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 and handed Kansas State and SMU their only losses of the season. Still, BYU remains outside the top 10 in the AP and Coaches polls. But not here. BYU sits at No. 7 in this week’s edition of The Athletic 134.
I’m surprised the Cougars haven’t gotten more love. They are undefeated at 7-0 and have two very good wins, both better than the best wins of Iowa State (Iowa) and several other teams around their place in the polls. In fact, they’ve been in my top 10 for weeks.
Maybe it’s because BYU played twice on Friday nights, or because its 38-9 win over Kansas State was at 10:30 p.m. on a Saturday. Yes, the Cougars played some close games and needed a late touchdown to beat Oklahoma State, but this team and especially this defense looks legit, now 13th in yards per play allowed.
You should also take this into account because the second half of the schedule is manageable. BYU and Iowa State do not play each other in the regular season. The Cougars have already beaten K-State and won’t play 5-2 against Colorado. If the Big 12 wants to get two teams into the College Football Playoff, BYU will likely be one of them.
GO DEEPER
AP Top 25: Oregon new No. 1; Vandy ends election drought
We are more than halfway through the season and we are still getting surprise results that shake up the rankings. Here is this week’s edition of The Athletic 134.
1-10
| Rank | Team | Save | 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 slides to No. 2 after its win at Texas, while the Longhorns fall to No. 6 because their best win to this point is a sliding Michigan team or a sliding Oklahoma. The Bulldogs’ loss to Alabama keeps them out of first place, especially after the Tide lost again and they are now ranked next to Boise State, who Oregon beat.
Miami overtakes Ohio State after its win at Louisville, but the Ohio State-Penn State game in two weeks will be another reshuffle game.
Tennessee and LSU move into the top 10 after the Vols beat Alabama and the Tigers beat Arkansas 34-10. Tennessee and LSU’s resumes are incredibly even, but Tennessee has the better win, so the Vols have a slight advantage.
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Tennessee proved against Alabama that it’s no one-hit wonder under Josh Heupel
11-25
I had been a little skeptical of Indiana’s ceiling after beating some bad teams, but Nebraska’s 56-7 demotion on Saturday turned me into a believer, putting the Hoosiers at No. 11. The bad news: Quarterback Kurtis Rourke is out indefinitely. with a thumb injury. But the path to 10, even 11 victories is there. Iowa State drops two spots, primarily due to the performances of Tennessee, LSU and Indiana on the same day the Cyclones needed to rally late to outlast UCF.
Illinois is the only newcomer in the top 25, returning after a 21-7 win over Michigan to improve to 6-1.
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Stewart Mandel Projections for 12-Team Playoff After Week 8
26-50
Teams just outside the top 25 suffered all sorts of losses this week. As a result, Syracuse, UNLV, South Carolina, Memphis, Army, Duke and Cincinnati make big jumps into the top 35. Michigan State also moves up to No. 39 after a 32-20 win over Iowa. Next up is a Michigan-MSU game that could have major implications for both.
Is it weird that we stopped talking about Colorado when the Buffs have become a solid team? Colorado is 5-2 and No. 38 after a 34-7 win over Arizona, which came after a last-minute loss to Kansas State and a win over UCF. It would be a shock if Colorado didn’t go bowling, which is another improvement for coach Deion Sanders.
No. 46 Florida and No. 47 Virginia Tech also enter the top 50 after handling Kentucky and Boston College, respectively. Utah continues to slide and is now clinging to No. 50 after losing to TCU.
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Mandel’s Final Thoughts: Georgia’s Defensive Havoc Takes Out Texas and More From Week 8
51-75
USC fell to 52nd after blowing another 14-point lead and losing at Maryland to fall to 1-4 in Big Ten play. No. 53 Rutgers lost a upset to UCLA and fell out of the top 50.
Louisiana continues to sneak atop the Sun Belt, now No. 60 after beating Coastal Carolina to move to 6-1 overall, while Georgia Southern took control of the Sun Belt East by beating James Madison and advances at No. 63 from No. 82. Toledo is ranked 68th after beating Northern Illinois.
No. 65 NC State and No. 66 Cal are the hardest teams to rank. NC State recently lost to Wake Forest, but turned around and beat Cal, which is 0-4 in ACC play by a total of nine points. If the Golden Bears could make a field goal, their record would be completely different.
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Morales: USC has invested heavily in Lincoln Riley and his staff. Where are the results?
76-100
Baylor moves up to No. 76 after a surprising 59-35 win over Texas Tech. Texas State falls to 77th after a loss to Old Dominion. Auburn blew a double-digit lead against Missouri, falling to 2-5 and slipping to No. 80.
No. 82 Western Michigan is actually atop the MAC at 3-0 after beating Buffalo, which beat Toledo and NIU. Marshall moves up to 81st because the Herd picked up a win against WMU and beat Georgia State last week.
The bottom of the Power 4 groups together. Purdue is lowest in the group at No. 95, but Florida State is just ahead at No. 94 after losing to Duke for the first time ever. No. 93 Mississippi State has faced Georgia and Texas A&M competitively in recent weeks, while Houston falls to No. 89 after a 42-14 loss to Kansas.
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Big 12 and ACC should relish multiple bids if they get them: College Football Playoff Bubble Watch
101-134
New Mexico won three straight after a 50-45 tie against Utah State to move up to 106th in Bronco Mendenhall’s first year. UTSA’s win over Florida Atlantic drops the Roadrunners to 110th.
UTEP earned its first win of the season, defeating FIU, to move up to 129th. That leaves the FBS with just two winless teams: Kennesaw State and Kent State.
The Athletic 134 Series is part of a partnership with Allstate. The Athletic maintains complete editorial independence. Partners have no control over or input into the reporting or editing process and do not review articles before publication.
(Photo: Chris Gardner/Getty Images)