NCAA Football Rankings 2016: Top Reaction to Week 8 College Polls and Standings

The six primary teams that figure to control their destinies in the race for the four College Football Playoff spots are all still unscathed after a thrilling week of action, but the undefeated records of the Ohio State Buckeyes and Clemson Tigers survived overtime tests.

Those squads (Alabama, Ohio State, Michigan, Clemson, Washington and Texas A&M) make up the top six spots in the most recent Associated Press and Amway Coaches polls.

The Buckeyes came back from an early double-digit deficit on the road against Wisconsin behind a clutch performance from J.T. Barrett, while the Tigers needed some special teams luck in the form of three missed field goals from North Carolina State’s Kyle Bambard. One of those field goals was from 33 yards to win it in regulation.

Elsewhere, Alabama destroyed Tennessee and proved once again why it is the top-ranked team in the nation, and Washington, Texas A&M and Michigan all enjoyed bye weeks before a pressure-packed closing stretch.

With all that in mind, here is a look at the latest polls as the college football world shifts its attention to Week 8.

Polls

Reaction

The most notable game from Saturday was the major test for the undefeated Buckeyes.

Wisconsin scored the game’s first 10 points and took a 16-6 lead into the halftime locker rooms. The Badgers also controlled the line of scrimmage and appeared to be well on their way to shaking up the Big Ten landscape.

Alas, Barrett ran for two touchdowns and found Noah Brown for a score in overtime. The Ohio State defense registered a stop on the ensuing Wisconsin possession and capped things off with a fourth-down sack.

Ohio State coach Urban Meyer understood how difficult the win was in front of a raucous crowd:

Meyer may be on another postseason collision course with Nick Saban and the Crimson Tide after his Ohio State team knocked them out of the initial College Football Playoff in 2014.

The Volunteers have made a living of late, dramatic comebacks this season, but the Crimson Tide were having none of that in a 49-10 win. Tennessee cut the deficit to 14-7 early in the second quarter, but it scored just a field goal the rest of the way as Alabama ran it over.

The Crimson Tide finished with an incredible 438 rushing yards and five touchdowns on the ground, three of which came from quarterback Jalen Hurts.

Barrett Sallee of Bleacher Report praised offensive coordinator Lane Kiffin and the well-oiled machine he is running:

Dan Wolken of USA Today thinks the Crimson Tide have looked like the clear-cut best team in the country:

Clemson didn’t look like a candidate for the best team in the country, but it will be taking the cliche "win-is-a-win" approach after surviving the overtime scare from North Carolina State, 24-17. Had Bambard been more accurate with his kicks, the playoff race and top of the polls would look different.

Pete Thamel of Sports Illustrated recognized that sometimes luck is better than skill on the road to the College Football Playoff:

Clemson coach Dabo Swinney reflected on the narrow victory, per the Associated Press (via ESPN.com): "There’s something to be said for finding a way to win. And there’s something to be said for knowing how to win."

The Tigers’ next game is at Florida State, so they will need more than luck to maintain their unblemished record.

While Clemson, Ohio State and Alabama are almost always on the national radar, Nebraska and Florida are quietly lurking in the postseason picture. The Cornhuskers are still undefeated after a win over Indiana and still have a game at Ohio State on the schedule. If they were to win that, they would propel themselves into the national-title picture.

As for the Gators, they handled Missouri on Saturday and control their own destiny in the SEC East after Tennessee’s loss. If they won their division, they would presumably get a shot at the Crimson Tide for an SEC crown and the likely College Football Playoff spot that comes with it.

Look Ahead

The SEC showdown between Alabama and Texas A&M headlines the Week 8 schedule.

As the Nos. 1 and 6 rankings, respectively, in the polls indicate, there is plenty at stake in this one. The winner will seize full control of the SEC West and enjoy the head-to-head tiebreaker over the loser. The loser would need the winner to lose two more times to win the division, which is a stretch considering the talent level of each side.

The winner of this game would also give itself some breathing room being in control of its SEC destiny. Even an eventual loss wouldn’t knock the victor out of the College Football Playoff race because a one-loss SEC champion would almost assuredly make the field of four behind a strong strength of schedule.

Each team played Tennessee in its last game, and Alabama looked stronger when comparing those contests. The Aggies needed two overtimes to prevail against the Volunteers, 45-38.

The Aggies defense is led by Myles Garrett, but it will struggle against the powerful Crimson Tide rushing attack. Texas A&M is a middling 68th in the country in rushing yards allowed per game, and that formula will prove problematic against Hurts, Bo Scarbrough and Damien Harris.

Alabama is No. 1 in the nation at 63.9 rushing yards allowed per game and will control the contest at the line of scrimmage. That will allow the offense to gradually put the game and critical victory away.