) and some excellent Pitt defense after the first quarter, maintained the perfect record.

The Arizona State Sun Devils took full advantage of an injured Cam Rising and a sluggish Utah Utes team. Utah had no answer for Cam Skattebo (179 scrimmage yards), but this Sun Devils defense deserves credit for 3 interceptions and keeping this game close after the Sun Devils’ offense got shut out for the first 13 minutes. The Texas Tech loss (30-22), but coach Kelly Dillingham has this program in a very good spot right now.

Not exactly the caliber of performance we expected to see from Illinois at home against Purdue (1-5). A win is certainly a win, but those 46 s second-half points allowed to the Boilermakers have to raise numerous red flags for coach Bret Bielema. Fortunately for the Fighting Illini, quarterback Luke Altmyer saved the day with a strong performance in front of the home crowd. After moving to 5-1, the table is now set for an intriguing Week 8 duel at home against the Michigan Wolverines.

Same ol’ Rebels, same ol’ Lane Kiffin. In one of the slowest-paced games this season, Jaxson Dart once again demonstrated why he can’t be trusted in big games. Then again, it also didn’t help that Kiffin had more questionable coaching in critical situations. Ole Miss is who it is at this point and Kiffin is the perfect coach for this program.

Congrats to the Missouri Tigers for beating up on one-win UMass? Sure, it’s nice to see the Tigers’ offense eclipse the 200-yard mark through the air and on the ground, but that’s not saying anything considering the level of competition faced. Week 7 changed nothing for Missouri, this has been a disappointing team for a month now and while they might beat Auburn in Week 8, Alabama and Oklahoma loom ahead.

A Saturday night in Colorado provided a scare for the Kansas State Wildcats in Week 7, especially when Shedeur Sanders led a go-ahead touchdown drive with 3 minutes remaining. Fortunately for K-State, Avery Johnson and DJ GIddens rallied, contributing 400 total yards of offense with 2 touchdowns to sneak out with a 31-28 win over the Buffaloes (4-2)

Once again, the only blemish on the Boise State Broncos’ resume now is a close loss to the Oregon Ducks. Week 7 did represent a small statistical regression for running back Ashton Jeanty, only in the sense that his yards per carry average dipped below 10. He more than made up for it scoring 2 total touchdowns and rushing for 217 yards in a 28-7 win on a road trip to Hawai’i. Jeanty’s case for the Heisman is obvious and he should feast on the rest of the Broncos schedule.

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Curt Cignetti is doing it again. The first-year Indiana Hoosiers coach has this program off to its best start since 1967. The Hoosiers offense – 11th in passing yards per game (315.3) and fourth in scoring (47.5 PPG) – is obviously leading the way. We also have to spotlight Indiana’s defense, which entered the bye week 17th nationally in yards per play allowed (4.6). We can’t wait for Nebraska vs Indiana next Saturday on FOX.

The Texas A&M Aggies have to be feeling pretty good about where things stand coming out of the Week 7 bye. Mike Elko is operating an Aggies defense that is allowing the sixth-lowest third-down success rate (26.98 percent) and the sixth-fewest points per first half (4.6). If the Aggies’ defense can play well in all four quarters and quarterback Connor Weigman can settle in, Texas A&M might have a nice shot at carrying this win streak through the remainder of October (at Mississippi State and vs LSU).

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We’ll keep buying stock in the undefeated BYU Cougars. It’s still remarkable that BYU coach Kalani Sitake entered 2024 a bit on the hot seat and now he’s leading a program closing in on a top-10 spot in our Week 8 college football rankings. BYU’s defense dominated Arizona on Saturday, especially after the first quarter. Now 6-0 on the season, including 3-0 in the conference, BYU should be favorites at home against Oklahoma State on Friday night.

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The Clemson Tigers are on a roll right now. If there was any concern after trailing 7-0 to Wake Forest at halftime, quarterback Cade Klubnik and running back Phil Mafah erased it with four combined touchdowns in the second quarter. That’s all she wrote for the Demon Deacons. Klubnik delivered one of his best performances of the season and Clemson shut out Wake Forest in the second half. A five-game winning streak and now Virginia is next in line to face a Tigers team that is dominating the ACC.

The Stanford Cardinal made it a little interesting with a 7-7 first-quarter tie. That’s when the Notre Dame Fighting Irish took over, responding with a pair of second-quarter touchdown passes from Riley Leonard followed by running backs Jeremiyah Love and Jadarian Price dominating the Cardinal defense. It’s been a nice little run for the Fighting Irish, who have a pair of multi-score wins in the last three games and a victory over Louisville.

