Craig Meyer, USA TODAY NETWORK Sun, October 25, 2026 at 4:38 PM UTC · 3 min read About Our Ads Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement After an action-packed Week 7 of the college football season in which five of the top seven teams in the US LBM Coaches Poll lost on a day that featured a handful of matchups between top-15 teams, the conventional wisdom was that Week 8 would be slightly less eventful.
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As college football so often does, even when it's least expected, chaos reigned. No. 3 BYU , seven days removed from a monumental home win against then-No. 2 Notre Dame, fell in double overtime at Central Florida, 39-31, to suffer its first loss of the season (though fans did grumble about a questionable roughing the kicker call ).
No. 5 Texas Tech was drubbed on the road by Cincinnati , 37-24, in a matchup of Big 12 teams who have very different reasons to not be particularly happy with Brendan Sorsby . In arguably the highest-profile matchup of the day, No. 7 Mississippi was knocked off by No. 18 Texas , with the host Longhorns snapping a two-game losing streak in the process. No. 11 Tennessee, coming off a rivalry win the previous week against Alabama , lost to South Carolina on a 48-yard field goal as time expired.
In all, three of the top seven and four of the top 11 teams in the Coaches Poll lost.
Those weren't the only notable results, of course. In maybe the most anticipated matchup of the slate, No. 9 Utah remained undefeated in a hard-fought 21-13 win against No. 16 Houston to move into first place in the Big 12 standings on a day in which the league's only two other unbeaten teams fell. No. 6 Indiana outlasted Michigan in overtime, 13-6, in a low-scoring affair . No. 14 Iowa and No. 15 USC both lost to unranked teams on the road, falling to Minnesota and Wisconsin , respectively.
So, after all the wreckage, where do things stand?
Here's a look at how the results from Week 8 of the college football season impacted the Week 9 Coaches Poll and AP Top 25 rankings:
From die-hard alumni to lifelong fans, these celebrities have made memorable appearances at college football games across the country. Above, Texas superfan Matthew McConaughey leaves the field following a game at Cotton Bowl on October 10, 2026 in Dallas, Texas. (Stacy Revere, Getty Images) Actor Glen Powell takes selfie with fans prior to the game between the Texas Longhorns and the Tennessee Volunteers at Neyland Stadium on September 26, 2026 in Knoxville, Tennessee. (Johnnie Izquierdo, Getty Images) Morgan Freeman walks to the stage as the guest picker during ESPN’s College GameDay in Oxford, Miss., on Saturday, Sept. 19, 2026. The GameDay visit for the Ole Miss-LSU game marks the return of head coach Lane Kiffin since leaving Ole Miss. (Ayrton Breckenridge/Clarion Ledg, USA TODAY Network via Reuters Co) Actor and College Gameday guest picker Johnny Knoxville reacts prior to the game between the Tennessee Volunteers and the Texas Longhorns at Neyland Stadium on September 26, 2026 in Knoxville, Tennessee. (Johnnie Izquierdo, Getty Images) Rap artist Bun B leads the Houston Cougars onto the field before the game against the UCF Knights at TDECU Stadium. (Troy Taormina, IMAGN IMAGES via Reuters Connect) Nick Bolton of the Kansas City Chiefs attends a game between the Missouri Tigers and Texas A&M Aggies at Faurot Field at Memorial Stadium on October 10, 2026 in Columbia, Missouri. (Ed Zurga, Getty Images) UFC Fighter Raul Rosas Jr. attends a game between the ULNV Rebels and the North Dakota State Bison at Allegiant Stadium on October 10, 2026 in Las Vegas, Nevada. (Louis Grasse, Getty Images) U.S. President Donald Trump, Sen. Bill Hagerty (R-TN) (L) and Sen. Marsha Blackburn (R-TN) appear on a video screen while attending the Texas-Tennessee football game at Neyland Stadium on September 26, 2026 in Knoxville, Tennessee. Trump, who has attended more college football games than any recent sitting president, attended the game between the No. 1 Longhorns and the No. 14. Volunteers, one of the biggest matchups in the country this weekend. (Tom Brenner, Getty Images) Texas Governor Greg Abbott in attendance for the game between the Oklahoma Sooners and the Texas Longhorns at Cotton Bowl on October 10, 2026 in Dallas, Texas. (Stacy Revere, Getty Images) Marqise Lee attends the game between the Southern California Trojans and the Fresno State Bulldogs at United Airlines Field at Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum. (Kirby Lee, IMAGN IMAGES via Reuters Connect) Pittsburgh Panthers former basketball head coach Jamie Dixon in attendance as the Panthers host the UCF Knights at Acrisure Stadium. (Charles LeClaire, IMAGN IMAGES via Reuters Connect) Pittsburgh Panthers former running back and 1976 Heisman Trophy winner Tony Dorsett in attendance as the Panthers host the North Carolina Tar Heels at Acrisure Stadium. (Charles LeClaire, IMAGN IMAGES via Reuters Connect) Caitlin Clark joins ESPN’s “College GameDay” as the guest picker Oct. 3, 2026 in downtown Iowa City, Iowa. (Julia Hansen/Iowa City Press-Cit, USA TODAY Network via Reuters Co) Matthew McConaughey looks on during the first half between Ohio State Buckeyes and Texas Longhorns at Darrell K Royal-Texas Memorial Stadium. (Scott Wachter, IMAGN IMAGES via Reuters Connect) 1 / 14 