There’s been a whole lot of changes since I’ve written one of these, hasn’t there? Like I mentioned in last week’s Games of the Slot, I’ve been maintaining my Top 25 rankings, but haven’t published them the past two weeks due to some mental health stuff I was going through.
We’re feeling better now - I hope - so that means the return of some rankings! The Last Week rankings will be from the Top 25 I made last week and, again, didn’t publish.
Instead of some fun thing like X-factors and stuff like that, I’m going to do a quick resume review for each team. That way, you get a feel for why I ranked them where I did.
2025 Week 8 Top 25
Indiana (6-0) LW: 4
The Hoosiers’ win over Oregon in Autzen is the nation’s best win, full stop. Curt Cignetti has his team looking like the nation’s best, and their blowout of Illinois and healthy win over Oregon put them on top for me. Long live Curt Cignetti!Miami (5-0) LW: 1
An idle week gets the Canes jumped by Indiana, but you can argue Miami’s resume is among the best of the nation, with two ranked wins (Notre Dame and South Florida) and a solid rivalry win over Florida State. Plus, Reuben Bain may be the nation’s most dominant player this season.Ohio State (6-0) LW: 2
I love what Matt Patricia has done with this defense (I can’t believe I just typed that) and the offense has started to click. It’s just the weaker strength of record that puts Ohio State a notch below the other two, for me. Indiana nearly doubled the Buckeyes’ margin of victory over Illinois and the win over Texas got better, but doesn’t compare to the strength of Miami’s two wins to me.Texas A&M (6-0) LW: 6
Mike Elko’s Aggies are rolling, avoiding a typical Billy Napier-led copium upset to do what good teams do and win the game. They don’t have a ton of strong wins aside from a road win over Notre Dame, but the SEC slate will allow us to see what Texas A&M really is. 8-4 would be a failure at this point.Ole Miss (6-0) LW: 4
The Rebels get jumped after a scare against Washington State, but they have two solid wins over LSU and Tulane, but both are at home. I’m just glad to see that DII Ferris State transfer Trinidad Chambliss is the guy here - he’s absolutely electric.Alabama (5-1) LW: 9
The reports of Kalen DeBoer’s demise were greatly exaggerated. The Tide are firing on all cylinders in all facets of the game and Ty Simpson is a Heisman contender in this offense. Turns out Ryan Grubb may have been the missing piece. The Tide’s continuously confusing loss to Florida State keeps them out of the Top Five.Texas Tech (6-0) LW: 8
Each week we say, “let’s see if the Red Raiders are for real?” And each week, they blow out a Big 12 team you can talk yourself into making a run. Even with Behren Morton getting hit with the injury bug and Will Hammond not recapturing his lightning in a bottle from a few weeks ago, Tech was unstoppable for a solid Kansas team. To me, they’re firmly in contender status.Oregon (5-1) LW: 2
The Ducks got routinely beat for just their second loss in Autzen Stadium under Dan Lanning. That doesn’t take away from their team looking great in their five previous wins. Yes, their double overtime win over Penn State no longer has too much shine, but Oregon has looked like one of the nation’s ten best teams on both sides of the ball. They’re down, but certainly not out.USC (6-0) LW: 14
And here comes Lincoln Riley. The Trojans went strength-on-strength against Michigan and dominated. The loss to Illinois is questionable, but plenty of teams near this range have questionable losses. No worries here, as the offense continues to rank among the best in the nation per both advanced and traditional stats. Plus, the defense looks like perhaps Lincoln Riley’s best.
Georgia Tech (6-0) LW: 10
The read on Georgia Tech was almost the reverse James Franklin: they’ll win against teams they have no business beating and lose to someone shocking. That’s changed, as the Yellow Jackets are now beating everyone and survived a typical scare against Wake Forest to win. Do they have a quality win? No. But Brent Key’s team has arrived and has contender status.LSU (5-1) LW: 11
There are some concerns on the offensive side of the ball still, as the Tigers haven’t clicked despite Garrett Nussmeier being cleared as healthy. At least Blake Baker’s defense is battling Matt Patricia’s Ohio State unit for the nation’s best. The vibes are down for sure, but in a defense-first college football year, LSU might have the juice to make a run? Maybe?Georgia (5-1) LW: 12
Kirby Smart’s Dawgs escaped the Jordan-Hare voodoo with the help of some referee-led dark magic and none of that has dissuaded me from feeling like Georgia may not be legit this year. The defense showed life we hadn’t seen this year, but the offense is still hit or miss. A win over Tennessee is good, but the loss to Alabama may come back to bite them.Utah (5-1) LW: 22
Shake off the loss to Texas Tech, Utah’s back. They dominated the Sam Leavitt-less Arizona State to jump back into the thick of the Big 12 race. Sure, it was expected that Utah beat a team led by Jeff Sims, who somehow still has eligibility, but this was a complete and utter domination. Utah’s blown out everyone except for Texas Tech and could get revenge in Jerryworld.Texas (4-2) LW: NR
So, yeah, Texas is back. Remember what I said about LSU’s defense? The same applies here. Pete Kwiatkowski has his Longhorn defense attacking and playing better than we saw in Week One in Columbus. Arch Manning played good enough to win, which is the recipe for Texas to make more runs.Oklahoma (5-1) LW: 7
A Red River Shootout upset lands Oklahoma right below their arch rivals. John Mateer played just 17 days after hand surgery and it looked like it. Brent Venables as a legit defense here, but it’s clear after this week that Mateer is the engine to make this team go. He needs to be healthy and ready to play going forward if Oklahoma is going to make a run.
