Ole Miss climbs to No. 1 in college football Power Rankings after Week 8

While Mississippi State was on a bye, Ole Miss thumped Tennessee and Florida State outlasted Notre Dame. So who's surpassed the Bulldogs for No. 1 in our college football Power Rankings?

It sunk in about five minutes after the close of Week 8: a deserving team is going to get shut out of the playoff. We all discussed this leading up to the season. We assumed it would be the case. But just like you don’t really understand what it’s like to be an adult until you’re out of college and it hits you that this is the exact moment when the fun stops, the reality of the four-team playoff is finally sinking in now.

The way the season is shaking out, somebody with a case for being one of the four best teams in the country is going to be left at home (or more accurately, in the Cotton, Orange, Fiesta or Peach Bowl), clapping politely like Leonardo DiCaprio after being passed over for another Oscar. 

Everybody says it’s nice to be nominated, but nobody’s working this hard to get this close only to ultimately play in the consolation bracket that is one of the former BCS or prestige bowls. And if the season ended today, what would you say if it was your favorite team?

The selection committee’s first set of rankings comes out in a week, and it's already short a member, with Archie Manning stepping down to focus on his health following complications from knee replacement surgery. Heaven help the remaining 12 selectors. They’ve got their work cut out for them.

• STAPLES: Why the Big 12 is in bad shape for the College Football Playoff

1. Ole Miss Rebels

PREVIOUS: 2

RECORD: 7-0

Next game: Saturday at LSU

2. Mississippi State Bulldogs

PREVIOUS: 1

RECORD: 6-0

Next game: Saturday at Kentucky

3. Florida State Seminoles

PREVIOUS: 3

RECORD: 7-0

Next game: Oct. 30 at Louisville

4. Oregon Ducks

PREVIOUS: 6

RECORD: 6-1

Next game: Friday at Cal

5. Auburn Tigers

PREVIOUS: 8

RECORD: 6-1

Next game: Saturday vs. South Carolina

6. Michigan State Spartans

PREVIOUS: 7

RECORD: 5-1

Next game: Saturday vs. Michigan

7. Alabama Crimson Tide

PREVIOUS: 11

RECORD: 6-1

Next game: Saturday at Tennessee

8. Notre Dame Fighting Irish

PREVIOUS: 9

RECORD: 6-1

Next game: Nov. 1 at Navy

9. Georgia Bulldogs

PREVIOUS: 9

RECORD: 6-1

Next game: Nov. 1 vs. Florida

10. Baylor Bears

PREVIOUS: 4

RECORD: 5-1

Next game: Nov. 1 vs. Kansas

11. TCU Horned Frogs

PREVIOUS: 10

RECORD: 5-1

Next game: Saturday vs. Texas Tech

12. Kansas State Wildcats

PREVIOUS: 13

RECORD: 5-1

Next game: Saturday vs. Texas

13. Ohio State Buckeyes

PREVIOUS: 14

RECORD: 5-1

Next game: Saturday at Penn State

14. Arizona State Sun Devils

PREVIOUS: 17

RECORD: 5-1

Next game: Saturday at Washington

15. East Carolina Pirates

PREVIOUS: 15

RECORD: 5-1

Next game: Thursday at Connecticut

16. Nebraska Cornhuskers

PREVIOUS: 16

RECORD: 5-1

Next game: Saturday vs. Rutgers

17. Oklahoma Sooners

PREVIOUS: 12

RECORD: 5-2

Next game: Nov. 1 at Iowa State

18. USC Trojans

PREVIOUS: 19

RECORD: 5-2

Next game: Saturday at Utah

19. Arizona Wildcats

PREVIOUS: 20

RECORD: 5-1

Next game: Saturday at Washington State

20. Utah Utes

PREVIOUS: 22

RECORD: 5-1

Next game: Saturday at USC

21. Clemson Tigers

PREVIOUS: 21

RECORD: 5-2

Next game: Saturday vs. Syracuse

22. West Virginia Mountaineers

RECORD: 5-2

Next game: Saturday at Oklahoma State

23. Minnesota Golden Gophers

PREVIOUS: 24

RECORD: 6-1

Next game: Saturday at Illinois

24. Marshall Thundering herd

PREVIOUS: 25

RECORD: 7-0

Next game: Saturday vs. Florida Atlantic

25. Duke Blue Devils

RECORD: 6-1

Next game: Nov. 1 at Pittsburgh

Next five: LSU, UCLA, Oklahoma State, Colorado State, Hot Apple Cider