NCAA Football Rankings 2015: Week 8 College Top 25 Standings Predictions
Another wild week of college football is in the books and some shake-up in the polls is coming.
Two top-10 teams in the AP Poll went down (Texas A&M and Florida), as well as five others ranked between 10 and 25.
Even the teams that won won't be easy for the voters to place, as the wild finish in Ann Arbor is sure to spark some interesting debate.
.jpg?w=256 "Ohio State Team Doctor")
The following rankings are a projection of how the Week 8 AP Poll will appear when it is released on Sunday afternoon.
| 1 | Ohio State | 7-0 |
| 2 | Baylor | 6-0 |
| 3 | TCU | 7-0 |
| 4 | Utah | 6-0 |
| 5 | Clemson | 6-0 |
| 6 | LSU | 6-0 |
| 7 | Alabama | 6-1 |
| 8 | Michigan State | 7-0 |
| 9 | Florida State | 6-0 |
| 10 | Stanford | 5-1 |
| 11 | Notre Dame | 6-1 |
| 12 | Florida | 6-1 |
| 13 | Oklahoma State | 6-0 |
| 14 | Iowa | 7-0 |
| 15 | Texas A&M | 5-1 |
| 16 | Oklahoma | 5-1 |
| 17 | Michigan | 5-2 |
| 18 | Memphis | 6-0 |
| 19 | Toledo | 6-0 |
| 20 | California | 5-1 |
| 21 | Houston | 6-0 |
| 22 | Duke | 5-1 |
| 23 | Temple | 6-0 |
| 24 | Ole Miss | 5-2 |
| 25 | Mississippi State | 5-2 |
Noteable Teams
Michigan State
What will the voters make of Michigan State's victory?
A win over a strong Michigan team would normally be enough for Michigan State to hold its ranking, or even rise. But the way in which Michigan State won may cause some voters to overlook the fact that the Spartans now have one of the better road victories on their resume.
"You guys Michigan State didn't lead until there was 0:00 on the clock. Insanity. pic.twitter.com/X87sQw3JC8
— College GameDay (@CollegeGameDay) October 18, 2015"
Since Alabama is likely to rise after another dominant victory, it's possible the Spartans actually drop in the rankings despite the win.
Voters in the AP poll have dropped Michigan State from No. 2 to No. 7 over the course of the past few weeks, so another fall after a fluke play handed them a victory is certainly possible.
Michigan
The Wolverines are a tough team to predict in the polls, as they will likely have a wide range of placement on the ballots.
On one hand, Michigan only lost due to a punting mishap, which may cause some voters to leave the Wolverines roughly in the same spot as a week ago.
However, the voters who focus strictly on the resume will be forced to treat Michigan as a two-loss team, which means it should slide to the back end of the Top 25.
The end result likely has Michigan landing somewhere in the late teens in the poll.
Fortunately for Michigan, the Wolverines have four games against unranked opponents before the season finale against Ohio State, giving Jim Harbaugh and company plenty of time to regroup.
Stanford
There may not be a hotter team in the country right now than Stanford.
However, among teams ranked in the the Top 25, few have a worse loss than Stanford's Week 1 disaster at Northwestern.
While Northwestern initially helped out Stanford by rattling off a few wins, the Wildcats have been outscored 78-10 over the past two weeks and are firmly outside the Top 25.
"Notre Dame at Stanford is going to have huge CFP implications
— Chris Fallica (@chrisfallica) October 18, 2015"
The good news for Stanford is its ranking doesn't matter. At 4-0 in the Pac-12, the Cardinal sit atop the North Division standings and control their own destiny for a conference championship. By running the table, Stanford would be a likely inclusion in the College Football Playoff.
Group of Five schools
The College Football Playoff committee is only obligated to select one team from outside the Power Five conferences for the New Year's Six bowls. But there are multiple teams making a strong case for that honor.
Boise State's loss knocks the Broncos out of the Top 25 and likely out of New Year's Six consideration, but four others remain in the hunt.
"As we all predicted before the season, undefeated Houston, Memphis and Temple are wreaking havoc.
— RedditCFB (@RedditCFB) October 17, 2015"
Toledo and Houston were ranked a week ago and figure to rise a few slots due to other teams losing ahead of them.
Temple and Memphis, ranked 26th and 27th in Week 7, respectively, are strong candidates to rise, giving us four Group of Five schools in the Top 25.
At least one of the four will be eliminated in the chase for the New Year's Six selection as Houston hosts Memphis on November 14, but the other three could be battling it out until the end.
.jpg?w=480 "Ohio State Team Doctor")
