College football rankings: Top 25, week 8

 

Mitchell:
1-10: Only one small change in the Top-5 this week with Oregon State leapfrogging Notre Dame to #5. Alabama, Oregon, Florida, and Kansas State remain the same although I did give some thought to moving Florida to #2 after their impressive win over South Carolina. As for Notre Dame, the Irish fall to #6 after looking unimpressive once again. They struggled to put away a team that Oregon State dispatched with a backup QB. We’ll find out about the Irish next week in Norman. Ohio State holds steady at #7 after they overcame the loss of Braxton Miller to defeat Purdue. LSU looks like the best one loss team and they get their crack at #1 Alabama in two weeks. Oklahoma sits at 9th ahead of their showdown with the Irish, and Mississippi State will get their chance to prove their legitimacy in Tuscaloosa on Saturday.

11-20: Louisville and Rutgers are 11 and 12 as the class of the Big East. USC hammered a hapless Colorado team as they gear up for Arizona next week before their big date with Oregon. Texas Tech earned a nice road win in triple overtime over TCU to follow up their blowout of West Virginia and the Red Raiders look like legitimate contenders in the Big 12. Florida State and Clemson at 15 and 16 as the top teams in the ACC. Georgia takes a bit of a slide to #17 after struggling against Kentucky. Ohio moves up after their bye week. South Carolina tumbles to #19 but they stay in the poll because their is no shame in road losses to LSU and Florida. Texas A&M has a pair of losses, but just like South Carolina they came against Florida and LSU.

21-25: Louisiana Tech moved to 6-1 after throttling Idaho and that is likely to continue as they run through the WAC. Boise State has now won six in a row after their season opening loss to Michigan State. Toledo moves into the poll for the first time after their win over previously undefeated Cincinnati. Their lone loss came in overtime in the season opener to Arizona. Stanford moves back into the poll at #24 thanks mainly to all the attrition at the bottom of the rankings. Penn State gets my vote at #25 because nobody has had to overcome as much as they have this year after winning dominating Iowa for their fifth straight win.

 

1-10: The top 5 continues to separate itself with strong performances.  Those continuing to elevate Notre Dame over Oregon State obviously haven’t been watching the Irish; only their trademark luck has saved them in consecutive weeks.  A trip to Norman next week should prove enlightening.  The best of the one-loss teams are lurking, waiting for one of the unbeatens to make a mistake.  Despite its near-total lack of a passing game, LSU is looking good again while Oklahoma and Texas Tech aren’t giving K-State much Big 12 breathing room.

 

11-20: Rutgers, Mississippi State and Louisville remain on the cusp of the top 10, although Louisville has had some ghastly moments this year.  After that, another batch of one-loss power programs, including the cream of the ACC crop.  I didn’t have the heart to drop Texas A&M or TCU out of the top 20 given the strength of their resepctive losses.  Though both fell at home, the games could have gone either way.

 

21-25: Here’s where it gets tricky.  I had to decide between some small conference teams toting only a single loss each, or programs like the Cardinal and Gamecocks.  Obviously I went with the latter.  Remember that Stanford was robbed of a chance to tie in overtime at Notre Dame, and could easily be 6-1.  Plus, that win over USC is still looking good.  South Carolina was rolled in Gainesville, but that two-point loss at LSU is nothing to sneer at. Cincinnati’s loss at Toledo swaps those two teams, and the Bobcats and Bulldogs are hanging around as non-AQ conference reps.