College Football 2019: Week 8 AP Top 25 winners, losers

Winners

Winner: Minnesota (Unranked to No. 21)

Minnesota was one of the few remaining undefeated teams that had yet to climb into the AP Top 25. That all ended after they demolished Nebraska 34-7 to move up six spots out of the land of Others Receiving Votes into the AP Top 25 proper.

The Golden Gophers are now 6-0 and a real threat to enter November still perfect in the standings. P.J. Fleck’s team will have a great chance to consolidate their position and push further up the poll in the next few weeks with winnable games against Rutgers and Maryland.

Winner: Baylor (No. 22 to No. 18)

Baylor needed double overtime to survive their home battle in Big 12 play against Texas Tech, but that tie in regulation did nothing to dissuade AP voters from pushing the Bears further up their Top 25 ballots. Matt Rhule’s team is now locked safely in the high teens of the rankings this week after their survival against the Red Raiders.

It was an interesting day for Baylor’s offense, as quarterback Charlie Brewer threw three interceptions and racked up three rushing touchdowns. A trip to Oklahoma State and a home date with West Virginia on Halloween night provide the opportunity to push further up the poll before November.

Winner: Penn State (No. 10 to No. 7)

Penn State entered Week 7 as something of a sleeping giant. Pollsters continued to seem skeptical about James Franklin’s team, keeping them on the edge of the top 10 in the AP Top 25 despite one dominant performance after another.

That all changed with the Week 8 poll. With their narrow victory in a defensive battle against No. 17 Iowa, the Nittany Lions vaulted three spots into the land of single digits right behind fellow Big Ten heavyweight Wisconsin. Back-to-back games against the two Michigan schools provide Penn State with an opportunity to bolster their position further in the poll heading into November.