College Football Rankings 2020: Projected AP Top 25 for Week 8

Several marquee matchups between undefeated teams thinned the ranks of perfect performers. How will the college football Top 25 look on Sunday?

Before the weekend even started in earnest, there were already several critical matchups of undefeated teams at the lower ranks. On Wednesday, Coastal Carolina and Louisiana squared off in Lafayette in a throwdown between two 3-0 Sun Belt division leaders. The Chanticleers prevailed on the road over the Ragin’ Cajuns, winning 30-27 in a tense spectacle.

Then on Friday, BYU traveled to Houston in a matchup of dueling Cougars with spotless records. (Of course, Houston had only played one game prior to facing the independent powerhouse from Provo.) After falling behind in the first half, the visiting Cougars prevailed in a runaway 43-26 victory to improve to 5-0 on the year.

Both, however, served as preludes to the battle between No. 2 Alabama and No. 3 Georgia on Saturday night. Wrapping up a day where the SEC cannibalized itself to the point where only one undefeated team remains in the league and just three other teams still boast a single defeat, the Crimson Tide hosted the Bulldogs in the matchup of the weekend. As so many Bulldog-Tide tests have gone in the past, Georgia built a lead and built up hope before Saban’s charges once again dashed dreams.

All that is to say that we were already due for some shuffling in the order of the AP Top 25 this week. We will probably get more than we bargained for, though, as three teams are projected to drop out of the poll this week. That includes a couple of SEC teams in Auburn and Tennessee. The former fell at South Carolina by eight, while the latter collapsed at home in a 27-point humiliation.

That also goes without discussing the upsets that transpired, including a second loss by a top-five team in Tuscaloosa. North Carolina also fell from the ranks of the unbeaten when they ran out of time in their comeback bid against Florida State.

Considering only the 78 teams that have already started playing football this fall, only a dozen of those teams are still undefeated. Not all 12 of those teams will be in the AP Top 25 this week, especially considering that Air Force and Florida Atlantic have only played one game to date. But a majority of those teams should make the list this week.

Where will everyone fall when the dust settles on Week 7 play and the AP Top 25 is set for upcoming Week 8 action? Keep reading for the latest projections at Saturday Blitz.