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College football AP Top 25: Week 8 winners and losers

By Connor Muldowney

BATON ROUGE, LA - OCTOBER 13: Ahkil Crumpton #25 of the Georgia Bulldogs is consoled by coaches after a game against the LSU Tigers at Tiger Stadium on October 13, 2018 in Baton Rouge, Louisiana. LSU Tigers won 36-16. (Photo by Jonathan Bachman/Getty Images)
BATON ROUGE, LA - OCTOBER 13: Ahkil Crumpton #25 of the Georgia Bulldogs is consoled by coaches after a game against the LSU Tigers at Tiger Stadium on October 13, 2018 in Baton Rouge, Louisiana. LSU Tigers won 36-16. (Photo by Jonathan Bachman/Getty Images) /
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STATE COLLEGE, PA – OCTOBER 13: Penn State RB Miles Sanders (24) runs for a long gain. The Michigan State Spartans defeated the Penn State Nittany Lions 21-17 on October 13, 2018 at Beaver Stadium in State College, PA. (Photo by Randy Litzinger/Icon Sportswire via Getty Images)
STATE COLLEGE, PA – OCTOBER 13: Penn State RB Miles Sanders (24) runs for a long gain. The Michigan State Spartans defeated the Penn State Nittany Lions 21-17 on October 13, 2018 at Beaver Stadium in State College, PA. (Photo by Randy Litzinger/Icon Sportswire via Getty Images) /

Loser: Penn State Nittany Lions (No. 8 down to No. 18)

It was a tough week for Penn State as it feels like the Nittany Lions haven’t won a game in months. It only feels like that because the Nittany Lions lost at home to Ohio State and then had a bye, coming back only to lose to Michigan State in Happy Valley as well.

James Franklin is catching a lot of flak for his coaching performance against the Spartans, but Mark Dantonio just has his number, going 3-1 the Penn State head coach.

Is Franklin in over his head in the Big Ten? It doesn’t seem that way with his recruiting success with the Nittany Lions, but he has had a tough time with Ohio State, Michigan State and Michigan during his time with the program, for the most part.

That’s beside the point here, though. The Nittany Lions have now dropped two conference games against Big Ten East foes, essentially eliminating themselves from the title race.

Penn State has plenty of talent, but Trace McSorley and Miles Sanders will likely need to lead the way on the offensive side of the ball in order to win out. The Nittany Lions aren’t dead yet, but a playoff berth is more than highly unlikely.

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