Famous college football fans and celebrities on the sideline in photos From die-hard alumni to lifelong fans, these celebrities have made memorable appearances at college football games across the country. Above, Texas superfan Matthew McConaughey leaves the field following a game at Cotton Bowl on October 10, 2026 in Dallas, Texas. (Stacy Revere, Getty Images) 1 / 14 Famous college football fans and celebrities on the sideline in photos From die-hard alumni to lifelong fans, these celebrities have made memorable appearances at college football games across the country. Above, Texas superfan Matthew McConaughey leaves the field following a game at Cotton Bowl on October 10, 2026 in Dallas, Texas. (Stacy Revere, Getty Images) 2 / 14 Famous college football fans and celebrities on the sideline in photos Actor Glen Powell takes selfie with fans prior to the game between the Texas Longhorns and the Tennessee Volunteers at Neyland Stadium on September 26, 2026 in Knoxville, Tennessee. (Johnnie Izquierdo, Getty Images) 3 / 14 Famous college football fans and celebrities on the sideline in photos Morgan Freeman walks to the stage as the guest picker during ESPN’s College GameDay in Oxford, Miss., on Saturday, Sept. 19, 2026. The GameDay visit for the Ole Miss-LSU game marks the return of head coach Lane Kiffin since leaving Ole Miss. (Ayrton Breckenridge/Clarion Ledg, USA TODAY Network via Reuters Co) 4 / 14 Famous college football fans and celebrities on the sideline in photos Actor and College Gameday guest picker Johnny Knoxville reacts prior to the game between the Tennessee Volunteers and the Texas Longhorns at Neyland Stadium on September 26, 2026 in Knoxville, Tennessee. (Johnnie Izquierdo, Getty Images) 5 / 14 Famous college football fans and celebrities on the sideline in photos Rap artist Bun B leads the Houston Cougars onto the field before the game against the UCF Knights at TDECU Stadium. (Troy Taormina, IMAGN IMAGES via Reuters Connect) 6 / 14 Famous college football fans and celebrities on the sideline in photos Nick Bolton of the Kansas City Chiefs attends a game between the Missouri Tigers and Texas A&M Aggies at Faurot Field at Memorial Stadium on October 10, 2026 in Columbia, Missouri. (Ed Zurga, Getty Images) 7 / 14 Famous college football fans and celebrities on the sideline in photos UFC Fighter Raul Rosas Jr. attends a game between the ULNV Rebels and the North Dakota State Bison at Allegiant Stadium on October 10, 2026 in Las Vegas, Nevada. (Louis Grasse, Getty Images) 8 / 14 Famous college football fans and celebrities on the sideline in photos U.S. President Donald Trump, Sen. Bill Hagerty (R-TN) (L) and Sen. Marsha Blackburn (R-TN) appear on a video screen while attending the Texas-Tennessee football game at Neyland Stadium on September 26, 2026 in Knoxville, Tennessee. Trump, who has attended more college football games than any recent sitting president, attended the game between the No. 1 Longhorns and the No. 14. Volunteers, one of the biggest matchups in the country this weekend. (Tom Brenner, Getty Images) 9 / 14 Famous college football fans and celebrities on the sideline in photos Texas Governor Greg Abbott in attendance for the game between the Oklahoma Sooners and the Texas Longhorns at Cotton Bowl on October 10, 2026 in Dallas, Texas. (Stacy Revere, Getty Images) 10 / 14 Famous college football fans and celebrities on the sideline in photos Marqise Lee attends the game between the Southern California Trojans and the Fresno State Bulldogs at United Airlines Field at Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum. (Kirby Lee, IMAGN IMAGES via Reuters Connect) 11 / 14 Famous college football fans and celebrities on the sideline in photos Pittsburgh Panthers former basketball head coach Jamie Dixon in attendance as the Panthers host the UCF Knights at Acrisure Stadium. (Charles LeClaire, IMAGN IMAGES via Reuters Connect) 12 / 14 Famous college football fans and celebrities on the sideline in photos Pittsburgh Panthers former running back and 1976 Heisman Trophy winner Tony Dorsett in attendance as the Panthers host the North Carolina Tar Heels at Acrisure Stadium. (Charles LeClaire, IMAGN IMAGES via Reuters Connect) 13 / 14 Famous college football fans and celebrities on the sideline in photos Caitlin Clark joins ESPN’s “College GameDay” as the guest picker Oct. 3, 2026 in downtown Iowa City, Iowa. (Julia Hansen/Iowa City Press-Cit, USA TODAY Network via Reuters Co) 14 / 14 Famous college football fans and celebrities on the sideline in photos Matthew McConaughey looks on during the first half between Ohio State Buckeyes and Texas Longhorns at Darrell K Royal-Texas Memorial Stadium. (Scott Wachter, IMAGN IMAGES via Reuters Connect) College football rankings after Week 8 US LBM Coaches Poll First-place votes in parentheses
Others receiving votes: Oklahoma State 120; Wisconsin 114; Cincinnati 49; New Mexico 43; Minnesota 35; UTSA 34; Nebraska 27; Virginia Tech 16; Oregon State 15; South Carolina 12; Duke 12; Oregon 5; Auburn 4; North Texas 2; Michigan 2; UCF 1; Oklahoma 1; James Madison 1;
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This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: College football rankings after Week 8: Updated US LBM Coaches Poll, AP Top 25
Source: Sports
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