College Football Power Rankings: Week 8 Top 10 Teams

After another week of exciting college football, I’ve concluded that there are three elite teams, and then 20 other teams that could beat each other on any given Saturday. Indiana going on the road and dominating Oregon firmly puts them into that group, but after that, it gets a little murky. Let’s get into the power rankings.

#1 Ohio State

There’s nothing in the country like Ohio State’s defense. They’re currently playing on another level right now, and as long as they keep taking over games, I don’t see how they lose another game this season. The rest of the schedule is insanely light for the Buckeyes as well. Outside of their road game against Michigan, they will absolutely be double-digit favorites against the rest of their schedule. Unless Ryan Day throws up another stinker against Michigan, I don’t see why Ohio State doesn’t make the Big 10 Championship undefeated.

#2 Miami

Ohio State might be the best team in the country, but Miami still has the best resume. Similar to the Buckeyes, Miami’s remaining schedule is exceedingly light. If they get past Louisville this week, it should be an effortless close to the year. Typically, recent Miami teams might struggle down the stretch against a team they should beat, but Mario Cristobal’s Canes are far too talented in the trenches to fall victim to a bad upset.

#3 Indiana

You could easily argue that the Indiana Hoosiers are the best team in the country. Going on the road to Oregon, and being the more talented, more physical, and better-coached team was the most impressive thing we’ve seen this year in college football. It’s also not just Fernando Mendoza; the Hoosiers’ defense is elite, and might have the best pass rush in the nation. This isn’t the Indiana team we saw last season, which was happy to make the playoffs. Curt Cignetti has positioned this team to compete now and into the future.

#4 Texas Tech

I’m willing to take a risk and potentially overrate Texas Tech, but they’ve been one of the most dominant teams in the country. They made a very solid Kansas offense look pedestrian this past week, and that’s not the first time we’ve seen them do that this year. Utah’s Devon Dampier has been great all but once this year, and it was when they faced Tech. I’m a little higher on the Big 12 than most this season, and I think Texas Tech has the talent to compete with anyone I have below them in the rankings. Quarterback play is still a pretty big concern for me, and I would love to see a little more consistency from Behren Morton or Will Hammond, whoever is the play caller down the stretch.

#5 Texas A&M

At this point, the Aggies might be the most consistent team in the SEC. My biggest concern with Texas A&M is Marcel Reed. One night, I’m wildly impressed with him; the next, he makes dumb decisions and looks uncomfortable in the pocket. The Aggies didn’t have much trouble with Florida despite a weaker performance from the offense, but I’ll be interested in how they look against more complete teams in SEC play.

#6 Ole Miss

At the end of the day, a win is a win, and Ole Miss got one against Washington State. Lane Kiffin almost had a classic Lane Kiffin moment and ruined what has been a perfect season against a horrific Washington State team. I’m not too worried about the Rebels, and they have a great spot to bounce back against a Georgia team that isn’t the same Kirby Smart team we’ve seen in the past.

#7 Alabama

The Florida State loss to open the season is starting to age poorly; however, Alabama has moved past that bad loss and has played like the best team in the SEC. The Tide were essentially without Ryan Williams in a massive road test against Missouri, and they still pulled out the big win. Over the last two weeks, against strong tests from Diego Pavia and Beau Pribula, the Alabama defense stepped up and caused both QBs to have some of their worst games of the season. Kalen DeBoer is finally figuring things out in Tuscaloosa.

#8 Oregon

Maybe the Dante Moore hype train was rolling a little too quickly, or maybe Indiana is just elite. The answer is somewhere in the middle, as I still see Oregon as a playoff team. I was never completely sold on the Ducks' offense, but I’m disappointed in the long drives Indiana was able to sustain against their defense. I’m interested to see how Oregon rebounds as they travel across the country this week with a tricky night game against Rutgers.

#9 Oklahoma

Here lies John Mateer’s Heisman hopes. Oklahoma had skated by a few teams this year thanks to some solid performances by their defense, but when they finally faced an elite defense, it was ugly. I’m not sure Mateer was anywhere close to 100% this week, so I’m not willing to completely drop them from the top 10. If he continues to struggle, Oklahoma could see themselves in a free fall here soon.

#10 Georgia

It pains me to keep Georgia in the top 10. They should easily be at three losses at this point, and I don’t think there’s any chance we see them in the playoffs this season. I would love to put Tennessee above them, because if they played again, with Tennessee having even a mildly healthy secondary, I think the Vols would roll them. The refs basically handed them a win this past week against Auburn, and I’m hoping Ole Miss can end their playoff hopes next week.