by Sean Szymczak
Week 7 saw three undefeated teams go down. Now we’re down to only eight unbeatens across the Power Five.
Ranking the top 11 with the eight unbeatens and top three one-loss teams (Texas, Alabama, Oregon) can be easy enough. But it’s becoming more and more of a jumbled mess behind them.
Despite that, I see a clear-cut top 25 teams in this week’s poll.
The Floor Slap’s Week 8 Top 25
- Michigan (7-0)
- Their offense seems to have cleared up some early-season hiccups and are simply dominating opponents like they should. Their weak schedule is still a red flag, but I just can’t identify a major weakness on this team.
- Ohio State (6-0)
- Concerns around the offensive line and edge rushers were temporarily put to rest in a dominant win at Purdue. Their winning games because of their defense, not in spite of it. Meanwhile, the offense continues to make strides.
- Oklahoma (6-0)
- Washington (6-0)
- As I’ve been saying since week 3, Michael Pennix is the clear Heisman favorite. There was some real sloppy tackling that’ll have to be buttoned up as they go down the stretch of their conference schedule, but the Huskies have the most explosive offense in the country.
- Florida State (6-0)
- The Seminoles played their most complete game of the year in a thrashing of Syracuse.
- Georgia (7-0)
- The Bulldogs were in a two-possession game in the 4th quarter with two-win Vanderbilt. Their only dominant win was last week against a Kentucky team who just got handled at home by Missouri. What have they done to deserve the #1 ranking over halfway through the season? We’re past preseason expectations.
- Penn State (6-0)
- We’ll find out just how legitimate the Nittany Lions are this weekend in Columbus.
- North Carolina (6-0)
- The Tar Heels took care of the Canes at home – another sign this team is a legitimate playoff contender.
- Texas (5-1)
- Alabama (6-1)
- Oregon (5-1)
- The clear top three one-loss teams, each with every chance they need to get back into the payoff discussion.
- Oregon State (6-1)
- Utah (5-1)
- Thanks to their defenses, Oregon State and Utah have emerged as the biggest competitors to Washington and Oregon in the Pac-12.
- Louisville (6-1)
- That was a bad, bad loss they took at the hands of two-win Pitt on Saturday. But how soon do we forget what they did to Notre Dame? I want to see a little more from Louisville before making a knee-jerk reaction and plummeting them in my rankings. Besides, a letdown after such an emotional win can sometimes me forgiven. A big matchup against Duke this weekend should tell us where this team is heading.
- Notre Dame (6-2)
- Despite achieving one of the best wins of the 2023 season, I can’t put Notre Dame over a team they just lost to not even two weeks ago.
- USC (6-1)
- With games against Utah, Washington, Oregon, and UCLA still remaining, an 8-4 season almost seems… likely?
- Ole Miss (5-1)
- Duke (5-1)
- LSU (5-2)
- Perhaps the most temperamental team in the country, LSU’s defense finally looked good enough to challenge Alabama in the West.
- Tennessee (5-1)
- If only last year’s Tennessee squad had this defense. Joe Milton is finally going to have to make some big plays through the air if they want to knock Alabama off for a second straight year.
- Missouri (6-1)
- Iowa (6-1)
- You might not like watching them play, but they are about as beat up as any team in college football and still pulling out wins. Their defense is stout once again and they’ve made their special teams a legitimate weapon.
- Air Force (6-0)
- Liberty (6-0)
- UCLA (4-2)
Just Missed Out: none, these are the clear-cut top 25 teams. But the closest teams to scratching the rankings are Tulane, James Madison, Florida, Clemson, and Fresno State.
New to Rankings: Tennessee (20), Missouri (21), Iowa (22)
Dropped from Rankings: Washington State (16), Wisconsin (21), Miami (22)
Ranked Teams by Conference
Pac-12: 6
SEC: 6
ACC: 4
Big Ten: 4
Big 12: 2
Other: 3 (Notre Dame, Liberty, Air Force)