By Lauren Beasley, Last Word On College Football
We have our first major shakeup of the season as Ohio State goes down in Happy Valley. Alabama separated itself even further from the rest of the college football word with a convincing win over previously undefeated Texas A&M. Washington is still the one playoff hope for the Pac 12, and how far does Louisville climb after a blowout win? How far is Houston falling? Nebraska needed a comeback to win. Western Michigan continues to impress and Oklahoma and Utah set records in their wins.
Last Word on College Football Top 25: Week 8
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LAST WORD ON COLLEGE FOOTBALL TOP 25: WEEK 8
| Rank
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Team
|
Points
|
Previous
|
|
1. |
|
400 | 1 | |
| Alabama continues to roll as they beat a Top 10 team handily for the second straight week. The Tide go into their off week as the clear choice as the nation’s best team. Mike Loveall
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2. |
|
378 | 3 | |
| Michigan drubbed Illinois with no mercy, including faking a punt with a 34-0 lead. Next week sees a trip to East Lansing for what was expected to be a great rivalry game, but Michigan State is coming in on a 5-game losing streak. Yesh Ginsburg
|
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3. |
|
365 | 4 | |
| The Huskies dismantled Oregon State, easily dispatching of yet another PAC-12 foe who has proven difficult for lesser teams to handle. Next week, Chris Perersen’s squad visits Salt Lake City–along with ESPN’s GameDay crew–to battle PAC-12 South Co-Leader Utah. Donald King
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4. |
|
358 | 5 | |
| Expect Clemson to come out strong in Tallahassee after an extra week to prepare. The ACC Atlantic will be all but decided Saturday night. Justin Gordon
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5. |
|
331 | 7 | |
| Louisville cruised to a 54-13 victory over NC State. Lamar Jackson once again put up video game numbers accounting for 431 total yards and 4 touchdowns. Jonathan Bailey
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||||
6. |
OHIO STATE (6-1)
|
306 | 2 | |
| A blocked field goal late in the fourth quarter cost the Buckeyes in a 24-21 loss. The Buckeyes are still in the Playoff race but will need a lot of help to get in. Next week, the Buckeyes face a resurgent Northwestern team. Rob Gritzer
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7. |
|
275 | 9 | |
| Despite a spirited effort from Purdue who led 14-10 at halftime, the Huskers remained unbeaten on the year after scoring 17 unanswered in the second half to prevail 27-14. The schedule certainly firms up over the next two weeks, with road games against Wisconsin and Ohio State looming. John Bava III
|
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8. (T) |
|
274 | 14 | |
| The best defense in the Big 12 was on display again when West Virginia held TCU’s offense to just 10 points in a 34-10 win. Rushel Shell dominated on the ground with his second-straight 100+ yard game, while Skyler Howard passed for four touchdowns against the Horned Frogs. Brendan Dzwierzynski
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||||
8. (T) |
|
274 | 8 | |
| Baylor was on their final bye week of the season, which came at a good time because they now face the rough part of their schedule. Starting with a desperate Texas team in Austin. Sean Garmer
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10. |
|
267 | 10 | |
| Wisconsin’s defense stepped up big, not allowing a touchdown in a 17-9 win. Corey Clement ran for 134 yards and a touchdown on the day. Next week, the Badgers will have their third Top 10 matchup in four games as they face Nebraska at home. Rob Gritzer
|
||||
11. |
|
262 | 6 | |
| The Aggies couldn’t turn a third quarter lead into a victory in Tuscaloosa against a very impressive Alabama. The Aggies have a very manageable final five games with only one road game against Mississippi State to come. Matthew Atkinson
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||||
12. |
|
220 | 13 | |
| Brett Rypien threw for 442 yards and three touchdowns but he also had two interceptions and the Broncos needed a blocked 44 yard field goal with :16 seconds left to secure the 28-27 win over BYU in Boise Thursday night. Boise State had five turnovers in all and have one of the worst turnover ratio margins in the FBS, yet remain undefeated going into next week’s road game at Wyoming. Tony Siracusa
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13. |
|
187 | 15 | |
