College football rankings: ESPN updates top 25 for Week 8

The updated college football rankings coming into Week 8, according to the ESPN power index

College football rankings: ESPN updates top 25 poll for Week 7

The updated ESPN top 25 college football rankings

ESPN Football Power Index (FPI) college football rankings and computer prediction model are a measure of team strength that predicts a team’s future performance.

Rankings and scores predictions are based on 20,000 simulations of a team’s season, using a combination of analytics, including scores to date, quality of opponents, and a team’s schedule.

This isn't a conventional "power ranking" of the best teams, but a projection of how every team would finish against an average opponent on a neutral field, ranked by expected point margin per game.

25. Florida State. The Seminoles moved up 3 spots on the index this week despite losing its third straight, this time to Clemson, but they mounted a serious-enough comeback to stay in the picture.

24. Syracuse. For the first time since 1987, the Orange are a perfect 6-0 after knocking off NC State, and now comes a date with Clemson with first place in the division on the line.

23. Kansas State. Idle this week, the Wildcats get a date with perfect TCU to really see where they belong in the Big 12 pecking order with Martinez and Vaughn posing a legitimate threat on the ground.

22. Texas A&M. The Aggies are already at three losses halfway through the season and with a tough schedule still to come to test this offense, which hasn't played anywhere near its potential yet.

21. Notre Dame. A curious selection for the ESPN rankings after the Irish just lost at home to then-1 win Stanford, but the index projects ND is 10.6 points better than an average team, hence this position.

20. Maryland. The Terps edged Indiana on Saturday, but at a cost as quarterback Taulia Tagovailoa went down with an apparent knee injury. With him goes a lot of this talented offense.

19. UCF. The Knights have won four straight since dropping that game to Louisville, and are coming off a 70-13 beatdown over Temple with a chance to make a run at the AAC behind college football's 4th best ground attack.

18. Baylor. Another odd selection for ESPN's rankings after the Bears lost at West Virginia, but they're a projected 11.7 points better than an "average" team, according to the index.

17. Minnesota. Another Week 7 loser that moved up these rankings, the Gophers are at 4-2 and now there's a question concerning quarterback Tanner Morgan's health.

16. Mississippi State. The Air Raid came crashing to the ground against Kentucky after the Bulldogs ran for just 22 yards, not ideal as this team gets into the meat of the SEC schedule.

15. Oklahoma State. The Cowboys built up a big lead on the road to TCU, but scored just 6 second half points and couldn't come through in double overtime.

14. Penn State. This once dominant rushing defense had no answer for Michigan's ground attack while the offense put up just 10 points. A lucky pick-six provided the other seven.

13. TCU. Still perfect are the Horned Frogs behind college football's third-best offense, which mounted a frenzied comeback to beat Okie State and stay undefeated.

12. Oregon. Idle this week, the Ducks have scored at least 40 points in each game after the opener against Georgia and now square off against UCLA in a matchup that could help decide the Pac-12 title.

11. LSU. A statement win for Brian Kelly on the road at Florida behind an offense that went off: Jayden Daniels accounted for 6 TDs in the game to give LSU another shot of confidence before taking on the rest of this schedule.

10. USC. Still projected to be 15 points better than an average opponent according to the index, the Trojans are nonetheless coming off their first loss, at Utah, with big questions defensively.

9. Utah. The team that knocked off USC staved off a would-be third loss on Saturday thanks to an inspired offensive performance behind quarterback Cameron Rising and his three rushing touchdowns and 2-point try.

8. Ole Miss. The Rebels rode another strong rushing performance to beat Auburn for the first time in six tries and are 7-0 for the second time since 1962 heading into the rest of this tough SEC West schedule.

7. Clemson. Still undefeated after a win at Florida State, this offense has passed all the tests so far, but there are a few more to come before Clemson gets back to the College Football Playoff.

6. Tennessee. The statement of the century for Big Orange after taking down the Tide at home thanks to an aggressive showing by college football's No. 1 total offense. Just wait until Cedric Tillman comes back...

5. Texas. Another odd choice for the ESPN rankings, but the index likes the Longhorns by 20.5 points per game going forward, edging out Tennessee's 20.2 ppg projection.

4. Michigan. Blake Corum and Donovan Edwards can run this team all the way to Columbus after stacking up over 400 on Penn State, and it looks like UM can make another playoff run.

3. Georgia. College football's defending national champs put away Vandy by a 55-0 count and outscoring the Dores 117-0 the last two seasons.

2. Alabama. Losing to the Vols for the first time since 2006 hurts, especially given how out of sorts this defense looked and counting up all those flags: 17 in total, the most for a Nick Saban team. Those close calls finally caught up with the Crimson Tide.

1. Ohio State. The new No. 1 team in college football, according to ESPN, which projects the Buckeyes own the nation's best per-game scoring margin, estimated to be 28.7 points better than any team on a neutral field behind the sport's most efficient quarterback.

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