College football rankings for Week 8 of the AP poll, released Sunday, October 18: Miami (6-0) is No. 1 with 1697 points and 40 of the 70 first-place votes, ahead of BYU (20), Ohio State (9) and Texas Tech (1). BYU is second and Ohio State third.
The biggest climb is BYU, up 6 places to No. 2; the biggest drop is Texas, down 12 to No. 19. Florida and Arizona enter the poll, and Mississippi State and Oklahoma State drop out. Of the 25, 19 play in Week 8; three ranked teams are the underdog on the line.
AP Top 25 and each team’s Week 8 game
Record and points are the AP’s; the line is the ranked team’s own spread, from DraftKings unless the column says otherwise.
| Rank | Team | Record | Last week | Points | Week 8 game (ET) | Line | Our prediction |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Miami Hurricanes | 6-0 | 3 | 1697 (40) | vs Pittsburgh, Sat Oct 24, 12:00 p.m. | -20.5 | not published yet |
| 2 | BYU Cougars | 6-0 | 8 | 1675 (20) | at UCF, Sat Oct 24, 3:30 p.m. | -6.5 | not published yet |
| 3 | Ohio State Buckeyes | 6-1 | 4 | 1649 (9) | no game this week | ||
| 4 | Notre Dame Fighting Irish | 6-1 | 2 | 1395 | no game this week | ||
| 5 | Georgia Bulldogs | 6-1 | 1 | 1382 | no game this week | ||
| 6 | Indiana Hoosiers | 6-1 | 5 | 1370 | at Michigan, Sat Oct 24, 12:00 p.m. | -7 | not published yet |
| 7 | Ole Miss Rebels | 5-1 | 9 | 1360 | at No. 19 Texas, Sat Oct 24, 7:30 p.m. | +3 | not published yet |
| 8 | Texas Tech Red Raiders | 6-0 | 10 | 1336 (1) | at Cincinnati, Sat Oct 24, 12:00 p.m. | -10.5 | not published yet |
| 9 | UCLA Bruins | 6-0 | 12 | 1159 | vs Michigan State, Sat Oct 24, 3:30 p.m. | -14 | not published yet |
| 10 | Utah Utes | 6-0 | 11 | 1153 | vs No. 14 Houston, Sat Oct 24, 10:15 p.m. | -6.5 | not published yet |
| 11 | Tennessee Volunteers | 6-1 | 14 | 1151 | at South Carolina, Sat Oct 24, 3:30 p.m. | +2.5 | not published yet |
| 12 | Kentucky Wildcats | 6-1 | 15 | 932 | vs Vanderbilt, Sat Oct 24, 7:30 p.m. | -10.5 | not published yet |
| 13 | Alabama Crimson Tide | 5-2 | 6 | 870 | vs Texas A&M, Sat Oct 24, 3:30 p.m. | -14 | not published yet |
| 14 | Houston Cougars | 6-1 | 20 | 785 | at No. 10 Utah, Sat Oct 24, 10:15 p.m. | +6.5 | not published yet |
| 15 | Iowa Hawkeyes | 5-1 | 17 | 747 | at Minnesota, Sat Oct 24, 3:30 p.m. | -7 | not published yet |
| 16 | USC Trojans | 6-1 | 19 | 592 | at Wisconsin, Sat Oct 24, 7:30 p.m. | -3 | not published yet |
| 17 | Wake Forest Demon Deacons | 6-1 | 21 | 574 | no game this week | ||
| 18 | LSU Tigers | 5-2 | 22 | 529 | at Auburn, Sat Oct 24, 12:00 p.m. | -7.5 | not published yet |
| 19 | Texas Longhorns | 4-2 | 7 | 440 | vs No. 7 Ole Miss, Sat Oct 24, 7:30 p.m. | -3 | not published yet |
| 20 | Florida Gators | 5-2 | unranked | 355 | no game this week | ||
| 21 | Boise State Broncos | 5-1 | 23 | 295 | at Washington State, Sat Oct 24, 6:00 p.m. | -12.5 | not published yet |
| 22 | Missouri Tigers | 5-2 | 13 | 290 | no game this week | ||
| 23 | SMU Mustangs | 5-1 | 24 | 265 | vs California, Sat Oct 24, 12:00 p.m. | -19.5 | not published yet |
| 24 | Northwestern Wildcats | 5-1 | 25 | 254 | vs Rutgers, Sat Oct 24, 12:00 p.m. | -16.5 | not published yet |
| 25 | Arizona Wildcats | 5-1 | unranked | 136 | vs Iowa State, Sat Oct 24, 7:30 p.m. | -10 | not published yet |
Points in brackets are first-place votes. ESPN’s odds feed was read at 11:47 a.m. Eastern on Tuesday, October 20, and lines move through the week.
