After week 8 it’s still Ohio State on top of the AP rankings, joined by Baylor, Clemson, LSU and TCU in the top 5. Losses for Utah and Florida State dropped both of them out of the top 10, opening up spots for Iowa and Notre Dame despite the both of them not playing. California and Texas A&M losing again resulted in them being dropped from the rankings, while UCLA and Mississippi State rejoin us.
1. Ohio State Buckeyes (39 first place votes), 8-0: The Buckeyes are getting back first place votes they’ve lost in previous weeks thanks to dominant wins, this time over Rutgers, 49-7.
2. Baylor Bears (7), 7-0: No move for Baylor following their 45-27 win over Iowa State.
3. Clemson Tigers (6), 7-0: The most impressive win of the week results in a jump into the top 5 for the Tigers thanks to beating Miami 58-0 on the road.
4. LSU Tigers (5), 7-0: The Tigers ran over Western Kentucky for a 48-20 win, climbing one spot in the rankings.
5. TCU Horned Frogs (3), 7-0: Didn’t play and fell one spot.
6. Michigan State Spartans, 8-0: Moved up one spot despite another less than impressive win, beating Indiana 52-26 but needing the fourth quarter to actually generate that difference.
7. Alabama Crimson Tide (1), 7-1: Escaped a loss at home by beating Tennessee 19-14 with a late Derrick Henry touchdown, moving up one spot.
8. Stanford Cardinal, 6-1: Have come a long way since the loss at Northwestern. Beat Washington 31-14 to move up two spots.
9. Notre Dame Fighting Irish, 6-1: Climbed two spots despite not playing.
10. Iowa Hawkeyes, 7-0: A two spot climb for Iowa despite not playing.
11. Florida Gators, 6-1: Another team that didn’t play but moved up the charts due to other losses.
12. Oklahoma State Cowboys, 7-0: Beat Kansas 58-10 and like the others, moved up two spots due to victory.
13. Utah Utes, 6-1: A 42-24 loss at USC ends their undefeated season, and causes them to slide 10 spots.
14. Oklahoma Sooners, 6-1: Took out Texas Tech 63-27, moving them up three spots.
15. Michigan Wolverines, 5-2: Didn’t play, didn’t move.
16. Memphis Tigers, 7-0: Won a shootout against Tulsa 66-42 to help them move up two places.
17. Florida State Seminoles, 6-1: Lost in the regular season for the first time since 2012 (22-16 to Georgia Tech) resulting in losing 8 spots.
18. Houston Cougars, 7-0: Crushed the pathetic UCF 59-10, moving them up three spots.
19. Ole Miss Rebels, 6-2: A five spot climb for Ole Miss after beating Texas A&M 23-3.
20. Toledo Rockets, 7-0: The MAC team struggled in a 51-35 win over UMass, halting their momentum, making them fall one spot.
21. Temple Owls, 7-0: Their 24-14 win over East Carolina didn’t come easy, but was enough to propel them one spot.
22. Duke Blue Devils, 6-1: Pulled off a huge 45-43 win over Virginia Tech in Blacksburg, resulting in a one post move upwards.
23. Pittsburgh Panthers, 6-1: A late field goal to beat Syracuse (23-20) helps them move up a couple of spots.
24. UCLA Bruins, 5-2: Back into the rankings after their 40-24 win over California.
25. Mississippi State Bulldogs, 6-2: Another team rejoining the top 25, following a 42-16 win over Kentucky.
Dropped from rankings: Texas A&M, California.