AP Top 25- Post Week 8

Week 8 in college football started with a bang, with both Miami and Nebraska getting upset on Friday night. Saturday continued the theme of uncertainty, with Georgia taking down Ole Miss in a wild fourth-quarter

comeback, Texas Tech losing its first game of the season to Arizona State, and Texas A&M hanging on against Arkansas to continue its ascension towards the top of the rankings. Ohio State and Indiana held serve against inferior opponents to hold the top two spots in the country down for the Big Ten.

In addition, Virginia survived another near-upset from Washington State, Texas held on to defeat Kentucky, while Missouri escaped Jordan-Hare with a win over snake-bitten Auburn. BYU also staved off a late comeback attempt from Utah to win the Holy War, while Alabama and Notre Dame won the other highly anticipated evening showdowns against long-time rivals. This week highlighted that it truly is “any given Saturday” when it comes to college football, even with the larger talent disparities that make upsets that much more rewarding.

Without further ado, here is my breakdown of every team in the AP Top 25 after Week 8!

1. Ohio State (7-0) had no issues with a Wisconsin team in complete turmoil, holding the Badgers off the scoreboard for the second-straight week. Julian Sayin threw for 393 yards and four touchdowns, including a spectacular throw to Carnell Tate, who caught the ball in the end zone against double coverage. The Bucks are proving that they do not need to run up the score to stay dominant as they head into their second bye week before what was supposed to be a big matchup with Penn State to kick off November.
2. Indiana (7-0) overcame a slow start (trailing Michigan State 10-7 about midway through Q2) by building a 21-10 halftime lead and not looking back for a 38-13 win. Fernando Mendoza threw for 332 yards and four touchdowns, as it looks more and more like we will see Ohio State and Indiana in the Big Ten Championship game this December. The Hoosiers improved on their program-best ranking by moving from #3 to #2 in the AP and coaches’ poll this week.
3. Texas A&M (7-0) was the beneficiary of Miami’s upset loss to Louisville, moving up to #3 as it won a wild 45-42 shootout over now 2-5 Arkansas. Marcel Reed threw for 280 yards and three touchdowns as the Hogs rallied back from multiple double-digit deficits but ran out of time in the fourth quarter. The Aggies are 7-0 for the first time since 1994.
4. Alabama (6-1) entered the top five for the first time this season as it won its big rivalry game 37-20 against Tennessee. Ty Simpson had 253 yards and two touchdowns, while the defense came up with a back-breaking 99-yard pick-six right before halftime that the Volunteers could not rally back from. The Crimson Tide has now won four straight games against ranked opponents with no bye week, and gets somewhat of a breather when they visit South Carolina next Saturday.
5. Georgia (6-1) leaped up from ninth after winning the Game Of The Week against Ole Miss, who slipped to eighth this week. Gunnar Stockton had a near-perfect game with 289 yards and four touchdowns as Georgia rallied from a nine-point deficit by scoring 17 unanswered points in the fourth quarter.
6. Oregon (6-1) bounced back in major fashion with its 56-10 annihilation of Rutgers on Saturday. The AP voters rewarded the Ducks by moving them back up to sixth, with another lowly Big Ten team in Wisconsin heading to Eugene to take on Dan Lanning’s team next.
7. Georgia Tech (7-0) moved into the top ten, as it is the only undefeated ACC team left following Miami’s stunning loss to Louisville. A 95-yard fumble return was the longest in school history as the Yellow Jackets took down likely the best ACC team left on its schedule in Duke 27-18. Although it is over a month away, that Bulldogs-Yellow Jackets in-state showdown is looking more and more interesting by the week.
8. Ole Miss (6-1) suffered its first loss of the season, with Georgia getting its revenge on the Rebels for last year’s 27-10 victory in Oxford. Ole Miss was up 35-26 at the start of the fourth quarter, but allowed Georgia to score 17 straight while the Dawgs’ defense held the Rebels to just 13 yards in the final frame. Ole Miss will look to bounce back against Oklahoma in Norman next Saturday.
9. Miami (5-1) also suffered its first loss of 2025 in the biggest upset of the week. The Hurricanes were double-digit home favorites over the Cardinals, but Louisville intercepted Carson Beck four times, including the final interception, which came with Miami trailing by three and in field goal range. Miami surprisingly has fallen about halfway down the ACC standings, although much of that has to do with them only playing two conference games so far and losing their last one.
10. Vanderbilt (6-1) is in the top ten for the first time since 1947 after defeating the former tenth-ranked LSU 31-24 in Nashville behind a dual-threat performance from Diego Pavia. This is also the first 6-1 start for the Commodores since 1950, who will be rewarded with College GameDay in town for Vanderbilt-Missouri on Saturday (who would have thought that would happen just a few years ago?) The ‘Dores are my National Star Of The Week for the improbable feat, showing that their win over Alabama last year was no fluke.
11. BYU (7-0) remained undefeated and is now the top-ranked team in the Big 12 following the Red Raiders’ first loss of the year. The Cougars relied on strong performances from Bear Bachmeier and LJ Martin as they largely took away Devon Dampier’s legs, making him much more of a thrower than usual. All the game’s scoring happened in the second and fourth quarters, with BYU coming back from down 14-10 to build a 24-14 lead that became a 24-21 victory, the Cougars’ third straight win in the Holy War rivalry.
