Week 8, of the college football season is complete, and we are nearing the release of the first Playoff rankings. Each week during the season our panel of experts will rank the Top 12 teams in college football. This season our panel includes: Rob Shields, Mike Lowe, Zack Kiesel, Brian (Pedro Cerrano) McGuire, Chris (Ricker Says) Ricker, Steve Birrer, and Chris Stoner. We are looking forward to another exciting season of college football and race to the College Football Playoff.
Week 8 was big for the Pac-12, and also saw a major upset. Oregon got a huge road win against Washington to move from #12 to #11, and Utah took the Ducks’ #12 spot, making its first Dozen appearance this season with a win over Arizona State. The Utes’ ascendance came at the expense of Wisconsin, who took a bad loss at Illinois. The other marquee game of the week featured Penn State holding off a furious comeback effort by Michigan to remain undefeated and move up to #6. Ohio State was also a big mover, up to #3 coming off an impressive win on a road Friday game at Northwestern.
Week 9 will see attention shift back to the SEC, as #8 Auburn goes to Death Valley to play #2 LSU. An Auburn win keeps their Playoff hopes alive, while an LSU win could vault them to #1 given Alabama’s lighter SoS so far. Meanwhile Wisconsin will have little time to lick their wounds, as they head to Columbus to play Ohio State. A win keeps their Playoff hopes alive and maybe vaults them back into the Deified Dozen, while a loss puts their odds of playing for the conference title in serious jeopardy. #7 Notre Dame travels to Ann Arbor to face the aforementioned Wolverines, who will hope to keep their late-game momentum going against their old rivals. Keep an eye on Oregon hosting Washington State. The Cougars have won four straight in that series, and Mike Leach’s air raid always seems to win a game or two they aren’t expected to.
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College Football Analyst
Mike is a Baltimore native living in Portland, OR since 2007. He currently runs his own business specializing in video production and online marketing. Prior to that he was a legal technology consultant, worked for 9 years at Johns Hopkins University and served 6 years in the Air Force. He also enjoys travel, food, beer, and is a volunteer at the Oregon Humane Society.