Week 8 Power Rankings

1.Texas Longhorns - No beer mile for me. As expected, UT manhandled Oklahoma. Yes, Texas got off to a slow start, but we all knew this would happen. Quinn Ewers was returning from an abdominal strain injury so the rust needed to be shaken off. On the defensive side of things, Texas continues to dominate, having only allowed 3 touchdowns through the first 6 games. I’m aware Oklahoma has offensive identity issues, but props to any team that can ragdoll their hated rival. Enough of the high praise though; a stout Georgia Bulldogs team will be walking into Darrel K Royal this Saturday looking to establish themselves as the class of the SEC. Be sure to tune into ABC at 6:30 CT.

2.Oregon Ducks - The game between Oregon and Ohio State lived up to the hype, then some. This isn’t breaking news, but Dillon Gabriel is a baller and puts his 15th collegiate team (do not fact check me) in the driver's seat for a first round bye in the playoffs. Special message for Mr. Evan Stewart: we all know you faked your injuries at A&M, and for that I’m bitter. Props on the incredible touchdown snag, though. Defensively, Oregon did enough to slow down the running game, holding Quinshon Judkins to a measly 2.1 yards per carry. No time to rest though! Hudson Card and the mighty Boilermakers are ready to hand Oregon their first loss this week! Ducks by 60. 

3.Penn State Nittany Lions - To the 4 of you (if I’m lucky) that loyally read these every week, you will remember that I said Penn State and USC would be a pick-em, and boy was I right. The Trojans held a 14 point lead at half, but Lincoln Riley did everything in his power to hand this game over. To the Trojan faithful, congrats on the Cheez-It Bowl; I look forward to seeing you all freak out more and more as the year goes on. As for Penn State, that is now 26 consecutive victories against opponents not named Ohio State and Michigan. James Franklin is a great coach, but he knows as well as anybody that he needs to beat one of them to quiet the narrative. November 2nd. Whiteout vs OSU. Very likely a conference title game eliminator. There is your chance.

4.Ohio State Buckeyes - If you only watched the final play of the game Saturday, you’d think Will Howard looks like the next Discount Tire shift manager. If you watched from the beginning of the game, you’d likely agree he was the Buckeyes offensive MVP. Completing 80% of his passes for over 320 yards, Howard gave his team a chance in a hostile environment & Buckeye fans should feel hopeful that they can get revenge. Ryan Day my brother: I thought you would win, but I couldn’t be happier with the outcome. You look like Badger from Fantastic Mr. Fox and I’ll take any chance I can get to take a shot at you. You’re 2-6 vs Top 5 teams and I know you’ve got all of Columbus on edge. Is your team still excellent? Most definitely, but trust me your job will implode if you somehow let Michigan beat you again. Oh so far-fetched, right? Cheers.

5.Miami Hurricanes - As if the Virginia Tech game wasn’t stressful enough, the following week with Cal proved that a BYE was exactly what the doctor ordered. Now rested, a trip to Louisville is next on the agenda, and although the Cardinals are playing shakier than anticipated, this is no gimme for Miami. The Hurricanes have given up 36 points per game over the last couple contests and a “come to Jesus” moment is needed for this defense. An offense can only take you so far - ask Tony Romo about that for the majority of his career. I am leaning Miami this Saturday but I expect another dog fight for Crisobal’s team. No need to fear, get through this week and Florida State is on the horizon!

6.Georgia Bulldogs - Another 450 yards for Beck last week, but the eye opener to me is that Mississippi State outplayed Georgia in the 2nd half. With Kirby Smart, it’s easy to think “they’ll figure it out” because of how great they’ve been, but this team appears to be a notch below the previous ones. They are still my pick to win it all, but I have gotten less confident in that over the last few weeks. Then again, all it takes is 1 win over Texas this weekend and all of us are back on the Kirby Train. The Longhorns open as an early 3.5 point favorite but I anticipate Georgia to be much more prepared than they were in Tuscaloosa. Not a dime of my money will be wagered on this game, but leave your score prediction in the comments. That’s right, this is your homework to prove you read this.

