College football rankings: Predicting the AP Top 25 for Week 8

Can we call LSU the most confusing team in the country? The Tigers are the biggest mystery in the SEC by far, going from losing on the road against Florida in Week 7 to dominating the No. 2 team in the country at home in Week 7. Ed Orgeron got a strong performance from his defense, making Jake Fromm’s life miserable and Joe Burrow led the offense with his arm and legs. This LSU team may actually be top-10 worthy again.

Notre Dame has to be thankful for Ian Book. Not only did the Irish struggle on Saturday afternoon against a hapless Pitt team, but they got a bailout performance from Book. He hit Miles Boykin on a perfectly-thrown 35-yard go-ahead touchdown pass. The Irish had to feel a slight hangover coming after blowing out Virginia Tech on the road in Week 6. The Irish must show more consistency, but they still look like a top-tier team.

A bye week came at the perfect time for Clemson as the quarterback drama was taking over. The Tigers and Dabo Swinney needed the week off to get everyone’s minds back in the right place. Clemson will play a tough NC State team at home in Week 8 and that could tell us a lot about the ACC race. For now, they’ll move up with a Georgia loss.

Was this the worst we’ve seen of Ohio State this season? It’s possible. The Buckeyes’ offensive line struggled, the defense didn’t look great and Minnesota hung in for four quarters, looking like a team poised for an upset in Columbus. Ohio State scored the final 13 points of the game to win 30-14, but the Buckeyes have some work to do. They finally looked beatable against an inferior foe, but Dwayne Haskins had yet another big game.

Yes, Alabama is No. 1 — again. The Crimson Tide will be the No. 1 team in the country until someone proves otherwise, which hasn’t happened yet. Missouri was the next team to get a shot at the Tide, but the Tigers became victims instead. They were unable to keep pace with Alabama, but the Tide had a scary moment with Tua Tagovailoa going down with a non-contact knee injury. He was questionable to return, but the Tide didn’t need to rush him back in with a blowout win.