College Football Playoff Rankings after Week 8: Another shakeup to first four in, two out

Outside of North Carolina’s faceplant against Virginia, Week 8 was mostly chalk. But that doesn’t mean it wasn’t a chaotic or weird slate of football, and now that the dust has settled, there is some movement within the latest College Football Playoff Rankings predictions. Georgia was idle, Michigan rolled (again) and Florida State eventually took care of business against Duke. But with Washington’s clunker and Ohio State’s win over Penn State — its second strong resume victory of the season — the Buckeyes leapfrogged the Huskies to round out the First Four. 

Reminder: This is not a projection of how we see the playoff shaking out by the season’s end. It’s how we think the committee would rank these teams today based on preseason rankings and what we’ve seen thus far. 

Here’s how we project the 2023 College Football Playoff Rankings would like after Week 8:

1. Georgia

The Bulldogs were off last weekend, but they remained atop both polls entering Week 9. They’ll be without star tight end Brock Bowers for at least the next month, but they might return some key starters like right tackle Amarius Mims against Florida in the annual rivalry game in Jacksonville on Saturday. 

UGA has won 24 straight games and enters a stretch against four formidable teams — including ranked foes Missouri, Ole Miss and Tennessee.

2. Michigan

Quarterback J.J. McCarthy has emerged as one of the Heisman Trophy favorites after another impressive showing (a career-high four touchdowns and 287 yards on 21 of 27 passing) in a 49-0 whipping of Michigan State. 

The Wolverines have played the nation’s No. 110 schedule, which is terrible, but they look like the undisputed top team in the country because they’re body-bagging everyone. They’re No. 3 in points per drive, and No. 1 in points per drive allowed. 

At this point, the only thing that could derail Michigan’s season is an off-field scandal. Oh wait. 

3. Florida State

Once again, the Seminoles started slow on the road, trailing an undermanned Duke team 20-17 at halftime. But Mike Norvell’s team has proven to have an extra gear, and Florida State got rolling in the second half, turning a three-point deficit early in the fourth quarter into a comfortable 18-point win against the Blue Devils. 

You have to knock these ‘Noles out right away, otherwise, they’re going to punch back — hard. LSU, Clemson and now Duke have all learned that lesson. 

Quarterback Jordan Travis had his best game in a month — making plays with his arm (268 yards and two touchdowns on 75% passing) and legs (62 yards and a score), and wideout Keon Coleman (who had just two catches but both were very impactful) continues to be a mismatch on the perimeter. 

4. Ohio State 

The Buckeyes aren’t chasing any style points, with their two biggest wins coming without scoring 20 points. Ryan Day clearly sought to change the narrative around his program this offseason, and no one can question Ohio State’s toughness or physicality after its defense punished Penn State. 

Quarterback Kyle McCord is still too up-and-down, the offensive line struggles to consistently pass protect or create avenues in the run game and the running back room really needs TreVeyon Henderson to get healthy, but the Buckeyes have No. 18 and no one else does. 

Marvin Harrison Jr. was a cheat code against Penn State, and Day spammed that advantage over and over (a career-high 11 catches for 162 yards and a touchdown) to lead Ohio State to a victory.

FIRST TWO OUT

5. Washington 

Survive your stinkers, right? That can be said for both the Huskies and Sooners, which round out the first two out this week. 

Washington had five turnovers against lowly Arizona State, including two Michael Penix Jr. interceptions to put a pause on his march to New York City for the Heisman Trophy. Their prolific offense averaged just 5.2 yards per play and they need a 90-yard pick-six midway through the fourth quarter just to survive an upset at home. 

Still, they remain undefeated and it’s not a shock they would have some forts of hangover after their thrilling win over Oregon. But after this weekend’s game at Stanford, much tougher tests await (USC, Utah, Oregon State).  

6. Oklahoma

The Sooners exited their bye resembling 2022 Oklahoma — and that’s not a good thing! Against a bad UCF team, they needed a stop on a two-point conversion to hold on to win 31-29. 

Their offense was way too clunky (just 5.4 yards per play), their special teams were poor (three missed field goals) and their defense — which had been much-improved thus far in 2023 — was back to hemorrhaging explosive plays (nine plays over 15 yards including chunk gains of 23, 86, 54, 39 and 20). 

Brent Venables better shore up that issue quickly with upcoming games against Kansas and Oklahoma State.