College football rankings: BCS poll has new No. 1 team in Week 8
Defending national champion Georgia remains the No. 1 team in the Coaches Poll and AP top 25 college football rankings, as it has been all season, but the Bulldogs aren't the top team according to the old BCS system.
Georgia wasn't the consensus No. 1 team in the other rankings as four other teams also received first-place votes, but that consensus vanishes when looking at how the Bowl Championship Series and its simulations for Week 8.
The folks at BCSKnowHow.com released the latest iteration of the rankings based on how the computers would have ranked teams this week, and it's a pair of Big Ten rivals that came out ahead of the SEC powerhouse in this week's poll.
What the BCS college football rankings would look like
25. Tulane (AP No. 23). The apparent favorite in the AAC right now sitting at one loss, a close one at home to Ole Miss.
24. James Madison (AP unranked). The Dukes are undefeated at 6-0 and received some votes from AP top 25 ballots.
23. Louisville (AP No. 21). The Cardinals dropped a surprise game at Pittsburgh just a week after their statement win over the Irish.
22. Air Force (AP No. 22). College football's No. 1 ranked rushing attack by far pushed into the rankings this week at 6-0.
21. Iowa (AP No. 24). While the Hawkeyes play miserable offense and have serious injuries to top producers, they're the faves in the B1G West after beating Wisconsin.
20. Missouri (AP No. 20). The now 6-1 Tigers sit at 3rd in the SEC East with games against Florida and Georgia upcoming to make a real statement.
19. Duke (AP No. 16). At 3rd in the ACC, the Blue Devils are hoping quarterback Riley Leonard has recovered from his injury with a trip to Florida State up next.
18. LSU (AP No. 19). The defending SEC West champs host Army this week at 2nd in the SEC West with the trip to Alabama coming the week after.
17. Tennessee (AP No. 17). The Vols' expert rushing attack did enough to put away Texas A&M and go to Alabama next at 2-1 in SEC play.
16. USC (AP No. 18). For all that Caleb Williams can do, he's not getting much help from his line or the defense as the Trojans took a bad loss to Notre Dame.
15. Utah (AP No. 14). The Cam Rising-less offense is among the nation's worst, but the Utes defense keeps this team at 5-1 with a tough stretch upcoming.
14. Notre Dame (AP No. 15). The Irish moved up 6 spots on the AP rankings after the statement win over USC, but at 2 losses are likely out of the playoff.
13. Oregon State (AP No. 12). The Beavers are 3rd in the Pac-12 with three winnable games before closing against Washington and at Oregon.
12. Ole Miss (AP No. 13). The Rebs are hoping to avoid another second-half slump like last year, but there's a trip to Georgia on the schedule in a month.
11. Oregon (AP No. 9). Some fourth-down misfires and a missed field goal doomed the Ducks against the Huskies.
10. North Carolina (AP No. 10). Carolina stays perfect at 6-0 and hoping to keep its hold on the 2nd spot in the ACC standings.
9. Alabama (AP No. 11). Still in the driver's seat for the SEC West title but with major dates against the Vols and LSU to test this team's apparent midseason improvement.
8. Texas (AP No. 8). The Longhorns have no more margin for error after losing to OU, but are still favored to run the table and prepare a rematch for the Big 12 title.
7. Penn State (AP No. 7). A gigantic trip to Ohio State lies ahead for the undefeated Nittany Lions, an important test to see if this team can finally push ahead in the Big Ten East hierarchy.
6. Oklahoma (AP No. 6). Dillon Gabriel leads an offense that posts over 500 yards per game and the Sooner defense looks up to the task to make a Big 12 title run.
5. Washington (AP No. 5). Michael Penix looks like college football's premier quarterback at the helm of an offense that can contend for the Pac-12 championship.
4. Florida State (AP No. 4). Still the favorites in the ACC right now after the Seminoles moved to 6-0 after scoring 30-plus points in a 12th straight game.
3. Georgia (AP No. 1). College football's defending champs slide to third place on the BCS rankings as they look ahead to a Brock Bowers-less future after the star's injury.
2. Ohio State (AP No. 3). The nation's 3rd ranked scoring defense will be tested against Penn State this week, as will the Buckeyes' air attack vs. PSU's stout pass defense.
1. Michigan (AP No. 2). Despite playing a soft schedule, the Wolverines have passed every test and are starting to build serious momentum the last few weeks, enough for the BCS computers to name it college football's best team.
What the AP top 25 looks like
- Georgia (43)
- Michigan (16)
- Ohio State (1)
- Florida State (1)
- Washington (2)
- Oklahoma
- Penn State
- Texas
- Oregon
- North Carolina
- Alabama
- Oregon State
- Ole Miss
- Utah
- Notre Dame
- Duke
- Tennessee
- USC
- LSU
- Missouri
- Louisville
- Air Force
- Tulane
- Iowa
- UCLA
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