College Football Rankings 2017: Latest Polls, Predictions for Week 8 Standings

Nobody had a better Week 7 than the Ohio State Buckeyes, who defeated the Nebraska Cornhuskers 56-14 on the road as they head into their bye week.

The Buckeyes' College Football Playoff hopes appeared to be fading after their 31-16 defeat to the Oklahoma Sooners on Sept. 9. Since then, Ohio State has won five games in a row by an average of 42 points.

More importantly, Oklahoma lost to the Iowa State Cyclones Oct. 7, while the previously unbeaten Clemson Tigers, Washington Cougars, Michigan Wolverines, USC Trojans and Washington State Huskies have suffered defeats as well.

Immediately after losing to Oklahoma, Ohio State slipped from second in the Associated Press Top 25 Poll and Amway Coaches Poll to eighth in the former and ninth in the latter. Heading into Week 8, the Buckeyes are sixth in each of the respective rankings:

Associated Press Top 25 Poll

1. Alabama Crimson Tide (61); 7-0

2. Penn State Nittany Lions; 6-0

3. Georgia Bulldogs; 7-0

4. TCU Horned Frogs; 6-0

5. Wisconsin Badgers; 6-0

6. Ohio State Buckeyes; 6-1

7. Clemson Tigers; 6-1

8. Miami Hurricanes; 5-0

9. Oklahoma Sooners; 5-1

10. Oklahoma State Cowboys; 5-1

11. USC Trojans; 6-1

12. Washington Huskies; 6-1

13. Notre Dame Fighting Irish; 5-1

14. Virginia Tech Hokies; 5-1

15. Washington State Cougars; 6-1

T16. NC State Wolfpack; 6-1

T16. South Florida Bulls; 6-0

18. Michigan State Spartans; 5-1

19. Michigan Wolverines; 5-1

20. UCF Knights; 5-0

21. Auburn Tigers; 5-2

22. Stanford Cardinal; 5-1

23. West Virginia Mountaineers; 4-2

24. LSU Tigers; 5-2

25. Memphis Tigers; 5-1

Amway Coaches Poll

1. Alabama Crimson Tide (63); 7-0

2. Penn State Nittany Lions; 6-0

3. Georgia Bulldogs; 7-0

4. TCU Horned Frogs; 6-0

5. Wisconsin Badgers; 6-0

6. Ohio State Buckeyes; 6-1

7. Miami Hurricanes; 5-0

8. Clemson Tigers; 6-1

9. Oklahoma Sooners; 5-1

10. USC Trojans; 6-1

11. Oklahoma State Cowboys; 5-1

12. Washington Huskies; 6-1

13. South Florida Bulls; 6-0

14. Virginia Tech Hokies; 5-1

15. Michigan Wolverines; 5-1

16. Notre Dame Fighting Irish; 5-1

17. NC State Wolfpack; 6-1

18. Washington State Cougars; 6-1

19. Michigan State Spartans; 5-1

20. UCF Knights; 5-0

21. Auburn Tigers; 5-2

22. Stanford Cardinal; 5-1

23. West Virginia Mountaineers; 4-2

24. Texas A&M Aggies; 5-2

25. LSU Tigers; 5-2

The schedule allows Ohio State to take a seat in Week 8 and let the chips fall where they may.

No game is bigger this week than Michigan's road trip to Penn State. The Wolverines beat the Nittany Lions 49-10 last year, but Penn State is a year older and has home-field advantage.

Michigan presents a difficult matchup for the Nittany Lions. Although the Wolverines offense remains a problem, their defensive line could be the difference against the Nittany Lions.

Penn State allowed five sacks to the Northwestern Wildcats, while Saquon Barkley averaged 4.7 yards per carry in the 31-7 win, which was roughly two yards fewer than his season average (6.4 yards per carry). The game was a microcosm of the Nittany Lions' issues along the offensive line.

After the Northwestern game, head coach James Franklin acknowledged the offensive line needs improvement, per PennLive.com's Greg Pickel:

"You critique it because you'd like to not give up any sacks and rush for more yards and those types of things, so we have got to improve there. But again, we're critiquing a Big Ten win on the road where we scored 31 points and basically had a shutout. Do we have to get better? Yes. But I feel like we're at the right point right now to go into the bye week and say OK, these are the things we need to improve on. We need to get that playing at a higher level, no doubt."

Franklin and his staff had the bye week to address the problem. An additional week's worth of coaching and scheming can only go so far, though.

Michigan is fifth in yards per carry allowed (2.6) and tied for 11th in sacks (20). Barkley ran for 59 yards on 15 carries and the Wolverines registered six sacks in last year's matchup.

Penn State needed a last-second touchdown to avoid a road loss to the Iowa Hawkeyes. The Nittany Lions won't be so lucky Saturday when the Michigan front seven wreaks havoc on their offensive line.

Beyond Penn State, few top-10 teams look to be in serious danger.

The top-ranked Alabama Crimson Tide should have little trouble brushing aside the struggling Tennessee Volunteers. The unbeaten Wisconsin Badgers should beat the Maryland Terrapins, who've lost three of their last four. The Kansas Jayhawks have dropped their last five as they hit the road against the No. 4 TCU Horned Frogs.

The No. 8 Miami Hurricanes and No. 10 Oklahoma State Cowboys should be on upset alert, however.

Miami's last two wins came by a combined five points, and the Hurricanes will face off with a Syracuse Orange team fresh off an upset of Clemson.

USA Today's Dan Wolken is among those unconvinced by Miami's 5-0 start:

"

Miami is so fraudulent.

— Dan Wolken (@DanWolken) October 14, 2017"

Playing Syracuse right after the Orange's win over Clemson could be perfect timing. The Hurricanes were reminded not to take Syracuse lightly, and the Orange may have a hangover after defeating the reigning national champions.

And for as much progress as Syracuse has made under Dino Babers, the program is still another year or two away from being among the ACC's elite. The Orange rank 59th in S&P+ rating, according to Football Outsiders.

Especially with the game in Miami, the Hurricanes should maintain their unbeaten record in Week 8.

The same should be the case for Oklahoma State as well with the Cowboys taking on the Texas Longhorns.

Texas lost to USC and Oklahoma by a combined eight points, so one could argue the Longhorns are better than their 3-3 record would indicate. At the same time, their three wins came against opponents with a combined record of 7-9.

Texas doesn't match up well with Oklahoma State, either. Mason Rudolph has thrown for 2,368 yards, 19 touchdowns and four interceptions, and James Washington is second in FBS in receiving yards (882).

The Longhorns are surrendering an average of 264.8 yards per game through the air, which is 109th in FBS. They're also 82nd in opponent passer rating (133.1).

Baker Mayfield went 17-of-27 for 302 yards, two touchdowns and an interception against Texas, and Sam Darnold was 28-of-49 for 397 yards, three touchdowns and two interceptions in USC's overtime victory.

As long as Rudolph posts a similar stat line, Oklahoma State should earn a road victory in Week 8.