12. Notre Dame (5-2) moved up a spot after defeating USC in their annual rivalry game, this time in South Bend. The Irish have now won seven of the last eight against the Trojans, as Jeremiyah Love had a monster game with 228 rushing yards on 24 carries, including a rushing touchdown. The defense forced Jayden Maiava into two interceptions, while CJ Carr did not have to do a ton through the air for Notre Dame. The schedule gets much easier with a trip to Boston College coming up following the Irish’s second bye week.
13. Oklahoma (6-1) bounced back from its 23-6 loss to Texas by flipping the script on South Carolina 26-7, a near reversal in the scores. It was the first win over the Gamecocks for OU, as the Sooners get set for a massive tilt against Ole Miss, which is coming off its first loss of the season to Georgia in Athens.
14. Texas Tech (6-1) fell for the first time this season, as Arizona State fans stormed their field following a 26-22 upset of the Red Raiders. It was the first time that TTU allowed more than 20 points all season, as the Sun Devils rebounded from a 42-10 loss to Utah with the resounding victory. Texas Tech now sits behind BYU, Cincinnati, and Arizona State in the Big 12 standings with a 3-1 conference record.
15. Missouri (6-1) moved up one spot after knocking off Auburn 23-17 in double overtime. The Tigers were edged out by Alabama 27-24 in Columbia, but returned the favor when they visited the other SEC team located in Alabama (who are also the Tigers). Beau Pribula scored on a three-yard run to the end zone, as Auburn dropped its fourth straight to open league play. All four of those ranked losses were close, with three being decided by a touchdown or less. Missouri will take on another SEC darling when it visits the Commodores in Nashville after defeating its 22nd straight unranked opponent.
16. Virginia (6-1) hung on against Washington State to move up two spots in this week’s poll. The 6-1 record is the best the Cavaliers have had since 2007. Virginia has been one of the nation’s biggest suprises, as they have often languished at the bottom of the weak ACC, but the Hoos remain undefeated in conference play and sit second behind Georgia Tech in the conference standings.
17. Tennessee (5-2) fell six spots after its crushing loss to the Crimson Tide in Tuscaloosa. The Volunteers mustered a season-low 20 points and were unable to recover from the 14-point swing caused by Zabien Brown’s 99-yard pick-six just before halftime. The Vols will get a chance to rebound at Kentucky next week.
18. South Florida (6-1) moved up one spot as it dispatched in-state rival Florida Atlantic 48-13. The Bulls have scored at least 48 points in four straight games and will look to keep it rolling when they take on one of the American’s other top teams in Memphis, which is reeling from a stunning loss to UAB on Saturday.
19. Louisville (5-1) entered the rankings for the first time this season after stunning then-#2 Miami 24-21 at Hard Rock Stadium on Friday night. The Cardinals look to stay at the top of a surprisingly crowded ACC race when they take on 1-6 Boston College next week, which is still not the worst team in Massachusetts.
20. LSU (5-2) plummeted ten spots after falling to Vanderbilt last week in Nashville, showing that the Tigers are not among the top teams in the SEC this season. It will not get any easier, with Garrett Nussmeier and company set to host Marcel Reed and the third-ranked Aggies this Saturday.
21. Cincinnati (6-1) clinched bowl eligibility against lowly Oklahoma State with a 49-17 romp over the Cowboys, but has its eyes set on bigger things as it sits just behind BYU in the Big 12 standings. This is their first 6-1 start since 2022, as the Bearcats have struggled in their first few years in the Big 12 after moving up from the American Conference. That appears to no longer be the case, but UC still has both Utah teams on its schedule, in addition to Baylor, Arizona, and TCU.
22. Texas (5-2) dropped a spot after topping Kentucky at Kroger Field 16-13 in overtime. The Longhorns were outgained by over 200 yards, only accumulating eight first downs and 179 total yards, with Arch Manning going just 12-27 for 132 yards through the air. The Texas defense had a goal-line stand, stopping Kentucky on four straight run plays from inside UT’s five-yard line, while two long punt returns by Ryan Nibblett and two big field goals from Mason Shipley punctuated the surprisingly close win.
23. Illinois (5-2) moved back into the poll during its bye week after surprisingly slipping out following its second loss of the season to #1 Ohio State. The Illini will have a big “matchup game” against another 5-2 team when they visit the Huskies next weekend.
24. Arizona State (5-2) also reentered the poll after its big upset win over Texas Tech. The Sun Devils are now 6-1 against AP Top 25 opponents going back to the start of the 2024 season, and do not face another currently ranked team for the rest of the season as they look to keep their Big 12 title defense alive.
25. Michigan (5-2) also reemerged in the Top 25, replacing Nebraska in the last spot, with the Cornhuskers losing 24-6 at Minnesota, while the Wolverines dispatched Washington 24-7. Next up is the in-state rivalry game against the Michigan State Spartans in East Lansing, which is set for a 7:30 kickoff on NBC.

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