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AP Top 25 Poll sees significant movement after Week 8 of college football

275133747_4796292347117549_592518599057046758_nby:Jonathan Wagner•10/23/22•

Jonathan Wagner

Eight AP-ranked teams were on bye in Week 8, but the action was still plentiful. With five matchups between ranked teams and six losses overall from the top 25, the post-Week 8 AP Poll has been shaken up yet again.

Last week, the top of the rankings were completely overhauled after Tennessee pulled off a monumental victory over Alabama. The Vols leaped to No. 3, while Alabama fell down to No. 6. On Saturday, Tennessee stayed in the win column with a dominant 65-24 victory over UT-Martin while Alabama rebounded with a strong 30-6 win over No. 24 Mississippi State. No. 2 Ohio State also won over Iowa, while No. 5 Clemson came back to survive against No. 14 Syracuse.

While there might not be much movement in the top six, the same can’t be said for the rest of the rankings.

The biggest loss of the week was No. 7 Ole Miss falling to LSU. The Rebels scored no points in the second half and just six after the end of the first quarter, falling 45-20 at the hands of the Tigers. That loss itself has resulted in some big-time movement, with the back half of the top ten now wide open.

Additionally, No. 8 TCU defeated No. 17 Kansas State in one Big 12 matchup between ranked teams, while No. 11 Oklahoma State defeated No. 20 Texas 41-34 in the other.

ESPN College GameDay was in Eugene ahead of a pivotal Pac-12 matchup in Week 8 between No. 10 Oregon and No. 9 UCLA, and the game lived up to the hype. The action began right out of the gates, and it was Oregon that ultimately won 45-30.

With multiple losses and some big wins within and right outside of the top ten, the AP Top 25 rankings are a little bit different looking after Week 8. This week’s poll sees some significant shake-ups in comparison’s to last week’s rankings.

Updated AP Top 25 poll after Week 8

  1. Georgia (7-0) (31 first-place votes)
  2. Ohio State (7-0) (18)
  3. Tennessee (7-0) (13)
  4. Michigan (7-0)
  5. Clemson (8-0) (1)
  6. Alabama (7-1)
  7. TCU (7-0)
  8. Oregon (6-1)
  9. Oklahoma State (6-1)
  10. USC (6-1)
  11. Wake Forest (6-1)
  12. UCLA (6-1)
  13. Penn State (6-1)
  14. Utah (5-2)
  15. Ole Miss (7-1)
  16. Syracuse (6-1)
  17. Illinois (6-1)
  18. LSU (6-2)
  19. Kentucky (5-2)
  20. Cincinnati (6-1)
  21. North Carolina (6-1)
  22. Kansas State (5-2)
  23. Tulane (7-1)
  24. NC State (5-2)
  25. South Carolina (5-2)

NOTE: USC and Wake Forest are tied at No. 10 with 927 total voting points. Clemson also interestingly picked up a first-place vote, but still finished just behind Michigan in the final rankings.

LSU and South Carolina are the two new teams in this week’s rankings, taking the places of Texas (previously No. 20) and Mississippi State (previously No. 24).

Texas remained on the cusp of the top 25, finishing as the top team on the outside with 38 voting points. Liberty (35), Oregon State (25), Mississippi State (10), Maryland (8) and Troy (3) were the other teams to receive multiple votes after Week 8.