College football rankings 2023: Projected Week 9 AP Top 25 after Ohio State rolls Penn State, UNC upset
- Ohio State and Alabama answered the call, manhandling Penn State and Tennessee
- UNC was stunned by one of the ACC's worst teams
- Florida State, Texas and Oklahoma all survived upset scares
Projected AP Top 25 college football rankings after Week 8: No. 20-16
20. Tulane Green Wave
In the midst of the chaos among ranked teams on Saturday, Tulane shockingly found itself in that conversation for a bit, even at home against a .500 North Texas team that has most certainly been flawed throughout this season. But Michael Pratt completed a monster game with a rushing TD to give the Green Wave a win and keep them firmly atop the AAC standings and among the best G5 teams in the country.
19. Air Force Falcons
It’s almost always a given that two service academies facing off can result in a slugfest, and that’s exactly what Air Force found itself in on Saturday as they went on the road to face Navy. The Falcons defense stepped up hugely to completely shut down the Midshipmen, but the offense with a less-than-100% Zac Larrier had to survive. They did, though, and now Air Force is cruising still at 7-0 and looking to capture the Group of 5’s New Year’s Six bid.
18. Louisville Cardinals
Louisville is certainly thankful for the break on their week off given the number of Top 25 teams, particularly in this range, who went down on Saturday. They also probably needed it to pick themselves up after the stunning upset loss to Pitt last week. Even still, the Cardinals will come out of the break to host Duke, which could be a huge matchup in the ACC Championship race for the back-end of the regular season.
17. North Carolina Tar Heels
Chapel Hill was left completely stunned on Saturday night as Drake Maye and the Tar Heels fell to the previously one-win Virginia Cavaliers. Everything that haunted UNC last season showed up on Saturday, with the defense incapable of stopping the run, the offense stalling at the worst times, and North Carolina paid for it. They’re still alive to make the ACC Championship Game, but this was a major blow to the team’s dark-horse Playoff hopes.
16. Missouri Tigers
You have to wonder how badly Eli Drinkwitz would love to have the Week 6 loss to LSU back with the way Missouri is playing. With still just one loss on the year, it’s looking more like the Tigers are the biggest challengers to Georgia in the SEC East this season. On Saturday, they dismantled the South Carolina defense, but also shut down Spencer Rattler to get a 34-12 win and remain a sneaky one-loss team with the chance to cause calamity in the conference.