Fansided

College Football Rankings 2016: Week 8 AP Poll winners and losers

By Connor Muldowney

Oct 15, 2016; Knoxville, TN, USA; Alabama Crimson Tide defensive back Eddie Jackson (4) celebrates his punt return for a 79yd touchdown against the Tennessee Volunteers during the fourth quarter at Neyland Stadium. Mandatory Credit: John David Mercer-USA TODAY Sports
Oct 15, 2016; Knoxville, TN, USA; Alabama Crimson Tide defensive back Eddie Jackson (4) celebrates his punt return for a 79yd touchdown against the Tennessee Volunteers during the fourth quarter at Neyland Stadium. Mandatory Credit: John David Mercer-USA TODAY Sports /
facebooktwitterreddit
Prev
1 of 6
Next

Who could be the biggest winners and losers from the college football rankings, namely the AP Poll, in Week 8?

Can you believe that we are already halfway through the 2016 season and the College Football Playoff is quickly approaching? The Week 8 college football rankings have been released and it’s becoming pretty clear who the top teams in the nation are.

Only a couple of months stand between college football fans and the start of bowl season and that’s either a good thing for some teams or bad news for those scrambling to string a few wins together.

Some teams that started the season in the AP Top 25, such as Michigan State, Notre Dame and Oregon, have since dropped out and all are in danger of not making a bowl. That sounds odd to say since all three of those programs have been powerhouses over the past five-to-six years.

Still, others are remaining near the top of the rankings such as Michigan, Ohio State Alabama and Clemson are looking like the real playoff contenders.

Let’s take a look at the winners and losers from the Week 8 AP Poll which was released on Sunday afternoon.

Loser: Virginia Tech Hokies (No. 17 to unranked)

It’s extremely difficult to put a finger on how good, or bad, the Virginia Tech Hokies truly are. After beating North Carolina 34-3 on the road last week and looking like ACC dark horse contenders, the Hokies have lost to Syracuse on the road.

The Orange haven’t been able to beat anyone this year, going just 2-4 through their first six games and 0-2 in ACC play. The win over No. 17 Virginia Tech had to be huge for their confidence, but the Orange still aren’t considered a good team.

Virginia Tech’s stingy defense that showed up last week against North Carolina seemingly disappeared against Syracuse. In fact, the Orange passed for over 400 yards and rushed for over 150. Eric Dungey did whatever he wanted to through the air, and he exposed Virginia Tech’s secondary.

It’ll be interesting to see if the Hokies can get back into the Top 25 this season.

Home/College Football