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. 10-9

10. USC Trojans

Early on, it looked like USC was about to put another Pac-12 foe to bed and continue to prove that they are a legitimate Playoff contender. They were on the road at Rice-Eccles Stadium, a place that has haunted the Trojans over the past decade when they go to face Utah, but seemed to be on track to take full control as Caleb Williams was having his way and the defense held strong early to get out to a 21-7 lead.

Instead, the defense folded in the second half as they couldn’t buy a stop and created a back-and-forth contest. In the end, it was all about timing as the Utes scored to make it 42-41 with under a minute remaining and then punched in the two-point conversion to pull ahead. USC couldn’t find any magic on the final drive and, thus, suffered its first loss of the season and possibly ended the CFP dreams of the program in its first season under Lincoln Riley.

9. UCLA Bruins

UCLA certainly earned their bye week after two convincing wins in which a lot of people were skeptical of the Bruins’ chances against both Washington and Utah. Chip Kelly and a superstar performance from Dorian Thompson-Robinson propelled them to two victories to remain undefeated and then this respite before they will be tested once again.

The Bruins will be on the road in Eugene next week for a huge clash with the Oregon Ducks, a team that has been rolling since getting blasted by Georgia in their season opener. This could be a game that will determine who will be playing the Pac-12 Championship Game when it comes to tiebreakers at the end of the season, meaning it’s another chance for UCLA to show it’s for real.