Ranked teams on upset watch in Week 8
Two games put two ranked teams on the same field: No. 7 Ole Miss at No. 19 Texas (Texas -3, total 53.5) and No. 14 Houston at No. 10 Utah (Utah -6.5, total 56.5).
These ranked teams are getting points: No. 7 Ole Miss (+3 at No. 19 Texas), No. 11 Tennessee (+2.5 at South Carolina) and No. 14 Houston (+6.5 at No. 10 Utah). In each of these games the betting line makes the other side the favorite, home field included. Our predictions for the week’s games are on the college football predictions hub.
Ranked teams with no game in Week 8
No. 3 Ohio State (next: at No. 16 USC, Sat Oct 31, 7:30 p.m.), No. 4 Notre Dame (next: at Navy, Sat Oct 31, 12:00 p.m.), No. 5 Georgia (next: vs No. 20 Florida, Sat Oct 31, 3:30 p.m.), No. 17 Wake Forest (next: vs Virginia, Sat Oct 31, 3:45 p.m.), No. 20 Florida (next: at No. 5 Georgia, Sat Oct 31, 3:30 p.m.) and No. 22 Missouri (next: at Arkansas, Sat Oct 31, 7:45 p.m.) are off this week, with the next game as ESPN’s schedule lists it.
AFCA Coaches Poll
The coaches’ poll for the same week, with each team’s AP rank beside it.
| Rank | Team | Record | Points | AP rank |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Miami | 6-0 | 1791 (50) | 1 |
| 2 | Ohio State | 6-1 | 1725 (13) | 3 |
| 3 | BYU | 6-0 | 1698 (10) | 2 |
| 4 | Georgia | 6-1 | 1469 | 5 |
| 5 | Texas Tech | 6-0 | 1414 | 8 |
| 6 | Indiana | 6-1 | 1378 | 6 |
| 7 | Ole Miss | 5-1 | 1371 | 7 |
| 8 | Notre Dame | 6-1 | 1332 | 4 |
| 9 | Utah | 6-0 | 1222 | 10 |
| 10 | UCLA | 6-0 | 1206 | 9 |
| 11 | Tennessee | 6-1 | 1193 | 11 |
| 12 | Kentucky | 6-1 | 979 | 12 |
| 13 | Alabama | 5-2 | 813 | 13 |
| 14 | Iowa | 5-1 | 807 | 15 |
| 15 | USC | 6-1 | 796 | 16 |
| 16 | Houston | 6-1 | 730 | 14 |
| 17 | LSU | 5-2 | 569 | 18 |
| 18 | Texas | 4-2 | 520 | 19 |
| 19 | Wake Forest | 6-1 | 514 | 17 |
| 20 | SMU | 5-1 | 458 | 23 |
| 21 | Missouri | 5-2 | 274 | 22 |
| 22 | Boise State | 5-1 | 266 | 21 |
| 23 | Northwestern | 5-1 | 256 | 24 |
| 24 | Florida | 5-2 | 250 | 20 |
| 25 | Oregon | 4-2 | 189 | unranked |
The polls differ by three places or more on Texas Tech (No. 5 with the coaches, No. 8 in the AP), Notre Dame (No. 8 with the coaches, No. 4 in the AP), SMU (No. 20 with the coaches, No. 23 in the AP) and Florida (No. 24 with the coaches, No. 20 in the AP); Oregon is ranked by the coaches and not by the AP.
Outside the AP Top 25, the teams with the most votes are Oklahoma State (128), Oregon (79), Auburn (61), James Madison (52) and Mississippi State (30).
Where these rankings come from
The AP Top 25 and the AFCA Coaches Poll are ESPN’s published polls for Week 8, records as ESPN lists them. Each ranked team’s game is ESPN’s Week 8 FBS schedule, and lines are DraftKings from ESPN’s odds feed, read at 11:47 a.m. Eastern on Tuesday, October 20. The College Football Playoff committee publishes its own rankings later in the season; the race for those places is priced on our College Football Playoff odds page, and the award race on our Heisman odds page.