Nick Shepkowski’s College Football Top 10 Rankings Following Week 8
We’ve entered the back half of the 2022 college football regular season which means we’re getting primed for the stretch run to deciding conference championships, bowl destinations, and College Football Playoff resumes.
Coming off a Week 7 that saw one of the most memorable days the great game of college football ever has, Week 8 was going to be a letdown by comparison. It was, but still provided plenty of dramatics.
Oklahoma State handed Texas their third loss of the season on a windy day in Stillwater while in the ACC Clemson remained undefeated after they came back from down 11 to beat previously unbeaten.
Oregon boat-raced unbeaten UCLA in Eugene as they battled for Pac-12 positioning while LSU routed Ole Miss to end Lane Kiffin’s unbeaten start and TCU played comeback kid a second week in a row in their win over Kansas State.
So how do you rank the teams following those games?
Here’s what my Top 10 looks like following an eventful Week 8.
Oklahoma State
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No. 9 Oklahoma State (6-1):
Week 8 result: 41-34 win vs. Texas
Maybe Notre Dame fans can relate to Texas backers a bit in this one. Texas went up 31-17 just 3:43 before halftime and appeared to be in great shape to beat Oklahoma State. The offense was non-existent for Steve Sarkisian’s squad in the second half though, scoring just three points the rest of the way.
TCU
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No. 7: TCU (7-0)
Week 8 result: 38-28 win vs. Kansas State
Fall behind by a couple of scores in the first half? Eh, no problem if you’re TCU who was down 28-10 to Kansas State before running off 28 unanswered points to stay unbeaten and rally to 7-0. Max Duggan continued his impressive run as he threw for 280 yards and three scores.
USC
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No. 8 USC: 6-1
Week 8 result: Idle
USC has to like where they’re sitting despite last week’s loss. The idle Trojans saw their crosstown rival get obliterated in Oregon. The stretch run sets up well for USC who will most likely play just one ranked team for the rest of the regular season before a possible trip to the Pac-12 title game.
Oregon
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No. 7 Oregon (6-1)
Week 8 result: 45-30 win versus previously undefeated UCLA
The Bo Nix redemption tour rolled on Saturday as the host site for this week’s “College Gameday” put it on UCLA. Nix threw for 283 yards, five touchdowns, and ran for 51 more yards as the Ducks erupted for 28 second-quarter points. After getting roughed up in Week 1, Oregon has won six straight and continue to make their case as a playoff contender.
Alabama
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No. 6 Alabama (7-1)
Week 8 result: 30-6 win vs. Mississippi State
One week after giving up 52 on Rocky Top, Alabama bounced back at home by coming within the game’s final play of shutting out Mike Leach and Mississippi State. Will this serve as a turning point for an Alabama team that had struggled by their standards even before last week’s loss or do the Tide still have major issues to work out in order to just make it to Atlanta?
Clemson
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No. 5 Clemson (8-0)
Week 8 result: 27-21 win vs. previously unbeaten Syracuse
On a day when Clemson didn’t have much of a passing game, Will Shipley was lights out with totaled 189 yards out of the backfield and scored twice. It wasn’t the prettiest but its a win and here we are at the end of October and Dabo Swinney again has the Tigers ready for a playoff run.
Michigan
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No. 4 Michigan (7-0)
Week 8 result: Idle
A week after dominating Penn State, Michigan enjoyed a week off. Michigan State, Rutgers, Nebraska, and a surprisingly strong Illinois squad stand between the Wolverines and a likely unbeaten showdown against Ohio State.
Ohio State
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No. 3 Ohio State (7-0)
Week 8 result: 54-10 win vs. Iowa
The Buckeyes offense rolled again by routing Iowa in a game the Hawkeyes trailed by 16 at halftime of and never got any closer yet still only threw for 81 yards all day. C.J. Stroud was excellent as usual throwing for 286 yards and four touchdowns.
Georgia
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No. 2 Georgia (7-0)
Week 8 result: Idle
Georgia had the week off and now gets ready for a rivalry game with Florida before what could very possibly be an elimination game for College Football Playoff admission when they host Tennessee a week later.
Tennessee
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No. 1 Tennessee (7-0)
Week 8 result: 65-24 win vs. Tennessee-Martin
Tennessee started a little slow a week after their biggest victory in a generation. If you consider 50 points before halftime a little slow, anyway. The Vols have their second “game of the year” in two weeks at Georgia but face a difficult Kentucky squad next week.
You can debate the resumes of Georgia and Tennessee and make a strong case either way but the best news is that these two will settle that debate on the field in two weeks.