Credit where credit is due. LSU Tigers quarterback Garrett Nussmeier was awful for a majority of the game, but he saved his best stuff for an unbelievable comeback. It started with the 23-yard touchdown strike to tie the game with 27 seconds left. Then, with a chance to win it, he came through on the first play of LSU’s drive of overtime for the game-winning score. LSU hasn’t looked impressive this season, but with an injury-plagued roster on Saturday night, this team delivered.

Kirby Smart’s Georgia Bulldogs have seemingly gotten away with the seemingly endless off-the-field issues and a lack of discipline because they dominated on the field. That’s going to disappear in a hurry if Smart can get the entire team to turn it around. Georgia’s offensive explosion just came against one of the worst defenses in college football, but it was a close game because the Bulldogs defense made Mississippi State look competent. At some point, there has to be a level of accountability and a higher standard somewhere.

Nothing from Saturday’s win over the South Carolina Gamecocks suggested the Alabama Crimson Tide fixed any of their problems. Jalen Milroe, the Heisman front-runner two weeks ago, got picked off twice. Meanwhile, Alabama committed 7 penalties and it lost the yardage battle (374-313) and time of possession battle (32-28). Kalen DeBoer’s team is undisciplined and unprepared with no signs of improvement in sight.

Josh Heupel, Nico Iamaleava and this Tennessee Volunteers offensive line can send all of their thanks to running back Dylan Sampson and this Vols defense. Sampson saved Knoxville on Saturday night, scoring two second-half touchdowns and punching in the gamee-winning score in overtime. Of course, Tennessee isn’t even in that position if this defense doesn’t force 2 takeaways and hold Florida to a 33% third-down conversion rate. The Vols’ offense is still a mess right now, but there are just as many issues that Georgia and Alabama need to figure out and only one of them has the excuse of a freshman QB and an elite head coach.

It wasn’t pretty for three quarters, with the Iowa State Cyclones clinging to a 14-10 lead over West Virginia (3-3). Fortunately for Matt Campbell, sophomore running back Carson Hansen stepped up in crunch time with two fourth-quarter touchdowns that put this thing away. Considering how the one-loss SEC teams have performed as of late, Iowa State deserves the higher spot in our Week 8 college football rankings.

In one of the toughest places to play in college football, with the Oregon Ducks fans and program rightfully treating this like a championship-caliber matchup, the Ohio State Buckeyes came one mistake away from a win. The loss is obviously a significant blow emotionally, but the beauty of the expanded College Football Playoff is that Ohio State doesn’t have to worry about its CFP odds at this point. As long as the Buckeyes take care of business, which does include a road trip to Penn State, there’s a playoff spot waiting. Of course, this does amplify the pressure on Ryan Day now and this team hasn’t always handled pressure well.

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The Miami Hurricanes probably needed that bye week. After steamrolling through their first four games of the season, The U beat Virginia Tech and Cal by four combined points. Heisman Trophy candidate Cam Ward saved the Hurricanes’ season multiple times already, but two weeks is potentially just what the doctor ordered for Miami’s defense. One critical area we’ll want to see improvements on in Week 8 against Louisville, improving a defense that ranks 50th in opponents’ first-half points per game (11.4).

While the USC Trojans were no longer ranked entering Week 7, this still marks a significant win for James Franklin and the Penn State Nittany Lions. Falling behind two scores at halftime, this Nittany Lions offense erupted for 28 second-half points. Then in overtime, Penn State’s defense forced a big stop and set up a game-winning field goal for Ryan Barker. Going across the country and pulling off a two-score comeback in the second half, that’s a statement win in our eyes.

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That’s the best performance in college football this season. While the Oregon Ducks defense clearly missed its top pass rusher, quarterback Dillon Gabriel (4 total touchdowns) and running back Jordan James (115 rushing yards and 1 touchdown) saved the day in a monumental win for this Ducks’ program. Oregon instantly erased its sluggish start to the season, proving it can take out another national championship contender even when it’s leaving some points on the board through self-inflicted wounds. Let’s just hope the Ducks can avoid a letdown performance the rest of the way, because this version of Oregon shouldn’t break a sweat the rest of the regular season.

With the Georgia Bulldogs on deck next week and Quinn Ewers returning for the first time since September 14, a slow start from the Texas Longhorns wasn’t shocking. What felt like the turning point in the Red River Rivalry was the hustle move by Silas Bolden to recover a fumble in the end zone, turning a potential touchback into a touchdown. Texas took control after the first quarter, cementing its No. 1 spot in the Week 8 college football rankings.