Week 7 of the college football season was advertised as potential chaos in waiting, and that was certainly true after watching half of the AP top ten go down in consequential losses, as it was for the ESPN pollsters coming out of another Saturday massacre.
How is this poll made? Football Power Index (FPI) college football rankings and computer prediction model are a measure of team strength that predicts a team’s future performance.
Rankings and predictions are based on 20,000 simulations of a team’s season and games, using a combination of key analytics, including scores to date, quality of opponents, team talent, recruiting, and a team’s schedule.
College Football Rankings: ESPN Reshuffles the New Top 25 Poll for Week 8
25. Iowa
Rankings change: Down 2
Off this Saturday, the Hawkeyes sit on the plus side of the Big Ten standings at 5-1 overall with a 2-1 conference mark and just one ranked team remaining on the schedule against Northwestern on Nov. 7. Up next is a road date against Minnesota first.
24. Northwestern
Rankings change: Down 4
A game-winning field goal from 34 yards out helped propel the Wildcats to a three-point win at Michigan State and former NU coach Pat Fitzgerald. A home date against Rutgers is next before a tough three-game stretch at Oregon, against Iowa, and at Ohio State.
23. Louisville
Rankings change: Up 1
Lincoln Keinholz finished with three total touchdowns in a win at Syracuse to build some momentum into the second half of the season. But the Cardinals had just 58 total yards after halftime on the road. Now 4-3, they host Stanford in two weeks.
22. Oklahoma
Rankings change: Down 6
Four turnovers finally conspired against the Sooners and their haphazard offense, effectively canceling any of the good work their elite defense did stopping Kentucky from getting much momentum early on. It must be OU’s defensive efficiency that keeps them in these rankings. Nothing else warrants it.
21. Auburn
Rankings change: Up 10
The biggest positive mover in this week’s ESPN rankings, the Tigers got a massive shot in the arm with a last-second win against No. 1 Georgia. This offense scored 24 unanswered points after surrendering a two-touchdown lead early on and did enough defensively late to pull out a stunning win between the hedges.
20. Texas A&M
Rankings change: Up 1
As expected, the Aggies got back over .500 with a 41-0 rout against The Citadel. The backfield did most of the work, pumping out 264 rushing yards and 3 touchdowns. Now comes another road test next weekend against Alabama.
19. Florida
Rankings change: Up 6
What a bounceback for the Gators. College football’s hottest, then coldest, team after an ugly two-game losing skid, Jon Sumrall’s outfit passed the test at Texas with flying colors, scoring 24 unanswered points after surrendering an early two-touchdown lead. And giving them a massive boost in confidence ahead of taking on rival Georgia.
18. Houston
Rankings change: None
Conner Weigman finished with five touchdown passes while covering almost 350 yards passing and the Cougar defense did just enough after allowing 29 second-half points to beat Oklahoma State by a field goal. Now 6-1, Houston goes to Utah next weekend.
17. USC
Rankings change: Up 2
Idle this past weekend, the Trojans are coming off an important win at Penn State that still keeps them technically in the playoff picture and with something to fight for. They return at Wisconsin in another big test in Big Ten competition.
16. Wake Forest
Rankings change: Up 6
What a pleasant surprise the Demon Deacons have been, winning their fourth-straight game in a 41-7 rout at Cal in the late action. The win puts Wake right behind Miami near the very top of the ACC standings midway through the season and playing confident offense. Every time they’ve scored at least 30 points, they’ve won. And they play a very winnable schedule going forward.
15. Nebraska
Rankings change: Down 3
You have to feel bad for Cornhusker fans. Leading much of the night at Oregon with two touchdowns from Anthony Colandrea, their defense didn’t have enough to hold off the Ducks’ late TD drive. Led by none other than former Nebraska five-star Dylan Raiola. Ouch.
14. BYU
Rankings change: None
A legendary performance at home in an instant classic to beat Notre Dame, the Cougars picked up one of the greatest wins in program history. Bear Bachmeier overcame a late turnover and led a critical go-ahead touchdown drive late in the fourth quarter and the BYU defense held off a last-second play to stay undefeated.
