Power Rankings: How did an action-packed Week 8 change the top 25? — SkimNews
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- ESPN Research recorded 11 losses by top-10 teams over the past three weeks, tying the most in any three-week span of an AP Poll regular season; the last such run was 2007.
- Miami Hurricanes stayed No. 1 by beating Pitt 52-23 as Malachi Toney set a school record with 16 catches for 194 yards, although the Hurricanes allowed three sacks and 334 passing yards, mostly after the game was out of reach.
- Ohio State Buckeyes moved from No. 3 to No. 2 after a bye, but starting quarterback Julian Sayin is out indefinitely with an elbow injury; true freshman Luke Fahey is the backup, and Saturday's game at USC is billed as a telling test.
- BYU Cougars fell from No. 2 to No. 4 after a double-overtime road loss to UCF; without injured running back LJ Martin, BYU averaged 3.2 yards per carry, while quarterback Bear Bachmeier completed 16 of 32 passes.
- Kentucky Wildcats jumped from No. 11 to No. 8 with a sixth straight win, 34-17 over Vanderbilt, clinching only their third winning SEC season since 1977 while staying in the hunt for a first league title since 1976.
- LSU Tigers rose from No. 18 to No. 12 after dominating Mississippi State and Auburn by a combined 69-17, with the return of tight end Trey'Dez Green balancing the running of tailback Dilin Jones.
- Utah Utes climbed to No. 9 at 7-0 but came back from a 10-0 halftime deficit to beat Houston 21-13 after squeaking past Colorado; with BYU and Texas Tech also losing, Utah is now the Big 12 favorite and the conference's potential for multiple playoff teams took a hit.
Why it matters: Kentucky gained ground at No. 8 after six straight wins, while BYU fell from No. 2 to No. 4 and its margin for playoff inclusion narrowed significantly. The bigger change is the race for conference-title and playoff positioning: 11 top-10 losses in three weeks matched the 2007 AP Poll record, and Utah is now the Big 12 favorite.
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