NCAA Football Rankings 2022: Predicting Top Movers in Week 9 Post-Week 8 Results
There likely won't be a ton of movement at the top of the AP Top 25 poll this week. No. 2 Ohio State, No. 3 Tennessee, No. 5 Clemson and No. 6 Alabama were all victorious on Saturday, while No. 1 Georgia and No. 4 Michigan were idle.
After that? There could be some big shake-ups throughout the rest of the poll, as there were six ranked teams that lost on Saturday, with five of those schools losing to a fellow ranked opponent.
Two top-10 teams fell this week, as No. 7 Ole Miss lost on the road against unranked LSU and No. 9 UCLA lost an away matchup against No. 10 Oregon. With the Rebels and Bruins both losing, other schools will have an opportunity to move up into those spots.
Here's a look at how the full AP Top 25 poll could shake out when it's released Sunday following Week 8 action.
Projected AP Top 25 Poll
1. Georgia (7-0)
2. Ohio State (7-0)
3. Tennessee (7-0)
4. Michigan (7-0)
5. Clemson (8-0)
6. Alabama (7-1)
7. TCU (7-0)
8. Oregon (6-1)
9. Oklahoma State (6-1)
10. USC (6-1)
11. Wake Forest (6-1)
12. UCLA (6-1)
13. Utah (5-2)
14. Penn State (6-1)
15. Ole Miss (7-1)
16. Syracuse (6-1)
17. Illinois (6-1)
18. Kentucky (5-2)
19. Cincinnati (6-1)
20. LSU (6-2)
21. Kansas State (5-2)
22. North Carolina (6-1)
23. NC State (5-2)
24. Tulane (7-1)
25. South Carolina (5-2)
Oregon Will Now Be Top-Ranked Pac-12 Team
Oregon made a statement on Saturday, when it had little trouble against UCLA, which had entered the matchup as the only undefeated team remaining in the Pac-12. Now, every school in the conference has suffered at least one loss. But for the Ducks, their lone defeat came a long time ago.
After dropping its season opener to No. 1 Georgia, Oregon has won six games in a row. Each of its past four victories have come against Pac-12 opponents, as the Ducks are now the only team in the conference with an unblemished record in Pac-12 play.
That means Oregon should be the highest-ranked team from the Pac-12, and it will be. The Ducks were already in the top 10, but they will likely move up multiple spots in the poll, probably to No. 8. The Bruins will head in the other direction, and they could even end up lower than USC and/or Utah.
As the clear front-runner to win the Pac-12 championship this season, Oregon is on the rise. And if it doesn't lose again, it may even become the first team from the conference to reach the College Football Playoff since the 2016 season.
TCU, Oklahoma State Will Both Be in Top 10
The Big 12 is poised to have two teams ranked in the top 10 after Saturday's action. TCU was already there and will be moving even further up, while Oklahoma State will also be on the rise this week.
TCU is having quite an impressive season. The Horned Frogs entered Saturday as the No. 8 team in the country, and then they notched a 38-28 win over Kansas State to improve to 7-0. Each of their past four victories have come against ranked opponents.
With No. 7 Ole Miss losing, TCU should move up one position and take over that No. 7 spot.
Meanwhile, Oklahoma State will likely move up multiple spots in the poll. The Cowboys, who entered the week ranked No. 11, pulled out a 41-34 victory over No. 20 Texas on Saturday to improve to 6-1. It was a strong bounce-back performance after they lost 43-40 to TCU in double overtime the week prior.
Expect to see Oklahoma State at No. 9 in the AP poll as the clear second-best team in the Big 12, behind only TCU.
LSU, South Carolina Set to Enter the Top 25
Two more SEC teams will likely be entering the AP poll this week, joining five of the teams from the conference that were already ranked. (Mississippi State, which was at No. 24, will be falling out after losing to No. 6 Alabama on Saturday.)
LSU is poised to be ranked for the first time since it was at No. 25 in the Week 6 poll. And the Tigers should be even higher than that after they handed No. 7 Ole Miss its first loss of the season on Saturday.
With a 45-20 home victory, LSU notched its biggest win of the year and improved to 6-2. The Tigers have now won six of their past seven games, and their only loss during that stretch came against Tennessee, which is the No. 3 team in the country.
South Carolina should also be ranked this week, which would mark its first appearance in the AP poll this season. The Gamecocks are 6-2 after their 30-24 home win over Texas A&M on Saturday.
Since losing back-to-back games to Arkansas and Georgia in Weeks 2 and 3, South Carolina has now won four in a row, a streak that includes SEC victories over Kentucky and now Texas A&M.