College Football Rankings 2019: Updated NCAA Week 8 Standings, Final Poll Review

After a gameweek loaded with Top 25 and rivalry matchups, Week 8 offers college football fans a chance to catch their breath. Followers of the Big Ten and Pac-12 are certain to see a bit of separation in the conference standings, though.

Washington hosts Oregon in a critical Pac-12 North Division game, while Arizona State's trip to Utah highlights a pair of meaningful South Division clashes. In the evening, Michigan heads to Penn State for an important Big Ten showdown.

The gameweek is otherwise filled with ranked teams on the road, including four of the nation's top six programs.

Week 8 AP Top 25

1. Alabama (6-0)
2. LSU (6-0)
3. Clemson (6-0)
4. Ohio State (7-0)
5. Oklahoma (6-0)
6. Wisconsin (6-0)
7. Penn State (6-0)
8. Notre Dame (5-1)
9. Florida (6-1)
10. Georgia (5-1)
11. Auburn (5-1)
12. Oregon (5-1)
13. Utah (5-1)
14. Boise State (6-0)
15. Texas (4-2)
16. Michigan (5-1)
17. Arizona State (5-1)
18. Baylor (6-0)
19. SMU (6-0)
20. Minnesota (6-0)
21. Cincinnati (5-1)
22. Missouri (5-1)
23. Iowa (4-2)
24. Appalachian State (5-0)
25. Washington (4-2)

Week 8 Preview

Heading into Saturday, 12 teams remain undefeated. Each one is ranked, and they will all be in action Saturday.

Penn State's clash with Michigan highlights the dozen. Despite the schools combining for a 59-20 record from 2016 to 2018, all three matchups between them had winning margins of 29 or more. The 2019 version should be much tighter, though an elite Penn State defense has the ability to overwhelm an inconsistent Michigan attack.

Jim Harbaugh, who is 1-6 on the road against Top 25 opponents as Michigan's coach, knows the challenge that lies ahead:

All six programs ranked higher than Penn State have a favorable matchup―though, granted, we would have said something similar about Georgia ahead of Week 7, and South Carolina sprung that upset. Still, none of Alabama, LSU, Clemson, Ohio State (already a winner over Northwestern), Oklahoma or Wisconsin are likely to fall.

Baylor and SMU might be a different story.

The Texas schools are positioned 18th and 19th, respectively, but face a quality conference foe in Oklahoma State and Temple. Baylor heads to Stillwater, while SMU has home-field advantage yet just saw Temple knock off then-undefeated Memphis.

Elsewhere, Boise State is only a seven-point favorite, per Caesars, for its road contest with BYU. That seems the only other possible upset since Minnesota plays Rutgers and Appalachian State has a 15-point betting edge on Louisiana-Monroe.

Utah and Arizona State both are 5-1, but they are fighting for front-runner status within the Pac-12 South. The Utes are 13.5-point favorites for the afternoon tilt.

Two games between unranked teams are worth watching too.

Memphis hosts Tulane in an important AAC West Division game. Memphis could effectively be eliminated from the conference title race because it would have losses to SMU and Tulane, but a victory would start an intriguing three-team battle. For good measure, the winner will probably be ranked in Week 9.

Rounding out the gameweek is Arizona's trip to USC. Although they are a combined 7-5, both are 2-1 in Pac-12 play. The winner will be best positioned to challenge Utah or Arizona State in the South Division, depending on that matchup's winner.

Follow Bleacher Report writer David Kenyon on Twitter @Kenyon19_BR.