Skip to main content
Join Now
Get a profile. Be recruited.

ESPN shakes up FPI Top 25 rankings after Week 8 of college football

275133747_4796292347117549_592518599057046758_nby: Jonathan Wagner10/23/22j_wags74
On3 image
Christian Petersen/Getty Images

In comparison to recent weeks across college football, the slate in Week 8 might have looked a little disappointing on paper entering the weekend. Despite that, Saturday’s action featured plenty of upsets and some exciting top-25 matchups. After Saturday’s games, ESPN has shaken up its FPI Top 25 rankings with the page now turning towards Week 9.

Eight ranked teams were on bye this weekend, including two top five teams in No. 1 Georgia and No. 4 Michigan. The rest of the top ten fared pretty well during Week 8, unless you’re No. 7 Ole Miss or No. 9 UCLA. Ole Miss led 14-3 after one quarter against LSU, but the Rebels were shut out in the second half and the Tigers walked away with a 45-20 victory. UCLA battled against No. 10 Oregon in Eugene, and a high-scoring affair ended with the Ducks on top with a 45-30 win.

In addition to the matchup between UCLA and Oregon, there were four other games between two AP-ranked teams. No. 5 Clemson, led by backup quarterback Cade Klubnik, came back to remain undefeated with a 27-21 victory over No. 14 Syracuse. No. 6 Alabama bounced back in a big way with a dominating victory over No. 24 Mississippi State.

That wasn’t all for the top ten, as No. 8 TCU also battled against No. 17 Kansas State. The Horned Frogs ultimately won 38-28 over the Wildcats, remaining undefeated at 7-0. Just outside of the top ten, No. 11 Oklahoma State defeated No. 20 Texas 41-34 in an exciting Big 12 shootout.

Ultimately, AP-ranked teams went 11-6 in Week 8. And with five of those losses coming in matchups between two ranked teams, ESPN’s FPI Top 25 rankings feature some big changes.

Updated ESPN FPI Top 25 rankings

  1. Ohio State Buckeyes (7-0) (—)
  2. Alabama Crimson Tide (7-1) (—)
  3. Georgia Bulldogs (7-0) (—)
  4. Michigan Wolverines (7-0) (—)
  5. Tennessee Volunteers (7-0) (+1)
  6. Texas Longhorns (5-3) (-1)
  7. Clemson Tigers (8-0) (—)
  8. Utah Utes (5-2) (+1)
  9. LSU Tigers (6-2) (+2)
  10. USC Trojans (6-1) (—)
  11. Penn State Nittany Lions (6-1) (+3)
  12. Ole Miss Rebels (7-1) (-4)
  13. Oregon Ducks (6-1) (-1)
  14. Oklahoma State Cowboys (6-1) (+2)
  15. TCU Horned Frogs (7-0) (-2)
  16. Mississippi State Bulldogs (5-3) (-1)
  17. Baylor Bears (4-3) (+1)
  18. Syracuse Orange (6-1) (+6)
  19. Wake Forest Demon Deacons (6-1) (+10)
  20. Florida State Seminoles (4-3) (+5)
  21. Notre Dame Fighting Irish (4-3) (—)
  22. Minnesota Golden Gophers (4-3) (-5)
  23. Kansas State Wildcats (5-2) (—)
  24. Wisconsin Badgers (4-4) (+8)
  25. Maryland Terrapins (6-2) (-5)

This week’s biggest riser in the top 25 was Wake Forest, who jumped up nine spots to re-join the rankings at No. 19. Wisconsin also rose eight spots to join the rankings at No. 24. Texas A&M dropped five spots and out of the top 25 after falling to 3-4 on the year. UCF recently joined the top 25, but the Knights’ loss to East Carolina resulted in a drop of ten spots and a fall outside of the rankings.