South Florida (5-1) LW: 18
North Texas is good. USF blew them out, like everyone else they’ve faced this side of Florida and Miami. Still, I’d put the Bulls up with many of the resumes above them. A win over Florida isn’t great, but Byrum Brown and the South Florida offense showed they can play against a great defense. Yes, Miami beat them easily, but the Hurricanes are our second-ranked team. To me, South Florida is the clear final entrant into the playoff at this point in the season.Tennessee (5-1) LW: 19
Another week, another scare for the Volunteers as the Bobby Petrino-led Arkansas Razorbacks probably should’ve left this game with a win. Tennessee and Joey Aguilar play with fire each week, which makes for mighty entertaining football. But it’s also hard to place how good this team actually is. But, as I always say in these, good teams find ways to win games. Josh Heupel’s Vols have done that.Missouri (5-1) LW: 15
A narrow loss to Alabama drops Mizzou a bit, but I still have faith in this iteration of the Tigers. Their defense looks stingy, but Beau Pribula finally met his match in a big game. Can you take a quarterback out of Penn State and take the Penn State out of the quarterback? I think you can, as this was Pribula’s first big test and we can’t judge him and the Missouri offense too harshly. They kept the game within reach. Firmly falls under quality loss territory.Notre Dame (4-2) LW: 23
Speaking of quality losses, as Notre Dame’s losses keep improving - now two losses to Top Five teams by a combined margin of four points - the Irish also keep improving on the field. The rushing game is back. C.J. Carr is looking more comfortable. It’s time to test the Irish again, though, which we’ll see this weekend.Cincinnati (5-1) LW: 24
In the time I spent away from the newsletter, Cincinnati has surged into a solid Big 12 contender. Yes, their win over Iowa State has lost its shine, especially after another Cyclone loss, but that doesn’t take away from how the Bearcats are playing. Brendan Sorsby is incredibly efficient and Evan Pryor has come out of nowhere to be a bellcow back. The defense, led by two legit stars in Dontay Corleone and Jack Golday, may be better than the Bengals’ (surely, I jest).
BYU (6-0) LW: Next Five Out
I’m slow to the BYU train, mostly because I was in wait and see mode on the Bear Bachmeier-led offense. Now, I’m riding high with the Cougars. They, per usual, have one of the nation’s best defenses. Bachmeier is playing mistake-free football and relying on a strong rushing game behind L.J. Martin. Last season’s BYU snuck up on some observes as well. Maybe it’s time to consider that Kalani Sitake has built a sustainable program in Provo.Virginia (5-1) LW: 25
The upset of Florida State propelled the Hoos into the spotlight and that, as I’ve said many times here, isn’t looking too hot right now. Still, Virginia’s finally putting it together. They toppled a Louisville team I really liked. Aside from a strange early-season loss to NC State, they’ve blown out everyone they’ve faced past Florida State. With how efficient the offense is, the Cavaliers have serious staying power as a dark horse in the ACC race.Tulane (5-1) LW: Next Five Out
Yes, a blowout loss to Ole Miss is a black mark on an otherwise strong resume, but their two Power Four wins (Duke, Northwestern) is one more than South Florida has. The defense looks like the star-studded ensemble of Group of Six talent we expected it to be, but the offense scares me. It relies to heavily on Jake Retzlaff hero ball. So far, it’s worked out for the Green Wave, but that feels like a bill that will come due soon.Memphis (6-0) LW: Next Five Out
The top level of the American is absurd, landing three ranked teams in this rankings. For the Tigers, Ryan Silverfield has his program going to a higher level. Seth Henigan and the air raid worked wonders in years past, but adding in the legs of Brendan Lewis to this offense makes is ascendant. Well, in terms of Group of Six offenses. As always, the defense raises serious questions, but the Tigers are well-positioned for a solid race.Nebraska (5-1) LW: NR
Man, that win over Cincinnati is looking better, isn’t it? The Huskers are building a potent offense with mini-Mahomes Dylan Raiola slinging the ball around in Dana Holgorsen’s pass-happy offense. Their loss to Michigan wasn’t pretty and, aside from Cincinnati, Nebraska hasn’t looked like a complete team yet, but the pieces are there.
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Next Five Out: Arizona State, Illinois, UNLV, Michigan, Navy
Arizona State continues to be the most confusing team in the nation, but losing their quarterback just hours before kickoff isn’t a good recipe. I think they’ll bounce back, but their Big 12 title hopes are on life support. Ditto for Illinois, who already has two embarrassing losses to Indiana and Ohio State, but a solid win over USC. They appear destined to headline the Cheez-It Bowl. UNLV has flown under the radar, but sit at a perfect 6-0 and have won in a plethora of ways. The Last Chance U approach and an invigorated-looking Dan Mullen could make noise come playoff time. Michigan got beat bad by USC and don’t have much resume. Still, they’ve flashed as a contender so far, they just need to put it all together. Finally, Navy is yet again rolling behind should-be Heisman contender Blake Horvath in the modern triple-option. Seriously, tune in to see Horvath next weekend, he’s legit.
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