NCAA Football Rankings 2018: Predicting Top Movers in Week 9 Post-Week 8 Results
When the college football polls come out Sunday, they will look similar to previous week's versions with one significant change.
Ohio State is expected to drop down the Top 25 after falling to Purdue on Saturday night in West Lafayette, Indiana.
How far the Buckeyes drop will be significant for the College Football Playoff discussion, as they still have a decent chance of making the final four if they win out.
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Further down the Top 25, Washington State should be the biggest mover after toppling Oregon in a Pac-12 showdown at home.
Week 9 Poll Projection
1. Alabama
2. Clemson
3. Notre Dame
4. LSU
5. Michigan
6. Texas
7. Georgia
8. Oklahoma
9. UCF
10. Ohio State
11. Florida
12. West Virginia
13. Kentucky
14. Washington
15. Washington State
16. Iowa
17. Texas A&M
18. Penn State
19. South Florida
20. Oregon
21. Wisconsin
22. NC State
23. Stanford
24. Purdue
25. San Diego State
Biggest Movers
Washington State
Washington State became the latest Pac-12 North team to earn a statement win Saturday, as it controlled its victory over Oregon from start to finish.
The Cougars' win, combined with Colorado's loss to Washington, left them as the only team in the Pac-12 with one loss.
Given the losses by NC State, Cincinnati, Mississippi State and Michigan State and the magnitude of their Week 8 win, the Cougars should vault into the Top 15.
In terms of the race to the Pac-12 Championship Game, Mike Leach's team is in control of its destiny, with Stanford and Washington still on the schedule.
Although the celebrations in Pullman, Washington, won't end anytime soon, the Cougars need to refocus and look ahead to Stanford in Week 9 in a clash of ranked foes after the Cardinal move back into the bottom of the Top 25.
If the Cougars continue to stack up wins, an argument could be made to add quarterback Gardner Minshew into the Heisman Trophy race since he leads the FBS in passing yards and ranks in the top 10 in touchdown passes.
Minshew would need Heisman favorites Tua Tagovailoa, Dwayne Haskins and Kyler Murray to struggle significantly in the coming weeks to earn the honor, but he at least belongs in the finalist discussion if he moves the Cougars into the top 10.
Ohio State
All is not lost for Ohio State.
Yes, the loss to Purdue was not a good look for the Buckeyes, but they have been able to bounce back from a humiliating defeat to be in contention for the College Football Playoff before.
A year ago, the Buckeyes gave up 55 points on the road to Iowa at the start of November and still made waves in the playoff race by way of a victory in the Big Ten Championship Game.
The Buckeyes deserve to fall to the bottom of the top 10, but since there aren't a ton of quality teams outside of the first 10 places in the polls, it would be hard to justify a drop of more than eight spots.
If Urban Meyer's team wins its next five games, including the Big Ten Championship Game, it should move back into one of the first four positions, as it will possess victories over Michigan and Michigan State.
A final resume with victories over three ranked teams, two of which were in the top 10, as well as a conference championship with just one loss, would be hard for the selection committee to ignore.
At least three teams in front of the Buckeyes in the Week 9 poll have to lose based on matchups with other ranked teams, and we know from past decisions that an undefeated UCF team will get slighted if a one-loss Big Ten champion is in the mix.
Follow Joe on Twitter, @JTansey90.
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