College Football Rankings 2016: Projected AP Top 25 after Week 8

The biggest AAC game of the week took place not in Texas but in Maryland, as AAC West leaders Navy and Memphis squared off in Annapolis. The Tigers kept things tight in the first half, but once the Midshipmen grabbed a halftime lead they never fell behind again. Navy extended their lead on the opening drive of the second half and simply kept pace with Memphis for the rest of the game. Quarterback Will Worth was masterful running the Navy offense, completing three of four passes for 85 yards and two touchdowns to go with 201 rushing yards and three scores on the ground.

The Midshipmen thus took care of business in a game that was the biggest roadblock to winning the division. As long as they don’t lose twice in their final four conference games, they will win the AAC West. Ken Niumatalolo’s team still has to play at South Florida, at East Carolina, and at SMU before the end of the regular season. They also have home dates with Notre Dame and Tulsa along with the season finale against Army in Philadelphia. That Army-Navy game would actually take place after the AAC championship game, so we might not know which Group of Five school will win the automatic New Year’s Six berth until Heisman Saturday.