Scott Hamilton’s College Football Rankings Week 8: Parts of Top 25 Stay the Course
Subscribe to the Scott Hamilton Podcast!
Status quo: The top nine teams are the same, albeit with a little shuffling here and there. And Oregon remained in the No. 8 spot despite losing at then-No. 7 Washington, 36-33. The three-point margin in that game is in line with playing at Husky Stadium. It’s also extra difficult to firmly commit to saying Washington is that much better than the Ducks or that Oregon isn’t as good as the Huskies. The outcome is likely different, too, had Oregon Coach Dan Lanning not been so devoted to an uber-aggressive approach that kept the Ducks from getting points on at least three occasions. Regardless, the two seem destined for a rematch in what will probably be the last Pac-12 championship game in history. A spot in the College Football Playoff will be on the line – perhaps even two.
Flip-floppers: Georgia didn’t lose, instead beating Vanderbilt, 37-20. Yet the Bulldogs again didn’t look like a runaway top-ranked team and definitely not one seeking a third national title in a row. Its position is even more precarious with the news that tight end Brock Bowers -- perhaps the best player in college football -- is out for the season with an ankle injury. Michigan’s schedule through the first two months is about as soft as Georgia’s, but the Wolverines have been far more consistent against lesser opponents. They again looked like a complete football team by taking care of Indiana, 52-10, in a pretty ho-hum fashion. The rubber doesn’t hit the road for Michigan until a Nov. 11 trip to No. 7 Penn State – and then, of course, that season-ending visit from No. 3 Ohio State is always looming.
Negative ad: Nineteen-point favorites at home against a team you’ve beaten 16 straight times: Alabama’s 24-21 win over Arkansas was not a good look for the Crimson Tide. It built a 24-6 lead over Arkansas midway through the third quarter before the Razorbacks scurried back. Arkansas’ defense produced four straight three-and-outs before Alabama was able to extend a drive to run the final 5:19 off the clock. The odds are pretty good, too, that the Razorbacks would have avoided its fifth straight loss with another possession, what with how K.J. Jefferson played in the second half. Still, a win is a win and Alabama remains the only SEC team without a loss in league play. But be advised: Alabama’s Jalen Milroe was sacked five times. It was the fifth straight game he was sacked at least four times, the longest streak for an FBS quarterback in the past 20 years.
Mavericks: I see you Air Force, Tulane and James Madison. Three Group of 5 teams made the cut this week, coming in at 21st, 23 and 25th, respectively. None of those three were ranked last week.
Read my lips: Speaking of James Madison, the Dukes should be eligible for the postseason but are instead languishing in NCAA purgatory. James Madison is 6-0, the Sun Belt’s only remaining team with wins over the likes of Virginia (36-35), South Alabama (31-23) and, most recently, Georgia Southern (41-13). The Dukes sit atop the Sun Belt’s East Division, but are ineligible for the league championship and a bowl game as part of the NCAA’s myopic processes for teams transitioning from FCS to FBS. If a team is able – and willing – to compete as it makes the adjustment from one level to the next, then it should have a chance. James Madison is both.
Unseated: So long Washington State (44-6 loss to Arizona), Kansas (39-32 at Oklahoma State), Kentucky (38-21 to Missouri), UCLA (36-24 to Oregon State) and Wyoming (34-27 to Air Force).
Not gonna do it: Iowa won again, beating Wisconsin 15-6 in Madison, to improve to 6-1 and take a 1.5-game lead in the Big 10 West standings. The rest of the schedule is very manageable for the Hawkeyes, including three of their final games being at home. Iowa’s defense is also elite, as was evident Saturday when it held a Badgers’ team that came in with the 15th-best ground game in America to only 104 yards on 28 carries and 2 of 17 on 3rd down. But that Iowa offense … man. The Hawkeyes had 37 yards passing and won the game – that’s not happening against any of the three likely opponents coming out of the Big Ten East in the title game.
Hanging Chad: Southern Cal’s one-side approach inevitably caught up with it via a 48-20 loss at Notre Dame. But it wasn’t the defense – or lack, thereof – that cost the Trojans as much as the pressure on its offense to carry the load. Without Caleb Williams putting up otherworldly numbers, USC was exposed as a flawed team that likely won’t make the Pac-12 title game – let alone the CFP. As for Williams, he won’t become only the second player to win back-to-back Heisman Trophies. He was a very mortal 23-37 passing for 199 yards with a touchdown and three interceptions against the Fighting Irish.
Darkhorse: There’s Florida, slipping in at No. 24. The Gators – slow and unprepared in that season-opening loss at Utah (two players with the same jersey number on the field at the same time? Seriously?) and feeble at Kentucky have put together a nice little two-week run. Wins over Vanderbilt (38-14) and at South Carolina (41-39) aren’t victories over juggernauts, but show improvement and perhaps a steadying of the ship in Billy Napier’s second year as head coach. And has anyone noticed that quarterback Graham Mertz is having a pretty good year? The Wisconsin transfer has completed 76 percent of his passes for 1,897 yards and 12 TDs against only two interceptions.
Super PAC: The SEC now leads all conferences in the rankings with seven teams. The Pac-12 has five, followed by the ACC (four). All three of the Big 10’s teams are inside the top seven, while No. 6 Oklahoma and No. 9 Texas are the lone Big 12 teams to make the rankings.
This week’s rankings (last week):
1. Michigan (2)
2. Georgia (1)
3. Ohio State (3)
4. Florida State (4)
5. Oklahoma (5)
6. Washington (7)
7. Penn State (6)
8. Oregon (8)
9. Texas (9)
10. North Carolina (12)
11. Alabama (10)
12. Oregon State (13)
13. Ole Miss (14)
14. Utah (16)
15. Tennessee (17)
16. Notre Dame (21)
17. Duke (18)
18. Southern Cal (11)
19. LSU (22)
20. Missouri (NR)
21. Air Force (NR)
22. Louisville (15)
23. Tulane (NR)
24. Florida (NR)
25. James Madison (NR)
Check out “The Scott Hamilton Show,” on FanStreamSports.Com and the Fan Stream Sports mobile app. You can follow him on X @ScottH4456 and hit him up on the Fan Stream Sports Facebook group.
