B/R Experts Week 8 College Football Rankings 2024

With so many potential playoff contenders residing in the SEC, it was only a matter of time before the conference's top dogs did battle head-to-head and reshaped the college football landscape.

The Tennessee Volunteers scored their biggest win of the season with a 24-17 victory over Alabama, handing the Crimson Tide their second loss of the year and leapfrogging them in the playoff picture.

That was followed by a heavyweight clash between No. 5 Georgia and No. 1 Texas, and it was all Bulldogs as they built a 23-0 lead at halftime and cruised to a 30-15 win behind three rushing touchdowns Trevor Etienne.

In Big Ten action, Indiana and Illinois posted impressive wins over Nebraska and Michigan to solidify their status as playoff contenders, while ACC hopefuls Miami, Clemson and SMU all took care of business against unranked opponents.

Three games between ranked opponents, including those two SEC showdowns, left B/R's college football crew with plenty of work to do in tweaking our weekly Top 25 rankings.

This week's panel included David Kenyon, Adam Kramer, Morgan Moriarty, Joel Reuter and Brad Shepard. A first-place vote was worth 25 points, a second-place vote worth 24 points and so on.

B/R Top 25

1. Oregon
2. Georgia
3. Ohio State
4. Texas
5. Penn State
6. Miami
7. Clemson
8. Iowa State
9. BYU
10. LSU
11. Tennessee
12. Indiana
13. Notre Dame
14. Kansas State
15. Texas A&M
16. Alabama
17. Missouri
18. Ole Miss
19. Boise State
20. Pitt
21. SMU
22. Illinois
23. Army
24. Navy
25. Colorado

The road to a 7-0 start has not always been a smooth one for the Miami Hurricanes, but they survived arguably the toughest remaining test of the regular season in Week 8 with a shootout win over the Louisville Cardinals.

After the Hurricanes opened the year with four straight blowout victories against Florida and a trio of lesser opponents, the last few weeks have been a precarious tightrope walk:

• Week 5: Miami 38, Virginia Tech 34
• Week 6: Miami 39, California 38
• Week 7: Bye
• Week 8: Miami 52, Louisville 45

Heisman Trophy hopeful Cam Ward had another terrific game through the air on Saturday, throwing for 319 yards and four touchdowns. The Miami offense piled up 538 total yards, and it was the running game that found the end zone twice in the fourth quarter.

Looking ahead, the path to an undefeated season looks relatively clear for a Miami team that does not have Clemson, Pitt or SMU on the schedule.

They will likely be favored in all five of their remaining regular-season games—home matchups against Florida State, Duke and Wake Forest, and road games against Georgia Tech and Syracuse.

If they can run the table, the outcome of the ACC Championship Game might be irrelevant for the Hurricanes, as a one-loss resume would likely still earn them a seat at the table in the 12-team playoff field.

Close calls against Virginia Tech and California are a good reminder that anything can happen, but Miami is as safe a bet as any team in the nation to be vying for a national championship.

Alabama and Michigan faced off in last year's Rose Bowl with a chance to play for a national championship on the line. The Wolverines came away with a 27-20 win and ultimately finished off a 15-0 season with a win over Washington in the title game.

How the mighty have fallen.

Both teams lost their head coaches during the offseason, with Michigan's Jim Harbaugh moving on to the NFL and Alabama's Nick Saban retiring, but they still had rosters overflowing with talent.

The Crimson Tide were No. 5 in the preseason AP poll thanks in part to quarterback Jalen Milroe returning for another year, while the Wolverines were No. 9 with a stout defense and loaded running game.

With the dust now settled on Week 8 action, both teams are on the outside looking in for a spot in the projected playoff field.

Michigan suffered a 21-7 loss to Illinois on Saturday afternoon, allowing 187 rushing yards after entering play as one of the nation's top rushing defenses. With that, they fell to 4-3 on the year and lost any remaining hope of claiming a playoff spot.

Things are not quite as bleak for Alabama, but they're close.

The Crimson Tide have a 41-34 victory over Georgia on their resume, but a Week 6 loss to Vanderbilt and a Week 8 loss to No. 11 Tennessee leaves them with zero margin for error. They still have to play No. 19 Missouri and No. 8 LSU in the next two weeks, and they will need to be perfect the rest of the way to have any chance of playing for a national championship.

Who would have guessed last year's Rose Bowl participants would fall so far?

The Week 9 slate gets interesting before the weekend even starts.

On Thursday night, No. 20 Pitt faces a tough test against Kyle McCord and Syracuse as the Panthers look to stay undefeated. Both teams are coming off a bye week, and with a win there's a good chance the Orange will jump into the AP poll, as they were among the others receiving votes last week.

That's followed by a major Group of Five showdown on Friday night when No. 15 Boise State travels to UNLV looking to stay in the driver's seat for a playoff spot. Both teams are 5-1 and coming off a bye week, and they sit tied atop the Mountain West standings.

Once Saturday finally arrives, the SEC will again be a focal point.

Vanderbilt will look to pull off another upset at home against No. 1 Texas, while there are a pair of matchups of ranked teams poised to shake up the Top 25 poll with No. 19 Missouri taking on No. 7 Alabama and No. 8 LSU facing No. 14 Texas A&M.

The Big Ten also has a busy day on tap, headlined by No. 22 Illinois on the road against No. 2 Oregon as the Ducks try to stay undefeated while making their case for the No. 1 spot in the nation. Fellow undefeated playoff contenders Indiana (vs. Washington) and Penn State (at Wisconsin) also face difficult, albeit unranked, opponents.

And finally, who could have guessed that the Notre Dame vs. Navy game would have such significant playoff implications? Both teams are ranked and very much alive in the hunt for a berth in the 12-team field.

To that point, it may end up being an elimination game for whoever comes up short. The Fighting Irish are trying to avoid a second loss, while the Midshipmen are looking to stay undefeated and in the mix for the Group of Five playoff spot.

See you all next Saturday!