College football rankings: Predicting the AP top 25 poll for Week 8

Predicting the next AP top 25 college football rankings after this weekend's games
College football rankings: Predicting the AP top 25 poll for Week 8
College football rankings: Predicting the AP top 25 poll for Week 8 /

As the dust settles around the latest slate of games on Saturday, let's look ahead to the next AP top 25 college football rankings

Who's moving up? Who's moving down?

Note: this isn't our ranking of the best teams, but our prediction for how top 25 voters will slot them in the official poll on Sunday

Related: How the AP top 25 is made | CFP rankings schedule

Predicting the AP top 25 college football rankings

25. Iowa. College football's 108th scoring offense and 131st passing attack might not be much to brag about, but the Hawkeyes' defense is still legit, and AP voters could make room for the current Big Ten West leader.

24. UCLA. The Bruins jumped into the rankings a week ago after beating Wazzu but a loss to Oregon State will cause a noticeable drop. Other teams falling out of the polls could leave room for UCLA, who arguably shouldn't be ranked.

23. Tulane. Back in pole position in the AAC after running for 3 touchdowns and Michael Pratt played turnover-free football in a win over Memphis.

22. Louisville. Jeff Brohm's perfect record is no more after an upset at Pittsburgh just 1 week after the Cardinals' statement win over the Irish. UL was 14 last week.

21. Air Force. College football's No. 1 ranked rushing team is 6-0 after taking down a Wyoming team that earned votes last week, and has scored over 40 points in three of those games.

20. Missouri. We should see the SEC East hopefuls back in the rankings after coming out ahead in an impressive upset against a ranked Kentucky team.

19. LSU. A quick start for Jayden Daniels, who had over 400 total yards, and even LSU's maligned secondary fared well against Auburn's woeful air game in a rout.

18. Tennessee. A dramatic punt return touchdown and two critical takeaways in the fourth quarter allowed the Vols to take down Texas A&M in a close one at home. UT goes to Alabama next week.

17. USC. Expect a big drop for the Trojans, who have serious issues protecting the quarterback and struggled badly with costly turnovers in a loss at Notre Dame. The sad irony: the defense actually played better in this one.

16. Duke. Henry Belin had 2 TD passes in his 1st start in Riley Leonard's absence and the Blue Devils put away NC State to move to 2-0 in conference play.

15. Notre Dame. Stellar front line defense that swarmed Caleb Williams, a superhuman effort from defender Xavier Watts, who had 2 INTs and a touchdown, propelled the Irish in a huge statement win over rival USC, its second-biggest in the series in the 21st century.

14. Utah. Over 300 rushing yards on 53 carries pushed the Utes in a win over Cal while the passing offense remains in neutral without Cam Rising still out there yet in 2023.

13. Oregon State. DJ Uiagalalei had 3 TD passes and the Beavers' defense forced 3 interceptions from Dante Moore in a key Pac-12 win that will keep this team in the thick of the conference title race at midseason.

12. Ole Miss. Idle

11. Oregon. Question the Ducks' three failed fourth down attempts all you want, but this team was still in position to win after making a strong second-half comeback bid at Washington, though unable to hold off the Huskies' late push and then missed the game-tying field goal at the end of regulation.

10. North Carolina. Transfer wideout Tez Walker scored 3 times off 6 catches, Drake Maye had 4 TD passes with no turnovers, and Omarion Hampton ran for almost 200 yards as the Tar Heels held off Miami to stay at No. 2 in the ACC title chase.

9. Alabama. Still in the driver's seat in the SEC West race after holding off a late push by Arkansas at home.

8. Texas. Idle

7. Oklahoma. Idle

6. Penn State. The Nittany Lions predictably smothered UMass but the real first test of the season comes next week at Ohio State in a battle of top-10 ranked Big Ten rivals.

5. Washington. The Huskies got out in front and came back strong in the second half to take down Oregon and stay undefeated, and put quarterback Michael Penix in the front of the Heisman Trophy race in the process.

4. Florida State. Keon Coleman went off for 140 yards and a score while Jordan Travis ran for 2 more as the Seminoles discarded Syracuse and moved to 6-0.

3. Ohio State. No threat of the Spoilermakers this time as the Buckeyes put away Purdue easily enough, but a slew of injuries at running back is concerning.

2. Michigan. The first team in the AP era (since 1936) to score 30-plus points while also allowing 10 or fewer points in each of its first 7 games of a season, the Wolverines discarded Indiana in a 52-7 thrashing.

1. Georgia. Brock Bowers' injury is something to watch very closely after the Bulldogs did enough to get past Vanderbilt in a 17-point victory. The star tight end is what opens everything else up, but Georgia at least has a week off to get him healed.


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James Parks
JAMES PARKS

James Parks is the founder and publisher of College Football HQ. He previously covered football for 247Sports and CBS Interactive. College Football HQ joined the Sports Illustrated Fannation Network in 2022.