• Iowa State and Pittsburgh join the top-10: Both the Cyclones and Panthers are undefeated at the midway point of the 2024 season.
• Ohio State and Ole Miss fall: The Buckeyes and Rebels tumble after suffering close losses in Week 7.
• Unlock your edge with a PFF+ subscription: Get full access to all our in-season fantasy tools, including weekly rankings, WR/CB matchup charts, weekly projections, the Start-Sit Optimizer and more. Sign up now!
Estimated Reading Time: 6 minutes
All offseason, we looked forward to Week 7. That’s because there were massive matchups to look forward to like Ohio State–Oregon, Texas–Oklahoma, LSU–Ole Miss and Penn State–USC.
The slate lived up to the hype as all but one of those ended up as a one-score game, with two of them going to overtime.
Ahead of what should be another great weekend in Week 8, here’s a look at our updated top-25 rankings. Please note that these are not the same as PFF’s power rankings.
Texas dominated then-No. 18 Oklahoma in the Red River Rivalry, winning by a 34-3 final score. The Longhorns’ defense was lights out in the victory, allowing just 3.4 yards per play. They’ll likely need a similar performance this upcoming week against Carson Beck and Georgia in the biggest game of Week 8.
In arguably the biggest game of the year so far, Oregon emerged victorious over then-No. 2 Ohio State with a one-point win. Dillon Gabriel reimmersed himself into the Heisman conversation with an 87.6 grade against the Buckeyes defense, which is one of the best in America. If Texas loses to Georgia on Saturday, the Ducks could be the new top-ranked team in the country as long as they take care of business against Purdue on Friday night.
Penn State mounted a 14-point comeback to escape Los Angeles with a 33-30 overtime victory over USC. Tight end Tyler Warren was sensational in the victory, tying the FBS record for a tight end with 17 catches that went for 224 yards and a touchdown, 145 of which came after the catch. The Nittany Lions will catch their breath with a bye week before traveling to Wisconsin next weekend.
After two straight double-digit comeback wins, Miami enjoyed a much-needed bye week and will travel to Louisville on Saturday.
After losing to unranked Vanderbilt last week, Alabama barely squeaked by with a two-point win over South Carolina on Saturday. While Jalen Milroe and the receivers struggled, the Crimson Tide’s offensive line held up very well against an elite Gamecock front. Alabama surrendered just four pressures on 28 pass-blocking snaps and earned an 81.7 pass-blocking grade as a team.
Georgia certainly didn’t earn any style points with a 41-31 victory over Mississippi State, as the Bulldogs entered that contest as 34.5-point favorites. While Georgia’s defense struggled, Carson Beck shined. He earned a 91.5 passing grade in the win with 465 passing yards and four big-time throws. Beck will face a Texas defense next week that leads the nation with a 93.9 coverage grade.
Ohio State tumbles a few spots following its loss to Oregon this past weekend. Despite the Ducks placing just 51st in run-defense grade, star tailback Quinshon Judkins averaged just 2.3 yards per carry. The Buckeyes will use this bye week to recover from the loss before taking on Nebraska in a couple weeks.
BYU continued to be one of the biggest surprises in college football with a dominant 41-19 victory over Arizona. The offensive line in particular was stellar, as they allowed just four pressures on 33 pass-blocking snaps while helping the running backs average 1.8 yards before contact per attempt.
Iowa State went into a tough road environment in West Virginia and beat the Mountaineers by a 28-16 final score. Quarterback Rocco Becht starred with three big-time throws and no turnover-worthy plays. The Cyclones are now 6-0 for the first time since 1938.
Pitt is off to its first 6-0 start since the Dan Marino days in 1982 with a 17-15 win over California. The Panthers’ defense excelled against the Golden Bears, allowing just 4.3 yards per play. Pittsburgh is off this week before taking on Syracuse next weekend.