| Behind Baker Mayfield and his 545 yards and 7 touchdown performance, Oklahoma defeated Texas Tech 66-59. The Sooners return home to face the Kansas Jayhawks on Saturday. Jason Rhea
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14. |
|
182 | 19 | |
| Auburn destroyed the Razorback defense in its first game as a ranked team in over a year. Even without Kerryon Johnson the Tigers offense compiled 543 yards and seven TDs on the ground. The Tigers will take the momentum to Oxford next weekend to face off against Ole Miss under the lights. Lauren Beasley
|
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15. |
|
135 | 18 | |
| The still unbeaten Broncos got another solid quarterback performance from Zach Terrell, who threw for 398 yards and three touchdowns in a 45-31 win over Eastern Michigan. Next up is some midweek MACtion against Ball State next Tuesday as P.J. Fleck’s boys continue to row the boat towards a perfect 2016. John Bava III
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16. (T) |
|
132 | 17 | |
| Tennessee gets ready to start their second half after a bye week. If the Vols can get healthy, a very favorable schedule could land them in Atlanta. Mike Loveall
|
||||
16. (T) |
|
132 | 12 | |
| Florida State had a bye week following its 17-6 win over Wake Forest. The Noles have a tough test on Saturday as they host undefeated Clemson. Jonathan Bailey
|
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18. |
|
130 | 16 | |
| The Gators had the week off and play Georgia in Jacksonville next week. Florida will need freshman LB David Reese to step up against Nick Chubb and Sony Michel in the absence of Jarrad Davis, the SEC’s best linebacker. Zach Jones
|
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19. |
|
125 | 22 | |
| Leonard Fournette is back. Back to breaking records. LSU Dominated the second half and finished with 515 total yards against Ole Miss. They head into the bye week to get ready for Bama at home on Nov. 5th. Kate Pearson-Halyburton
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20. |
|
116 | 21 | |
| The Utes returned the opening kickoff 99 yards and then left the rest to running back Joe Williams in a 52-45 win over UCLA at the Rose Bowl. Williams, who came out of retirement two weeks ago to return to the Utah football program rushed for 332 yards on only 29 carries. He also had four touchdowns including scoring runs of 43 and 55 yards. The Utes host undefeated Washington next week. Tony Siracusa
|
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21. |
|
79 | 23 | |
| North Carolina defeated a weak Virginia team by 21 on the road thanks to a big performance by Mitch Trubisky who went 24-of-31, 310 yards with three touchdowns. J.W. Gravley
|
||||
22. |
|
75 | 24 | |
| QB Will Worth led the Midshipmen to to a 42-28 conference victory over Memphis on Saturday. The triple-option QB racked up career-highs with 201 yards rushing and three touchdowns. Navy will have a short week as they travel to South Florida for a Friday night game. Lauren Beasley
|
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23. |
|
39 | NR | |
| James Franklin finally got his first big win in Happy Valley. Wins over Minnesota and Maryland make this weekend’s upset over Ohio State more than an “Any Given Saturday” statement. Mike Loveall
|
||||
24. |
|
36 | NR | |
| The Cowboys shook off a slow start to defeat Kansas 44-20. Oklahoma State will host one of the hottest teams in the country when returning home to face West Virginia. Jason Rhea
|
||||
25. |
|
27 | NR | |
| The Buffaloes continued their forward momentum and essentially ended Stanford’s season with a baseball-like score of 10-5 on Saturday. Colorado is still in a great position for a Division championship. Mike Loveall | ||||
MICHIGAN (7-0)
WASHINGTON (7-0)
CLEMSON (7-0)
LOUISVILLE (6-1)
NEBRASKA (7-0)
WEST VIRGINIA (6-0)
BAYLOR (6-0) 
WISCONSIN (5-2)
TEXAS A&M (6-1)
BOISE STATE (7-0)
OKLAHOMA (5-2)
AUBURN (5-2)
WESTERN MICHIGAN (8-0)
TENNESSEE (5-2)
FLORIDA STATE (5-2)
FLORIDA (5-1)
LSU (5-2)
UTAH (7-1)
NORTH CAROLINA (6-2)
NAVY (5-1)
PENN STATE (5-2)
OKLAHOMA STATE (5-2)
COLORADO (6-2)Others Receiving Votes: Pittsburgh (26), Houston (20), Washington State (17), Virginia Tech (15), Toledo (7), Troy (2).
This week saw the biggest shake-up in our poll since the opening week poll. What’s in store for next week? Tune in to find out.
Previous LWOS Polls:
Preseason Top 25
Week 1 Top 25
Week 2 Top 25
Week 3 Top 25
Week 4 Top 25
Week 5 Top 25
Week 6 Top 25
Week 7 Top 25
About the poll: Sixteen Last Word on College Football writers submit ballots and points are awarded on a inverse-scale (a first place vote receives 25 points, a 25th-place vote receives 1 point).
Main Photo:
