The Miami Hurricanes' first game as the No. 1 team in the country was a rousing success and their reward after a 52-23 win over Pitt will be another week at the top of the mountain.
As for the rest of the top 10, it was a mixed bag. BYU's reign as the No. 2 team in the land lasted less than a week and UCF won an entertaining, albeit very flawed, game in overtime. Ole Miss went on the road against another quality opponent and lost again. Maybe I'm alone on this island, but Ole Miss should drop pretty significantly after this loss. The Rebels rallied to make it close, but Texas was the better team on the field for most of the 60 minutes.
Six teams in the AP Top 25 didn't play and with the way college football is this season. A bye week is as good as a win. Here is my predicted AP Top 25 poll for Week 9:
Predicted AP Top 25 Poll for Week 9
1. Miami Hurricanes, 52-23 win over Pitt
2. Ohio State Buckeyes did not play
3. Notre Dame Fighting Irish did not play
4. Georgia Bulldogs did not play
5. Indiana Hoosiers, 13-6 win over Michigan
6. UCLA Bruins, 28-10 win over Michigan State
7. Utah Utes, 21-13 win over Houston
8. Alabama Crimson Tide, 31-20 win over Texas A&M
9. BYU Cougars, 39-31 loss to UCF
10. Kentucky Wildcats , 34-17 win over Vanderbilt
11. Ole Miss Rebels, 34-27 loss to Texas
12. Wake Forest Demon Deacons did not play
13. LSU Tigers, 38-17 win over Auburn
14. Texas Longhorns, 34-27 win over Ole Miss
15. Houston Cougars, 21-13 loss to Utah
16. Texas Tech Red Raiders, 37-24 loss over Cincinnati
17. Tennessee Volunteers, 27-24 loss to South Carolina
18. Florida Gators did not play
19. Boise State Broncos, 31-10 win over Washington State
20. Missouri Tigers did not play
21. SMU Mustangs, 59-20 win over California
22. Iowa Hawkeyes, 13-10 loss to Minnesota
23. Northwestern Wildcats, 42-14 win over Rutgers
24. USC Trojans, 24-7 loss to Wisconsin
25. Arizona Wildcats, 39-3 win over Iowa State
The CFP committee has their work cut out if current trends continue
Who wants to be in the college football playoffs? It feels like a game of hot potato. Once a team has established itself as a potential CFP lock, they go out and lose a game. I'm talking to you, Tennessee and you, Texas Tech.
Seven teams in the top 20 suffered losses in Week 8. Some of them weren't bad losses — like Houston losing a competitive game on the road, while others, like Texas Tech's road loss to Cincinnati and Iowa coming up on the short end in an ugly slug fest against Minnesota, will have the voters scratching their heads. But despite the losses, I don't think there will be a new team moving into the poll. USC drops from No. 16, but the Trojans will stay in at No. 24.
All the movement should benefit the ACC. Wake Forest could move up at least 3–4 spots and I think SMU might jump a few spots after a dominant second half against Cal. There's also the potential for Virginia Tech and Duke, both at 6-2, to receive some votes.
There is still one more week of games before the initial CFP Rankings come out and the top 12 is anyone's guess, but Miami is going to be No. 1 in the AP Poll for another week and that has to count for something.
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