Projected college football rankings after Indiana destroys Nebraska, Miami struggles

Who says the early slate of college football can't be thrilling? Does anyone say that? Well, if they do, they're lying to you.

While many of the heavy hitters across CFB have yet to play, the early slate delivered some excitement. As it stands, here's how the AP Top 25 would shake out.

Projected AP Top 25 college football rankings after Indiana smacks Nebraska, Miami survives

1. Texas Longhorns
2. Oregon Ducks
3. Penn State Nittany Lions
4. Ohio State Buckeyes
5. Georgia Bulldogs
6. Miami Hurricanes
7. Alabama Crimson Tide
8. LSU Tigers
9. Clemson Tigers
10. Iowa State Cyclones
11. Tennessee Volunteers
12. Indiana Hoosiers
13. BYU Cougars
14. Norte Dame Fighting Irish
15. Texas A&M Aggies
16. Boise State Broncos
17. Kansas State Wildcats
18. Ole Miss Rebels
19. Missouri Tigers
20. Pittsburgh Panthers
21. SMU Mustangs
22. Army Black Knights
23. Illinois Fighting Illini
24. Michigan Wolverines
25. Navy Midshipmen

Here's what every ranked team did in the early window in Week 8.

Miami survives second-half scare versus Louisville

Having Cam Ward on your favorite team looks really fun, to be honest. Ward threw for 319 yards and four touchdowns as Miami's offense sizzled in a 52-45 win against Louisville. He may be slightly behind Boise State running back Ashton Jeanty in Heisman odds, but that gap is very narrow right now.

The offense hasn't been a problem all year for Miami, though, and its defense struggled to stop Louisville most of the day, allowing the Cardinals to stay in the game until late in the fourth quarter. This game was tied at 38 before Miami got some breathing room, but a touchdown with under a minute brought this game back within a touchdown.

Louisville isn't a bad team and Miami shouldn't be concerned about beating a solid conference opponent on the road, no matter how close it was. The Hurricanes should stay put at number six in the rankings as it stands.

Indiana moves up in rankings after decimating Nebraska

Well, that was a statement. Indiana dominated Nebraska for 60 minutes, doing whatever it wanted on both sides of the ball. On offense, the Hoosiers tallied almost 500 yards of offense, and the defense forced five turnovers. This wasn't against a bottom-tier Big Ten team, either, this was against a Nebraska team that received 62 votes to be in the AP Top 25 — meaning Indiana did this against basically the #27 ranked team in the country.

Indiana moves up four spots (and even that might be conservative) after its best win of the year. The Hoosiers are rolling.

Missouri stays put after sneaking by Auburn

The ugliest win is better than the prettiest loss... and this may have actually been the ugliest win. Missouri rushed for 82 yards, didn't score a touchdown until the fourth quarter and barely snuck by Auburn, making this their third heartstopping win of the year. And yet, the Tigers will head into Tuscaloosa next week at 6-1 with a chance to make a leap in the rankings with a win against Alabama. For now, they stay put at 19.

Army gets closer to top 20 after another convincing win

We're running out of excuses to keep Bryson Daily out of the Heisman conversation. If you haven't tuned into Navy football this season, you're missing out on one of the most fun players in the country. Saturday was another day at the office for Daily, who threw for 147 yards and a touchdown and bullied his way to 171 rushing yards and five touchdowns on the ground. Now he's breaking out spin moves on defenders, too.

Army beat East Carolina, 45-28, and has now scored 40-plus points in four straight games. If Army really wants to make a move in these rankings, it'll need wins against Norte Dame or Navy (or both!) later this year. For now, the Black Knights hop one spot up to 22.

Clemson continues to roll, beats Virginia comfortably

At the moment, Clemson jumps Iowa State for ninth in the poll after the Tigers offense continued to roll versus Virginia in a 48-31 win. A bad Week 1 against Georgia feels like a distant memory at this point, as Clemson has been spectacular since that 34-3 loss. Dabo Swinney's team has won six straight, each game by at least two touchdowns.

They'll get called out for their relatively weak schedule, but Clemson is doing everything possible to prove itself as a CFP team right now.