Projected college football rankings after Oregon avoids travel curse and BYU survives

While you were sleeping, a pair of top-15 teams for wins on Friday night to really start Week 8 of the 2024 college football season off with a bang. No. 2 Oregon had very little issues dealing with the pitiful Purdue Boilermakers at Ross-Ade. The Ducks left West Lafayette with a breezy 35-0 shutout of Ryan Walter’s football team, who now falls to 1-6 overall and 0-4 in Big Ten play. Oregon is now 7-0!

Although it remains to be seen if Oregon has a shot at No. 1 in the next college football rankings, BYU could see the Cougars fall from No. 13. While they did get a 38-35 victory over Oklahoma State on Friday night, that game was in Provo. Then again, beating a Mike Gundy team that is coming off a bye is almost as impressive as beating an Andy Reid team that is coming off a bye, for what that is worth.

Let’s see if either game featuring a ranked opponent on Friday will impact the projected rankings.

1. Texas Longhorns
2. Oregon Ducks
3. Penn State Nittany Lions
4. Ohio State Buckeyes
5. Georgia Bulldogs
6. Miami Hurricanes
7. Alabama Crimson Tide
8. LSU Tigers
9. Iowa State Cyclones
10. Clemson Tigers
11. Tennessee Volunteers
12. Notre Dame Fighting Irish
13. BYU Cougars
14. TExas A&M Aggies
15. Boise State Broncos
16. Indiana Hoosiers
17. Kansas State Wildcats
18. Ole Miss Rebels
19. Missouri Tigers
20. Pittsburgh Panthers
21. SMU Mustangs
22. Illinois Fighting Illini
23. Army Black Knights
24. Michigan Wolverines
25. Navy Midshipmen

Even though Oregon has a case to be No. 1 next week should Georgia beat Texas in Austin, the Ducks beat a team with one win on the year. The Ducks are not going to be ranked any lower than No. 2 next week. As far as BYU is concerned, the Cougars might be 7-0, but it feels like the Associated Press is looking for any evidence to downgrade this Big 12 contender. It could happen, but they will stay put.

It is because we have a full slate of games ahead of us on Saturday that will really impact the rankings.

Right now, Oregon looks like the best bet in the Power Four to go undefeated this season. Texas is the only team that has not lost yet in the SEC, but that conference is already starting to cannibalize. BYU will have a legitimate shot of getting to Arlington unscathed, but the Cougars could face their equal in the Big 12 title bout. Who that ends up being remains to be seen, Iowa State or someone else entirely.

Overall, Oregon feels like a lock to make the College Football Playoff, while BYU is very much on the bubble. This is because the Big Ten will be getting in between three and four teams this season. Oregon will be a top-three team in its league by the end of the season. While BYU may be a top-two team in the Big 12, the league might not be strong enough to get multiple teams into the playoff.

Ultimately, Oregon’s win over Purdue was impressive, while BYU getting all that it could handle from Oklahoma State was a tad concerning. The Pokes might be having a year from hell, but conversely, everything that could go BYU’s way this season has gone the Cougars’ way. It will all even out in the end. Then again, there is a chance that we may be watching the best BYU team since what, 1984?

Oregon will remain top-two, while BYU will remain top-15 no matter what after this weekend’s games.