College football rankings 2023: Projected Week 8 AP Top 25 after Notre Dame blasts USC, Washington prevails
- USC looked completely fraudulent against Notre Dame
- North Carolina made a statement in Chapel Hill against Miami
- Washington is a legit College Football Playoff contender
Projected AP Top 25 college football rankings after Week 7: No. 10-9
10. Oregon Ducks
Oregon is going to drop in the AP Top 25, but none of the great fans in Eugene should feel substantially worse about their team after they got clipped in Seattle by a truly great Washington team.
The Ducks more than held their own in this high-profile matchup on Saturday, trading blows with Washington basically from the opening kickoff. You could question some of the late-game decisions – namely going for it late on fourth down (and not converting) – from Dan Lanning, but the team played well enough to win overall.
You should expect Oregon to still be inside the Top 10 of the rankings and, just as importantly, expect the Ducks to remain a contender to potentially get into the Playoff and/or win the Pac-12 this season.
9. North Carolina Tar Heels
How good is North Carolina? It still remains to be seen if they are a legitimate College Football Playoff contender, but there is no denying that the Tar Heels are one of the best teams in the country as they moved to 6-0 on the season with a thorough handling of Miami in Chapel Hill on Saturday night.
Drake Maye was imperfect in the first half, which helped the Canes get out to a 17-14 lead going into the locker room. UNC showed their superiority after the break, however. The Heels scored immediately after halftime, forced turnovers on the next two Miami possessions, and built up a three-possession lead that essentially allowed them to salt the game away.
The big change for UNC is clearly a much-improved defense from last year while the offense, especially with Tez Walker back, is still cooking. They could legitimately challenge for the ACC title and, perhaps, a CFP spot.