Editor's note: The Athletic 134 is a weekly ranking of all FBS college football teams.
It's time to pay attention to BYU.
The Cougars are undefeated, with their only losses of the season coming to Kansas State and SMU. But BYU remains outside the top 10 in both the AP and Coaches polls. But not here. BYU is ranked No. 7 on The Athletic 134 this week.
I'm surprised Cougars don't get more love. They are undefeated at 7-0 with two very good wins. Both are better than the best wins of Iowa State (Iowa) and several other teams near that spot in the poll. In fact, they've been in my top 10 for weeks.
Maybe it's because BYU plays twice on Friday night, or maybe it's because the 38-9 win against Kansas State was a Saturday 10:30 p.m. kickoff. Yes, the Cougars have played some close games and needed a late touchdown to beat Oklahoma State, but this team, especially this defense, has looked legit and currently ranks 13th in yards allowed per play. is.
The schedule for the second half will also be sorted out, so keep an eye out. BYU and Iowa State do not play each other in the regular season. The Cougars have already defeated K-State and will not play Colorado, which is 5-2. If the Big 12 wants to include two teams in the College Football Playoff, BYU will likely be one of them.
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We're more than halfway through the season, but there are still some surprising results that shake up the rankings. This week's The Athletic 134 is here.
1-10
| rank | team | record | Previous |
|---|---|---|---|
|
1 |
7-0 |
1 |
|
|
2 |
6-1 |
3 |
|
|
3 |
6-0 |
4 |
|
|
4 |
7-0 |
6 |
|
|
5 |
5-1 |
5 |
|
|
6 |
6-1 |
2 |
|
|
7 |
7-0 |
8 |
|
|
8 |
6-1 |
12 |
|
|
9 |
6-1 |
11 |
|
|
10 |
6-1 |
9 |
Georgia moved up to No. 2 after the win at Texas, but the Longhorns moved to No. 6 because their best win at this point would be for a Michigan team or an Oklahoma team to finish in the bottom. It went down. The loss to Alabama has kept the Bulldogs in first place, especially since the Tide lost again, and they currently sit behind Boise State, which was defeated by Oregon State.
Miami moved up the standings over Ohio State after the win at Louisville, but the matchup between Ohio State and Penn State in two weeks will be another shake-up.
Tennessee and LSU moved into the top 10 after the Vols defeated Alabama and the Tigers defeated Arkansas 34-10. Tennessee and LSU's resumes are incredibly even, but the Vols have a slight advantage as Tennessee is better at the top spot.
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Tennessee proved it's not a one-hit wonder against Alabama under coach Josh Heupel.
11-25
I was a little skeptical of Indiana's ceiling after beating a bad team, but after hearing about Nebraska's 56-7 relegation on Saturday, I became a believer and moved the Hoosiers to No. 11. . Bad news: Quarterback Curtis Rourke is out indefinitely with a thumb injury. However, there is a path to 10 or even 11 wins. Iowa State fell two spots largely due to the performances Tennessee, LSU, and Indiana put in on the same day the Cyclones had to fight back late to survive UCF.
The University of Illinois is the only newcomer in the top 25, moving to 6-1 with a 21-7 win over the University of Michigan.
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Stewart Mandel's 12-team playoff predictions after Week 8
26-50
Teams outside of the top 25 suffered all kinds of losses this week. As a result, Syracuse, UNLV, South Carolina, Memphis, Army, Duke, and Cincinnati all moved into the top 35. Michigan State also moved up to No. 39 with a 32-20 win over Iowa. Next up is Michigan vs. MSU, which could have big bowl implications for both teams.
Is it weird that we stopped talking about Colorado right after the Buffs became a solid team? Colorado went 5-2 with a last-minute loss to Kansas State, a 34-7 win over Arizona, and a win over UCF. It is ranked 38th. It would be a shock if Colorado didn't bowl, but this is also an improvement for coach Deion Sanders.
No. 46 University of Florida and No. 47 Virginia Tech also cracked the top 50 after defeating the University of Kentucky and Boston College, respectively. Utah continued to slump after losing to TCU and is currently clinging to 50th place.
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Mandel's final thoughts: Georgia's defensive mayhem beats Texas and more from Week 8
51-75
USC widened its lead by another 14 points and fell to 52nd place after a loss against Maryland and falling to 1-4 in Big Ten play. Rutgers, ranked No. 53, dropped out of the top 50 with a Shocker loss to UCLA.
Louisiana improved to 6-1 overall after defeating Coastal Carolina and continues to sneak around the top of the Sun Belt, currently in 60th place. Meanwhile, Georgia Southern University defeated James Madison to take control of the Sun Belt East, moving up to 63rd place from last year. 82nd place. Toledo moved up to No. 68 after defeating Northern Illinois.
No. 65 North Carolina State and No. 66 California are the toughest teams to rank. North Carolina State recently lost to Wake Forest, but came back to beat Cal, which was 0-4 in ACC play, by a total of nine points. If the Golden Bears were able to make field goals, the record would be completely different.
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Morales: The University of Southern California has invested heavily in Lincoln Riley and his staff. Where can I find my results?
76-100
Baylor moved up to No. 76 with a surprising 59-35 win over Texas Tech. Texas State fell to 77th place with the loss to Old Dominion. Auburn took a double-digit lead against Missouri State and fell to 2-5, falling to 80th place.
In fact, No. 82 Western Michigan is at the top of the MAC with a 3-0 record after beating Buffalo, which beat Toledo and NIU. Marshall moved up to No. 81 last week after the Hurd's win over WMU and win over Georgia State.
The bottom of the Power 4 is held together. Purdue is the lowest in the group at No. 95, while Florida State is slightly ahead at No. 94 after losing to Duke for the first time. Mississippi State, ranked No. 93, has played heavily against Georgia and Texas A&M in recent weeks, while Houston fell to No. 89 with a 42-14 loss to Kansas State.
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101-134
New Mexico State won three straight after a 50-45 barnburner against Utah State in coach Bronco Mendenhall's first year and moved up to No. 106. UTSA's win over Florida Atlantic moves the Roadrunners to 110th place.
UTEP defeated FIU for its first win of the season and moved up to 129th place. This leaves Kennesaw State and Kent State as the only two teams in the FBS without a win.
The Athletic 134 series is part of a partnership with Allstate. The Athletic maintains complete editorial independence. Partners have no control or involvement in the reporting or editorial process, and do not review stories before publication.
(Photo: Chris Gardner/Getty Images)
