College Football Week 8: Polls & Schedule

There was a lot of movement in the polls this week. A. Lot. Except for the very, very top that is. The top four are unchanged. The only other team in the same slot that it was in last week is #8 Louisville. Everyone else has moved. Such is the result of upsets and close calls.

This week will see at least one undefeated team fall. (#3 Clemson at 6-0 faces #5 Florida State which is 5-0.) Others play against one loss teams which may give them a run for their money. Only two of the 28 teams listed in the Top 25 ranks are idle this week and virtually all games are within conference so expect more changes next week.

The numbers on the right are for the Associated Press, the Coaches’ Poll, the BCS standings and the CBSSports.com 126. NR means that the team was Not Ranked by that particular poll.

1/1/1/1 Alabama (6-0) The Tide hosts the Arkansas Razorbacks (3-4). Nothing unexpected here. Bama rolls to another victory.

2/2/2/2 Oregon (6-0) The Ducks host the Washington State Cougars (4-3). The Ducks aren’t going to lose this one.

3/4/3/5 Clemson (6-0) The Tigers host the #5 Florida State Seminoles (5-0). Clemson has been stumbling a bit and had a tough time with BC this past weekend. FSU isn’t BC. The Seminoles can score behind the play of freshman QB Jameis Winston and they’ve had two weeks to get healthy and prepare for this game. Tigers are going to lose at home.

4/3/5/3 Ohio State (6-0) The Buckeyes will host the Hawkeyes of Iowa (4-2). Buckeyes win.

5/5/4/6 Florida State (5-0) The Seminoles head north to face the #3 Clemson Tigers (6-0). Pick the Seminoles and see above for why.

6/8/6/20 LSU (6-1) The Tigers head on the road to face the Rebels of Ole Miss (3-3). The Tigers are too deep and too talented for Ole Miss. It won’t be a rout but it will be an LSU win.

7/7/8/11 Texas A&M (5-1) The Aggies host the #24 Auburn Tigers (5-1). Johnny Manzeil does the job as the Aggies offense scores enough to defeat the Tigers…barely.

8/6/9/7 Louisville (6-0) The Cardinals host the UCF Knights (4-1) on Friday evening. Another chance for Bridgewater on a national stage. UCF has been playing good ball, but between Teddy and the defense, they will not win this one. Cardinals by 17.

9/10/7/12 UCLA (5-0) The Bruins play on the road against the #13 Stanford Cardinal (5-1).  Could be the best game of the week. Cardinal looks to rebound. The Bruins look for dominance in the PAC 12. Bruins may be luckier in their quest. Bruins in a close one 34-31.

10/11/11/13 Miami (Fla.) (5-0) The Hurricanes head north to face the North Carolina Tar Heels (1-4) on Thursday night. The Tar Heels get blown out by the Hurricanes.

11/9/12/17 South Carolina (5-1) The Gamecocks head west to face the Tennessee Volunteers (3-3). South Carolina will win but it won’t be easy for them. This will be closer than you might expect.

12/12/13/9 Baylor (5-0) The Bears will host the Cyclones of Iowa State (1-4). Baylor gets back to its high scoring ways. They put over 50 on the board in a lopsided win.

13/13/10/4 Stanford (5-1) The Cardinal host the #9 UCLA Bruins (5-0). Close game but the Cardinal flaws can and will be exploited. Bruins in a close one.

14/14/14/22 Missouri (6-0) The Tigers host the #22 Florida Gators (4-2).  The Tigers lost their starting QB Franklin to a dislocated shoulder and now need to rely upon second stringer Mauk to do the job. The Gators have struggled in games against better teams this year. They will face a defense that will be looking to help as much as possible. The Tigers win with both Mauk and the D doing the job they’re asked to do.

15/16/15/8 Georgia (4-2) The Bulldogs are on the road playing the Vanderbilt Commodores (3-3). Georgia rebounds against Vandy.

16/15/16/19 Texas Tech (6-0) The Red Raiders play on the road against the Mountaineers of West Virginia (3-3). It’s not been a good year for the Mountaineers. It won’t improve in this game. Raiders win on the road.

17/19/20/20 Fresno State (5-0) The Bulldogs host the Rebels of UNLV (4-2). Carr continues his winning ways as Fresno State rolls.

18/18/17/14 Oklahoma (5-1) The Sooners play at the home of the Kansas Jayhawks (2-3). The Sooners rebound against the Jayhawks.

19/20/18/24 Virginia Tech (6-1) The Hokies have this weekend off.

20/25/24/16 Washington (4-2) The Huskies head south to play the Sun Devils of Arizona State (4-2). The Sun Devils have played tough at home and the Huskies are heading into the Devils Den. They won’t come out unscathed. Arizona State wins.

21/17/21/25 Oklahoma State (4-1) The Cowboys host the TCU Horned Frogs (3-3). If Oklahoma State plays a clean game, they will squish the Frogs.

22/22/22/18 Florida (4-2) The Gators head west o play the #14 Missouri Tigers (6-0). Tigers over Gators…for the second week in a row. This time it’s Missouri. See above for more.

23/23/19/23 Northern Illinois (6-0) The Huskies play at the home of the Central Michigan Chippewas (3-4). NIU proves too much for the Chippewas.

24/NR/25/NR Auburn (5-1) The Tigers head to Texas to play the Aggies of A&M (5-1). Aggies. See above for more.

25/NR/NR/NR Wisconsin (4-2) The Badgers are on the road to play the Fighting Illini of Illinois (3-2). The Badgers came alive this past week. If they stay awake, they will rout the Illini. If they nap it will be close but the Badgers win.

NR/21/NR/NR Nebraska (5-1) The Cornhuskers have the week off.

NR/24/23/15 Michigan (5-1) The Wolverines host the Indiana Hoosiers (3-3). Wolverines got taken by the Nittany Lions—4 OTs. They look to rebound against the Hoosiers—and will.

NR/NR/NR/21 Northwestern (4-2) The Wildcats host the Minnesota Gophers (4-2). Northwestern will roll over the Gophers.