13. Utah
Rankings change: Down 3
Devon Dampier put together three touchdown drives and the Utes’ defense held off an inspired Colorado comeback bid to win a close one on the road in Boulder and improve to 6-0 for the first time since 2015. Utah is tied for first in the Big 12 and has a big test against Houston next week.
12. Tennessee
Rankings change: Up 1
Jim Knowles’ defense is the real deal. The proof? They smothered Alabama’s potent offense, holding it to 2.5 yards per carry and no points in the first, third, and fourth quarters in a 26-10 victory at home over the Tide. Big Orange sits behind Georgia in the SEC standings at 6-1. UT visits South Carolina next Saturday.
11. Ole Miss
Rankings change: Up 4
Trinidad Chambliss accounted for four total touchdowns in a dominant 31-3 victory at home against SEC insurgent Missouri to improve to 5-1 overall. Tougher tests await the Rebels at Texas next week and against Georgia two weeks after that.
10. Oregon
Rankings change: Down 1
ESPN’s pollsters stuck with the Ducks through thick and thin. Dylan Raiola got the nod to go against his old team in Nebraska, and he made the most of it, leading a gutsy late touchdown drive in the fourth quarter to help the Ducks stay in the win column and improve to 4-2.
9. Texas Tech
Rankings change: Up 2
J’Koby Williams had a career day with 165 rushing yards and a pair of long touchdown runs to help the Red Raiders win a 12th straight home game, one shy of the school record. Now 17 of their last 18 wins are by double digits after pounding Arizona State by a 53-25 count and going to Cincinnati next.
8. LSU
Rankings change: None
Sam Leavitt had nearly 300 yards passing and 4 touchdowns while playing turnover-free football in a 31-0 rout against Mississippi State, helped by Kamario Taylor not being on the field for the Bulldogs. Now 5-2 and .500 in SEC play, the Tigers go to Auburn next.
7. Texas
Rankings change: Down 1
More questions around Arch Manning’s decision making as the Longhorns lost a 17-3 lead in an eventual 27-24 loss to unranked Florida. That’s the second-straight L for the former AP No. 1 ranked team, and now Steve Sarkisian has admitted the entire offense is subject to serious changes with Texas’ playoff hopes on thin ice.
6. Alabama
Rankings change: Down 1
A second straight loss for the Crimson Tide, first against Georgia, now at Tennessee, once again raising questions about the ability of the offense to properly assert itself in the trenches as the ground offense still couldn’t find much of any room, and Bama’s only touchdown drive came on a short field.
5. Indiana
Rankings change: Up 2
Nick Marsh appeared to have the game-winning touchdown in his hands, but instead he stepped out of bounds, costing Indiana its 23rd-straight win in a four-point loss to Ohio State that ended college football’s longest active win streak.
4. Miami
Rankings change: None
Facing an inspired Florida State in a great rivalry game, the Hurricanes needed two overtimes, one late holding call to take away a Seminole touchdown, and a controversial interception at the end to finally win and stay undefeated and atop the ACC standings. Miami hosts Pitt and then goes to North Carolina and Notre Dame.
3. Georgia
Rankings change: Down 1
Last week’s AP No. 1 ranked team won’t be this week after stumbling at home against Auburn in The Deep South’s Oldest Rivalry game. This vaunted defense allowed 24 unanswered points and the offense had 3 turnovers, including the one that allowed Auburn to kick the winning field goal. Kirby Smart said his team was exhausted after beating Alabama, and he was right.
2. Notre Dame
Rankings change: Down 1
After the Irish defense surrendered that late touchdown drive on the road, CJ Carr had several clutch throws with the game on the line, including a gutsy fourth down throw, but his final pass fell incomplete in the end zone. Now at one loss, Notre Dame hosts Miami in two weeks desperate to avoid a second in three games.
1. Ohio State
Rankings change: Up 2
The good news for the Buckeyes? They beat Indiana on the road to avoid a second loss. The bad news? Star quarterback Julian Sayin will miss “several weeks” with a shoulder injury. This offense was basically him throwing prayers for Jeremiah Smith. Now they have to find Smith a new passer entering the off week and going into a tough schedule that includes games at USC and against Oregon.
Rankings: AP Top 25 Teams Moving Up, Down in Week 8
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