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

After charging into the top five and inspiring a lot of talk about a resurgence of football prowess in Chapel Hill, midnight finally struck on the Cinderella dreams of an insurgent run at the College Football Playoff. North Carolina was exposed on the road in Tallahassee, as the Tar Heels collapsed 31-28 against Florida State and fell behind in the ACC race. As a result, they will also tumble all the way out of the top 10 in the AP Top 25 this week.

Sam Howell has looked far less dynamic in his sophomore season. Against Florida State, Howell threw for 374 yards with an interception and three touchdowns on 20-of-36 passing. Javonte Williams had another triple-digit day out of the backfield, running for 119 yards and a score in the defeat. The big issue was a defense that failed to contain Jordan Travis, who threw for 191 yards and ran for 107 while scoring three total touchdowns.

Now North Carolina heads into Week 8 looking to restore some pride against a rival in NC State that is projected to also be ranked. The ACC isn’t completely out of reach yet for a Tar Heels team with aspirations of greatness, but they aren’t yet in that top-five realm after getting slapped down by a fallen powerhouse.