College football rankings: AP top 25 teams moving up, down in Week 8

Some prominent losses (and wins) should give AP top 25 voters second thoughts as they assemble the rankings heading into Week 8.

These college football teams should be moving up, and down, in the AP top 25 rankings this week. / Troy Wayrynen-Imagn Images

As we pick up the pieces from an active slate of college football games over the weekend, let’s take a crack at predicting what top 25 teams will be moving up, and down, in the Week 8 rankings.

It was a weekend full of very close results across the country, as six top-25 teams won either in an overtime period, by two points, or by a single point, as was the case in the marquee, primetime Big Ten matchup on the West Coast.

What will AP top 25 voters make of all the changes? SI reveals our predictions for what teams will make the biggest moves up and down the rankings as we enter Week 8.

Moving up: Oregon

Last week’s ranking: No. 3

Dan Lanning and the Ducks have arrived, passing a landmark test in a dramatic 1-point victory at home against Ohio State in a matchup of top-3 ranked Big Ten rivals that will serve as a crucial litmus test for the selection committee down the road.

And in the process gave Oregon’s young coach the definitive victory of his career.

Dillon Gabriel accounted for 370 total yards and led an aggressive, big-play offense that was able to get behind the Buckeyes’ skilled secondary with some ease, as Evan Stewart went for 149 yards and a touchdown while Tez Johnson added 75 yards and another score.

And the Ducks now have the inside track to earn the Big Ten’s playoff berth, sitting in a three-way tie at the top of the conference alongside Penn State and surprise contender Indiana.

But will that all be enough for Oregon to jump Texas and become the fourth different No. 1 team in the rankings this season? 

It’s a tough call: beating a top-2 team could be interpreted as more impressive than the Longhorns’ dominating an overmatched Oklahoma by 31 points.

Still, Texas did get 52 first-place votes last week, and it’s hard to see enough of those votes being taken away from an undefeated team and given to the Ducks. Some, yes. But not most.

-

Moving down: Ohio State

Last week’s ranking: No. 2

While everyone goes around calling this game the arrival of Dan Lanning, they also can’t help but draw some worrying comparisons between his success and that of Ohio State’s head coach.

Ryan Day has won 87 percent of his games at the school, but the prominent losses are piling up, too: to Clemson in the playoff, to Alabama in a national title game, another 1-pointer against Georgia in the playoff semifinal, three straight against Michigan, to Missouri in the Cotton Bowl, and now an 0-2 record against the Ducks.

It’s hard to remember a time when Day has won a game that really matters, as the Buckeyes’ coach moves to a woeful 2-6 record against top-5 ranked opponents, including an 0-3 mark against top-5 Big Ten teams, despite routinely fielding one of the nation’s most gifted rosters.

While fans debate Day’s place in the program and in the national landscape, AP top 25 voters more concerned with this week should keep the Buckeyes in the top 10, given the close loss in a hostile environment against a top-5 opponent, but those 9 first-place votes they got last week are all gone.

-

Moving down: Oklahoma

Last week’s ranking: No. 18

This should be the week we see the Sooners fall out of the rankings after another dismal offensive performance in a loss to Texas in the Red River Shootout that raises serious alarm bells over the lack of any tangible improvement on that side of the ball in Brent Venables’ tenure as head coach.

Michael Hawkins averaged 4.9 yards per pass and OU’s backs posted just 2.3 yards per carry, doomed in part by a long injury report that decimated the team’s wide receiver depth and some slipshod protection up front.

Going forward, Oklahoma (4-2, 1-2 SEC) has dates on the road against three ranked teams -- Ole Miss, Missouri, and LSU -- and plays Alabama at home, too.

This might be one of those seasons Sooner fans will want to forget as serious pressure builds for Venables and his staff to more adequately recruit and develop blue-chip offensive talent.

-

Moving up: BYU

Last week’s ranking: No. 14

After surrendering an early touchdown to visiting Arizona, the Cougars never looked back, playing some aggressive defense that generated 4 takeaways, didn’t allow a sack, ran for 5.4 yards per carry, and watched as quarterback Jake Retzlaff threw for 218 yards and 2 touchdowns.

That makes BYU a perfect 6-0 and atop the Big 12 standings with a 3-0 mark in conference play, the school’s best start since the 2020 season and in the driver’s seat for the league’s playoff berth as former league favorites Utah and Oklahoma State recede into the background.

-

Moving down: Ole Miss

Last week’s ranking: No. 9

Few teams had as much preseason hype as the Rebels, whose transfer-rich roster had seen some notable acquisitions, and who should ideally benefit from the expansion of the College Football Playoff to 12 teams.

But a 1-2 start to SEC play has severely compromised Ole Miss’ playoff hopes after losses to Kentucky at home and against LSU on the road by a combined 6 points.

There’s room to improve that record, including next week at home against Oklahoma, and with dates at Arkansas and Florida, and in the finale against Mississippi State.

But the Rebels’ home tilt against top-5 Georgia on Nov. 9 sticks out, and there might not be enough room for a 3-loss team, even in a more inclusive playoff.

Ole Miss should fall out of the top-15 in the rankings this week, as five teams behind it in the polls all won, but a season of meaningful football is slipping away fast.

Who else could move?

- LSU should benefit from beating a top-10 Ole Miss at home and could move up into that rarefied atmosphere itself after starting 2-0 in SEC play.

- Utah should drop out of the rankings after absorbing a second loss, on the road against Arizona State despite the return of oft-injured quarterback Cameron Rising.

- Alabama could drop a spot or two after needing some late-game heroics and good luck to withstand a surprisingly-resilient South Carolina team that was leading in the second half.

- Navy received 43 votes last week, up from 6 the week prior, finishing just 3 spots outside the official poll, and despite being idle, the undefeated Midshipmen should benefit from other teams’ losses.

- Likewise for Army, which trounced UAB this weekend to stay perfect, and should improve from the 33 votes it received on last week’s top 25 ballot.

-

More ... Predicting the AP top 25 rankings

And ... When the AP top 25 rankings come out

-

More college football from SI: Top 25 Rankings | Schedule | Teams

Follow College Football HQ: Bookmark | Rankings | Picks