DISCLAIMER: I work for a national media affiliate but do not have a vote in the Associated Press poll so my opinion means virtually nothing. These rankings have nothing to do with preseason polls or last season’s results; they’re based on games that have been played this year only. The rankings will be volatile, especially early in the season.
Week eight of college football season provided the first serving of late season rivalry games, featuring historic, deep seeded faceoffs such as BYU/Utah, Alabama/Tennessee, USC/Notre Dame and of course, Oregon and Rutgers.
Numerous undefeated playoff contenders were handed their first losses of 2025 starting with Miami’s loss to Louisville Friday night and continuing with Texas Tech, Ole Miss, Memphis all taking losses. Texas A&M survived a 45-42 thriller at Arkansas, UCLA keeps winning and controls their playoff destiny while Penn State and FSU continue to freefall.
Florida fired head coach Billy Napier following a win at Mississippi State while the coaching dominoes begin to fall with offseason speculation swirling about. The 2026 offseason will be one of the most spectacular, chaotic coaching carousels the college football world will ever witness.
Big time programs in Florida, FSU, Penn State, Arkansas and UCLA already have openings which could poach coaches from other programs, creating an even more immense void. Brian Kelly, Lane Kiffin and Jon Gruden have been floated out as candidates to fill some of these spots while Indiana got ahead of the curve and inked Curt Cignetti to an eight-year extension, shutting the door on any speculation that he would abandon the Hoosiers for Penn State.
Florida is by far the most intriguing opening even if Kiffin opts to stay at Ole Miss, which he alluded to on social media. UF could very well be the best job in the country when considering the program’s profile, their recruiting base, their athletic department’s track record of success and their boosters’ willingness to spend. After Florida’s last two hires, Gator football can’t afford another swing and miss when taking into account their basketball team just won a national championship and enters this season ranked #3.
Winners from week eight:
BYU football took down their arch rival in a nationally featured game and completely threw a wrench in Utah’s gameplan on fourth down and special teams. The Cougars are 7-0, the last unbeaten team in the Big 12 and are ranked 10th in the coaches poll.
Alabama beat the brakes off Tennessee in the first half, culminating in an Aguilar pick-six to give the Tide a 17-point lead. After their week one loss to FSU, Alabama has won six straight and sits with Texas A&M atop the SEC with a favorable schedule the rest of the way. Kalen Deboer now has a .864 win pct against ranked opponents, ranking first in FBS history.
Georgia Tech has completely capitalized on FSU and Clemson’s demise, improving the 7-0 on the season. Ranked now 7th in the country, the Yellow Jackets sit atop the ACC standings following Miami’s Louisville loss. They could be 11-1 when they take on Georgia in the regular season finale, a game that will have major playoff implications.
Week eight losers:
FSU and Penn State’s downfall should be studied. Penn State allowed 25 points to Iowa while the Noles lost to an Andrew-Luck-built Stanford team that has started to come to form. They look worse every week and just might not land some of the big name coaching hires they would usually expect. These two athletic departments have crucial decisions to make this offseason.
Kyle Whittingham‘s coaching absolutely lost Utah their game at BYU and tanked them out of the rankings. He’s falling in bad graces amongst the Utah faithful with many fans clamoring for him to step down from his position. After over two decades in SLC, the times have passed him by; his style of football is a relic of the past. They take on Colorado this weekend with the starting QB Dampier doubtful to play. Utah may not obtain bowl eligibility for the second straight season.
LSU had national championship hopes just two months ago and sits at 5-2 following their first loss to Vandy in almost four decades. Brian Kelly is the worst possible culture fit in Baton Rouge and since the team’s not winning, that’s becoming a major point of emphasis. Nussmeier hasn’t panned out to be the first round QB many expected him to be and the Tigers have Texas A&M and Alabama the next two weeks. Splitting those two could save Kelly his job.
My rankings:
- Ohio State
- Indiana
- Texas A&M
- Alabama
- Georgia Tech
- Georgia
- BYU
- Vanderbilt
- Oregon
- Ole Miss
- Louisville
- Miami
- Oklahoma
- Virginia
- Texas Tech
- Notre Dame
- Missouri
- ASU
- LSU
- Michigan
- USF
- Texas
- Cincinatti
- Minnesota
- Tennessee
mitchlinsley.com 
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