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College Football Rankings 2023: Projected AP Top 25 for Week 8

By Connor Muldowney

Oct 14, 2023; Seattle, Washington, USA; Washington Huskies quarterback Michael Penix Jr. (9) passes the ball against the Oregon Ducks during the first half at Alaska Airlines Field at Husky Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Steven Bisig-USA TODAY Sports
Oct 14, 2023; Seattle, Washington, USA; Washington Huskies quarterback Michael Penix Jr. (9) passes the ball against the Oregon Ducks during the first half at Alaska Airlines Field at Husky Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Steven Bisig-USA TODAY Sports /
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Oct 14, 2023; South Bend, Indiana, USA; Notre Dame Fighting Irish running back Gi’Bran Payne (3) celebrates with running back Audric Estime (7) after Payne scored a touchdown in the first quarter against the USC Trojans at Notre Dame Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Matt Cashore-USA TODAY Sports
Oct 14, 2023; South Bend, Indiana, USA; Notre Dame Fighting Irish running back Gi’Bran Payne (3) celebrates with running back Audric Estime (7) after Payne scored a touchdown in the first quarter against the USC Trojans at Notre Dame Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Matt Cashore-USA TODAY Sports /

For some reason, Utah wasn’t a heavy favorite over Cal in Week 7 and that’s probably due to the constant uncertainty of Cam Rising. Sione Vaki stole the show with 158 rushing yards and two scores and the defense stole the show. Utah continues to win without its best player.

Notre Dame had one of the most impressive wins of the week and it’ll be enough to vault the Irish from No. 21 all the way into the top 15. I think No. 14 is a good spot, but I could even see AP voters going higher because of the fashion of their win over USC. The game wasn’t even close. The Irish continue to confuse everyone.

Following a two-touchdown loss to Alabama a couple of weeks ago, Ole Miss rebounded to pick up a couple of solid wins over LSU and Arkansas. Jaxson Dart is quietly having a really good season and Lane Kiffin just continues to build the Ole Miss brand. The Rebels are going to be a tough out in the West down the stretch.

Oregon is going to see a slight drop this week, but I’m not of the belief that the Ducks deserve to drop to the 15-range. No, I think it’ll be a slight slip in the rankings after coming just a couple of plays away from beating the No. 7 team in the country on the road. Bo Nix is the real deal and the Ducks could very well run the table from this point on.

Oregon State hosted a solid UCLA team on Saturday night and the Beavers were able to control the game from start to finish. A huge pick-six near the end of the first half put this game away and they only added to their lead in the second half. We’ll see this team right on the verge of the top 10 this week.

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