Chalk mostly held among the AP Top 25 until late Saturday night’s big upset, but several teams from the Top 25 suffered setbacks in Week 8.
The first College Football Playoff rankings will be released in just nine days, meaning the AP Poll is set to take a backseat for the rest of the season after that. For now, the AP Poll gives the best gauge for the top teams and gives us a decent indication of how the playoff committee might rank teams next week.
Week 7 of the AP Poll provided some big changes following the second straight week of major upsets in college football. Upsets weren’t as prevalent this week, but Ohio State’s stunning defeat in West Lafayette to Purdue shook things up at the top of the AP Poll this week.
We saw a few teams drop out after some setbacks, some familiar faces return, and some newcomers join the ranks of the Top 25 for the first time this season. With how chaotic this college football season has been, no one should be comfortable with their current standing in the poll, and no team is safe in any given week regardless of the relative strength of the opponent on the opposite sideline.
Big changes are sure to take place again next week, but for now let’s examine the winners and losers from the latest AP Poll: