College Football Ratings Week 8 2023
Penn State has been a full step below Michigan and Ohio State for a few years, and Saturday was their chance to change that. They did nothing of the sort, looking hapless offensively against Ohio State. Out west, USC picked up their second loss of the season and Washington looked very shaky against Arizona State- I still think the most likely scenario is an Oregon/Washington rematch in Vegas in December.
Top 25
Michigan
Ohio State
Georgia
LSU (+2)
Oregon (+2)
Washington (-2)
Texas (-2)
Alabama
Penn State
Texas A&M (+1)
Florida State (+1)
Notre Dame (+1)
Oklahoma (-3)
Tennessee (+1)
Clemson (-1)
Miami
Kansas State (+5)
Oregon State (-1)
Louisville (-1)
Missouri (+3)
USC (-1)
Arizona (-1)
North Carolina (-4)
Ole Miss (+3)
Wisconsin (-1)
Moving Up
Oklahoma and Texas are the clear top teams in the Big 12 but Kansas State has established themselves firmly in the #3 spot. They continue to operate a 2 QB system flawlessly and destroyed TCU this week- a big trip to Austin awaits in two weeks. South Alabama picked up a strange loss to Central Michigan but now looks like one of the best teams in the G5 after back to back wins by 48 and 52. I thought that Tony Elliot might not survive the season at Virginia but they got their biggest win in years, knocking off North Carolina as a three touchdown underdog.
Moving Down
Michigan State has fallen short of even my pessimistic forecast for them. They were destroyed 49-0 at home by Michigan and may not win a Big Ten game this year. Army was blanked 62-0 by LSU and will have their first losing record in five years. East Carolina might be the most disappointing team in FBS, the Pirates are winless against FBS competition and have fallen tremendously since the Lincoln Riley days.