Miami is No. 1 in the Week 8 AP Top 25 after a chaotic Saturday in which five of the AP's top seven teams lost. The Hurricanes (6-0) received 40 first-place votes. BYU jumped from No. 8 to No. 2 after a 28-24 win over then-No. 2 Notre Dame. Former No. 1 Georgia fell to No. 5 after losing at home to unranked Auburn.
What is the full AP Top 25 for Week 8?
| Rank | Team | Record | Previous |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Miami (40) | 6-0 | 3 |
| 2 | BYU (20) | 6-0 | 8 |
| 3 | Ohio State (9) | 6-1 | 4 |
| 4 | Notre Dame | 6-1 | 2 |
| 5 | Georgia | 6-1 | 1 |
| 6 | Indiana | 6-1 | 5 |
| 7 | Ole Miss | 5-1 | 9 |
| 8 | Texas Tech (1) | 6-0 | 10 |
| 9 | UCLA | 6-0 | 12 |
| 10 | Utah | 6-0 | 11 |
| 11 | Tennessee | 6-1 | 14 |
| 12 | Kentucky | 6-1 | 15 |
| 13 | Alabama | 5-2 | 6 |
| 14 | Houston | 6-1 | 20 |
| 15 | Iowa | 5-1 | 17 |
| 16 | USC | 6-1 | 19 |
| 17 | Wake Forest | 6-1 | 21 |
| 18 | LSU | 5-2 | 22 |
| 19 | Texas | 4-2 | 7 |
| 20 | Florida | 5-2 | NR |
| 21 | Boise State | 5-1 | 23 |
| 22 | Missouri | 5-2 | 13 |
| 23 | SMU | 5-1 | 24 |
| 24 | Northwestern | 5-1 | 25 |
| 25 | Arizona | 5-1 | NR |
First-place votes in parentheses. Rankings as published by the AP and listed by ESPN.
What were the biggest upsets in Week 7?
| Result | What it means |
|---|---|
| Auburn 27, No. 1 Georgia 24 | No. 1 falls at home to an unranked team |
| No. 8 BYU 28, No. 2 Notre Dame 24 | BYU becomes a playoff contender |
| No. 4 Ohio State 19, No. 5 Indiana 15 | Buckeyes win a road heavyweight game |
| No. 14 Tennessee 26, No. 6 Alabama 10 | Alabama's second straight loss |
| Florida 27, No. 7 Texas 24 | Texas loses again, at home |
| Michigan State 21, No. 25 Northwestern 24 | Northwestern hangs on and stays ranked |
How did BYU beat Notre Dame?
BYU was without star running back LJ Martin and entered as a double-digit underdog, according to ESPN. The Cougars still converted 8 of 12 third downs and scored a touchdown on all four red-zone trips. Walker Lyons scored the go-ahead touchdown with 1:47 left.
Quarterback Bear Bachmeier threw a touchdown pass, ran for two more and caught a touchdown on a trick play. That made him the second BYU quarterback, after Ty Detmer, to beat an AP top-2 team. Notre Dame's CJ Carr completed a career-low 55.1% of his passes.
For coach Kalani Sitake, it was personal. He stormed the field as a high schooler in 1990, when Detmer's BYU beat No. 1 Miami. ESPN says BYU is 29-4 since the start of 2024.
"A lot of people weren't respecting us," linebacker Cade Uluave said. "That's just the final truth."
What's wrong with Texas and Alabama?
Texas went from No. 1 to No. 19 in two weeks. According to ESPN, the Longhorns rank:
- 104th in yards per play
- 102nd in rushing offense
- 126th in plays of 20-plus yards
Alabama was averaging 49.6 points a game before scoring 17 against Georgia and 10 against Tennessee.
What are the big games in Week 8?
- No. 7 Ole Miss at No. 19 Texas. ESPN lists Texas as the betting favorite despite the rankings.
- Texas A&M at No. 13 Alabama
- No. 14 Houston at No. 10 Utah
- No. 8 Texas Tech vs. Cincinnati
