College football rankings 2022: Projected Week 8 AP Top 25 after Tennessee downs Alabama, USC falls, Michigan rolls

Projected AP Top 25 college football rankings after Week 7: No. 12-11

12. Wake Forest Demon Deacons

When Sam Hartman was out of the lineup due to a blood clot issue to start the season, there were major questions about Wake Forest. And it also clearly took the star quarterback time to get his legs back under him once he returned. But in the three games prior to an off day in Week 7, the Demon Deacons have been nothing but impressive, even if the team is 2-1 over that stretch.

A double-overtime loss to Clemson before a 10-point win over Florida State and then a blowout victory over Army has Wake Forest cruising right now. They should be able to do the same as they return to action with games against Boston College and on the road against Louisville over the next two weeks as they quietly keep moving up the rankings.

11. Oregon Ducks

Oregon has been one of the better turnaround stories of the college football season. The Ducks began the year by getting totally buried by Georgia in one of the biggest games of Week 1 and everyone thought that Dan Lanning and Bo Nix arriving in Eugene was going to start off in quite a rocky way. But they’ve channeled another Rocky, meaning Balboa, as they’ve punched back and been exquisite since.

With just one loss still going against them, the Ducks had Week 7 off after going on the road to face Arizona and working the Wildcats in a huge 27-point win. But next up is welcoming UCLA to Autzen Stadium, which will be by far the biggest test that Oregon has faced since they got handled thoroughly by the reigning national champs.