7.Clemson Tigers - I’ll say it, the level of opponents has been far from good. Glass half full: they continue to win by as big of margins as anybody else. I want Dabo and Clemson to stay at the top of college football, but let’s not act like a single one of their wins has been against a serious opponent yet. When we are sitting around on Thanksgiving weekend eating our 14th plate of leftovers, we will be saying South Carolina is their most impressive win, and I’m not even sold they win that game. I sound like quite the hater, and maybe I am, but riddle me this: if you swapped Florida and Clemson’s schedules, what would both their records be? And no I’m not saying Florida is better you ding-dong, just a hypothetical. 

8.Alabama Crimson Tide - Score with 1:38 left in the 2nd? 14-0 Tide. Score with 6:20 left in the 3rd? 19-14 Cocks. Bama appeared to be on their way to a comfortable victory Saturday; Vanderbilt was old news and all was well… until it wasn’t. Alabama gave up a touchdown, allowed a safety, and threw a pick in the final 97 seconds of the 1st half. The ‘oh so vulnerable’ team from a week ago began to show the same weakness. In fact, Shane Beamer was begging Alabama to win and it still went down to the final play. Kudos on a phenomenal win over Georgia earlier this year, but back-to-back weeks of poor efforts drops the Tide back a few spots for us. 

9.LSU Tigers - Something about watching 18-22 year olds scream Lil Boosie in the stands cracks me up, but I’m not complaining. Night time in Death Valley showed once again that it is a premier environment in sports, and this overtime thriller lived up to the hype. Garrett Nussmeier put on a ~historic~ 22 for 51 performance, but at the end of the day, it’ll only be those last two throws that matter. The Flower Mound product was able to find Aaron Anderson in the endzone with 27 seconds left to force overtime then proceeded to dish one to Kyren Lacy (my lock of the week I might add… so free… start trailing me) on the first play of OT to win it. Unlike years past, there aren’t that handful of sure-fire top tier teams, so props to LSU because they have a chance. That said, their time for another loss is coming. Not even Aggie bias, it will come one way or another.

10.BYU Cougars - Arizona had taken down Utah and held their own with Texas Tech (who unfortunately is 5-1) so there was hope that they could be the ones to hand the Mormons their first loss. Those hopes were shattered as BYU hung 41 on them in a 22 point victory. These kids might just be the real deal and their remaining schedule does not include a current ranked team. Speaking of surging teams in the Big 12: we don’t care enough to make a section for them, but Iowa State is also undefeated with only 1 ranked team left on the schedule. No disrespect, but maybe the committee considers giving a 1-loss Boise State the 4th spot in the playoff? Just a thought! That loss was on the road by a field goal to the 2nd ranked team in the country after all!

On the cusp:

Notre Dame Fighting Irish - Similar to Clemson, since losing, the Irish have dismantled inferior opponent after inferior opponent. Starting the first 3 weeks of the year without a touchdown pass, people were beginning to wonder if Riley Leonard was actually the caliber of player that he was hyped up to be. Since then? 6 touchdown passes, 0 interceptions, and a 70% completion percentage. If he can continue to play sound football, Notre Dame will be dancing in the playoff… unless Navy has something to say about it on October 26th.

Tennessee Volunteers - Two weeks ago, there was an argument that the Volunteers had been the most impressive team through the first month of the year. They’d been as well-rounded as we had seen, and they were making a strong case to compete for both the SEC and national title. Then came the daunting duo of the Arkansas Razorbacks and Florida Gators! A back-to-back stretch of games that you wouldn’t wish on your worst enemy! Needless to say, Tennessee was a couple plays away from dropping both of those games, and now the ceiling appears much lower. With Bama, Kentucky (who is this team btw), and Georgia on the radar, things could start to get a little messy.

• Zac Bryan, humble believer in Andersson Garcia