College Football Rankings: The Winners And Losers In The Week 8 Polls

The best part of the college football polls every week is the discussion they bring. With that in mind, a rundown of the winners and losers from this week’s rankings.

Oregon is the big winner in the Week 8 polls. The Ducks, idle this week, claim the top spot in both major polls for the first time in school history.

Boise State also gets a win this week. The Broncos have moved into the top two for the first time in school history, and are high enough that inertia may help their standing in the BCS rankings as the season progresses.

It’s also nice to see Michigan State rewarded with a top-ten ranking for a solid season, but even more useful for the Big Ten for Ohio State and Wisconsin to be rated highly despite a loss. The Spartans and Buckeyes don’t meet this season, and the other two matchups between the three teams have already happened, meaning none of them can knock each other out of the top ten and deny the Big Ten a lucrative BCS at-large berth.

The biggest loser this week is Nebraska which falls from the top five to out of the top 10 after losing at home to Texas. The Huskers are still the second-highest-ranked Big 12 team, but their chances at a BCS title all but evaporated yesterday in Lincoln.

TCU also gets shafted in the Week 8 polls, but it’s not their fault: Oklahoma sliding up is no real reflection on the Horned Frogs. It does, however, mean that TCU is not in line to be competing for a BCS National Championship even if one of the top three teams lose.

And of course, the coaches show up in the losers category for, among other issues, continuing to overrate Oklahoma State and Missouri, slotting Wisconsin behind Ohio State, and elevating West Virginia six spots mostly because of other teams’ losses.