ZN's CFB Top 25 :: Week 8 2008

With Oklahoma's shoot-out loss to Texas in Dallas, there's a big shakeup on top of my weekly rankings. I'm fully ready to take the worst homerism shots all year, and you'll know why in a second. Let me just say, I rarely rank teams where the "common belief" ranks them, just because everyone else is ranking them there. Sure, Texas beat Oklahoma, and the Sooners were supposedly the best team up until three days ago. But Georgia was also the best team, as was USC. So you can't tell me that there's no way, no how that Penn State can be the No. 1 team right now. If Texas wins this week, yes, I might put them at No. 1 over Penn State. But right now, treating Wisconsin like a junior varsity high school squad, in Madison, at night, looks a lot more impressive than winning a one-dimensional shoot out on a neutral field, at 11 a.m. local time.

Rank. Team (LW), [Record, LW Result].

1. Penn State (4), [7-0, Won at Wisconsin 48-7]
2. Alabama (2), [6-0, DNP]
3. Texas (7), [6-0, Won vs. Oklahoma 45-35]
4. Oklahoma (1), [5-1, Lost vs. Texas 45-35]
5. USC (10), [4-1, Won vs. Arizona St. 28-0]
6. Florida (14), [6-1, Won vs. LSU 51-21]
7. BYU (6), [6-0, Won vs. New Mexico 21-3]
8. Texas Tech (9), [6-0, Won vs. Nebraska 37-31]
9. Ohio State (8), [6-1, Won vs. Purdue 16-3]
10. LSU (5), [4-1, Lost at Florida 51-21]
11. Oklahoma State (15), [6-0, Won at Missouri 28-23]
12. Utah (12), [7-0, Won at Wyoming 40-7]
13. Missouri (3), [5-1, Lost vs. Oklahoma St 28-23]
14. Georgia (11), [5-1, Won vs. Tennessee 26-14]
15. Wake Forest (20), [4-1, Won vs. Clemson 12-7]
16. Boise State (16), [5-0, Won at Southern Miss 24-7]
17. South Florida (17), [5-1, DNP]
18. Michigan State (23), [5-1, Won at Northwestern 37-20]
19. North Carolina (22), [5-1, Won vs. Notre Dame 29-24]
20. Vanderbilt (13), [5-1, Lost at Mississippi St 17-14]
21. Connecticut (21), [5-1, DNP]
22. Minnesota (NR), [6-1, Won at Illinois 27-20]
23. Cincinnati (NR), [5-1, Won vs. Rutgers 13-10]
24. Ball State (NR), [7-0, Won vs. W. Kentucky (AA) 24-7]
25. Northwestern (19), [5-1, Lost vs. Michigan St 37-20]

Dropped Out:
Kentucky (18), [4-2, Lost vs. South Carolina 24-17]
Auburn (24), [4-3, Lost vs. Arkansas 25-22]
Wisconsin (25), [3-3, Lost vs. Penn State 48-7]

On the Cusp:
Tulsa (NR), [6-0, Won vs. SMU 37-31]
Virginia Tech (NR), [5-1, DNP]
Texas Christian (NR), [6-1, Won at Colorado St 13-7]
Georgia Tech (NR), [5-1, Won vs. Gardner-Webb (AA) 10-7]
Pittsburgh (NR), [4-1, DNP]
California (NR), [4-1, DNP]
Oregon (NR), [5-2, Won vs. UCLA 31-24]