Live, up-to-the-minute Week 8 college football rankings: Vandy rolls on, Georgia Tech avoids upset

On College GameDay, when Nick Saban spurned Vanderbilt for LSU in his pick for the game, he defended his selection, saying it's hard for him to come to terms with Vanderbilt turning the corner and being a good program. Well Saban, it's time to start showing Vanderbilt some respect. They're a legit contender this season in the SEC and make a strong argument to land in the College Football Playoff.

For the second-straight season, the Commodores have a top 10 win at home, this time beating LSU 31-24. It shouldn't be a surprise anymore when Vandy pulls off a big win because it's seemingly what their new identity is. They're acting like they've been here before by not even storming the field or taking down the goal post; maybe it's time we start acting like they belong here too.

In the other marquee, ranked match to start Saturday's slate, Georgia Tech avoided the dreaded conference game upset loss to Duke, holding off the Blue Devils on the road for a 27-18 win. It's time to start thinking about CFP reservations for Georgia Tech as well. Usually by this point, they would have played themselves out of the conversation. It turns out, they just might belong too. Here are the projected rankings after an exciting early window.

1. Ohio State Buckeyes
2. Indiana Hoosiers
3. Texas A&M Aggies
4. Ole Miss Rebels
5. Alabama Crimson Tide
6. Texas Tech Red Raiders
7. Oregon Ducks
8. Georgia Bulldogs
9. Miami Hurricanes
10. Vanderbilt Commodores
11. Tennessee Volunteers
12. Georgia Tech Yellow Jackets
13. Notre Dame Fighting Irish
14. Oklahoma Sooners
15. BYU Cougars
16. Missouri Tigers
17. Louisville Cardinals
18. Virginia Cavaliers
19. South Florida Bulls
20. USC Trojans
21. Texas Longhorns
22. Memphis Tigers
23. Utah Utes
24. Cincinnati Bearcats
25. LSU Tigers

Vanderbilt earns respect of AP voters after another home upset, jumps to top 10

Diego Pavia; like him or hate him, he knows how to win the big ones. Last year he and the Commodores stunned the Alabama Crimson Tide and this year, Vanderbilt took down No. 10 ranked LSU for yet another ranked home win. It’s time to start accepting that this team is good and will be a team to watch in the SEC. The Commodores dominated this game from start to finish. 

This isn’t the same Vandy that’s going to get steamrolled each week. Clark Lea has turned his alma mater into a sleeper team in the SEC and with a top 10 win on the year, they could very well force their hand into the CFP. They’ll make the massive jump into the top 10 after dominating LSU on Saturday. 

LSU’s offense wakes up, but sufferers second loss of season and hangs on in rankings by a thread

Brian Kelly is entering the same territory as James Franklin at Penn State. Kelly suffered his second upset loss of the season and now the Tigers have a lot more questions than they probably want to answer. It’s another year of frustrating losses that ultimately keep the Tigers out of the College Football Playoff. As a two-loss team the Tigers could very well crash the CFP party, but it’s probably out of their control at this point. 

The SEC title game feels out of the question with two conference losses. They’d be fortunate enough to stay in the rankings after losing to Vanderbilt, but if they do, No. 25 feels fair for them. They still have Texas A&M, Alabama and Oklahoma left to play. This season could get out of hand fast if they don’t bounce back quickly.

More chaos to come in Week 8: Predictions for ranked matchups

While this first slate of games has plenty to be excited about, the chaos really starts in the mid-afternoon. Georgia will face Ole Miss in Athens in what could be a must-win game for the Bulldogs, as they already have one loss on the season. Alabama finds itself in a similar situation, as they play host to the one-loss Tennessee Volunteers in Tuscaloosa at Bryant-Denny Stadium tonight. Rivalry matchups in USC-Notre Dame (should the weather hold off) and BYU-Utah make for a fun day of college football that could come to define the CFP race when all is said and done.