College Football Rankings 2014: Latest Standings and Predictions for Week 8
We didn’t have the same type of chaos that we did in Week 6 during Saturday’s slate of college football games, but there were certainly some important results.
Mississippi State took over the No. 1 spot in the polls with an impressive victory over Auburn, Ole Miss continued its hot streak with a win over Texas A&M and Baylor somehow overcame a 21-point deficit in the fourth quarter against TCU.
Here is a look at the resulting Top 25 polls, as well as the Bleacher Report rankings, before we dig into some predictions for the biggest games in Week 8.
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| 1 | Mississippi State | Mississippi State | Mississippi State |
| 2 | Florida State | Florida State | Florida State |
| 3 | Ole Miss | Ole Miss | Ole Miss |
| 4 | Baylor | Baylor | Baylor |
| 5 | Notre Dame | Notre Dame | Notre Dame |
| 6 | Auburn | Michigan State | Auburn |
| 7 | Alabama | Alabama | Michigan State |
| 8 | Michigan State | Auburn | Alabama |
| 9 | Oregon | Oregon | Oregon |
| 10 | Georgia | Georgia | Oklahoma |
| 11 | Oklahoma | Oklahoma | Georgia |
| 12 | TCU | TCU | TCU |
| 13 | Ohio State | Ohio State | Ohio State |
| 14 | Kansas State | Kansas State | Kansas State |
| 15 | Oklahoma State | Oklahoma State | East Carolina (T15) |
| 16 | Arizona | East Carolina | Oklahoma State (T15) |
| 17 | Arizona State | Arizona | Arizona State |
| 18 | East Carolina | Arizona State | Arizona |
| 19 | Nebraska | Nebraska | Nebraska |
| 20 | Utah | Stanford | Stanford |
| 21 | Texas A&M | Texas A&M | Clemson |
| 22 | USC | Clemson | Texas A&M |
| 23 | Stanford | Utah | UCLA |
| 24 | Clemson | Marshall | USC |
| 25 | Marshall | USC | Marshall |
Week 8 Predictions
Notre Dame at Florida State
Safe to say, Notre Dame did not plan on entering its enormous showdown with Florida State like this.
Sure, the Fighting Irish found a way to beat North Carolina, but their defense did not impress. ESPN Stats & Info pointed out just how bad it was Saturday:
What’s more, quarterback Everett Golson turned the ball over three times, and the team found itself 14 points down before many of the fans even settled into their seats. ESPN Stats & Info highlighted the recent turnover problem:
That same Notre Dame defense that struggled so much has to go up against the Florida State passing attack that ranks 13th in the nation in passing yards per game at 324.
Defending Heisman Trophy winner Jameis Winston is likely ready to go against the Fighting Irish.
On the other side of the ball, it will be critical for Golson to avoid turnovers because the last thing Notre Dame needs to do is set up the Seminoles offense in scoring position with critical mistakes.
The thought here is that the Florida State offense is simply too much for the Fighting Irish in this one, especially at home. Even if Golson manages to avoid turnovers, which is a big “if” at this point, the Seminoles will find a way to score enough points against a Notre Dame defense that appeared very vulnerable Saturday.
Prediction: Florida State 41, Notre Dame 17
Texas A&M at Alabama
Alabama has not exactly looked like the powerhouse we are accustomed to the past couple of weeks. It lost at Ole Miss and then followed that up with what can only be described as a fortunate 14-13 win against an Arkansas squad that has not won in the conference since 2012.
The Razorbacks missed a critical extra point in that one; otherwise, it could have been a different story.
Alabama has still looked better than Texas A&M recently. The Aggies needed overtime to get past Arkansas, then got destroyed by Mississippi State and never really had a chance in a loss to Ole Miss. All that love for the Aggies early in the season after the win against South Carolina was probably unwarranted because South Carolina is nowhere near as good as many expected.
The key in this one, outside of the fact that the game is in Alabama, will be Alabama’s ability to stop Texas A&M’s passing attack. The Crimson Tide are sixth in the nation in points allowed per game, while the Aggies are third in passing yards per game.
Still, much of Texas A&M’s production has come against lesser opponents or in garbage time of its recent losses.
The thought here is that the Crimson Tide defense does more than enough to win in front of a raucous home crowd.
Prediction: Alabama 27, Texas A&M 20
Oklahoma State at TCU
We talk about motivation and emotion a lot during bowl season, as some teams disappoint and fall to postseason games that they likely have no interest in playing, but emotion could play a significant role in this one as well.
It is difficult to imagine TCU bouncing back one week after losing a 21-point lead in heartbreaking fashion to Baylor. That win would have propelled the Horned Frogs into playoff discussion for sure, but now they have to find a way to stay in the Big 12 title discussion with a bounce-back win over Oklahoma State.
The Cowboys have not lost since they hung with Florida State in the opener and are somewhat of a dark horse in the Big 12 race. They struggled to finally pull away from Kansas Saturday, but this is a golden opportunity to make a statement at TCU.
Oklahoma State wide receiver Jhajuan Seales discussed the Kansas game, according to The Associated Press, via ESPN.com: “You never want to go to a place and lose. Kansas had a great scheme and came out and played well.”
Kansas may have played well, but Oklahoma State needs to improve dramatically before the TCU contest.
It would be easy to pick Oklahoma State here because TCU players aren’t ready to go after a devastating loss. However, the thought here is that the exact opposite happens. TCU is playing at home, which will help the Horned Frogs rally as they get the bad taste out of their mouths from the Baylor loss.
TCU is third in the nation in points per game and will make enough plays on offense to re-establish itself in the Big 12 race.
Prediction: TCU 48, Oklahoma State 41
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