What are the biggest lessons learned for each Top 25 team through Week 8?
Trailing Ole Miss after halftime, Georgia quarterback Gunner Stockton delivered in a big moment once again in the Bulldogs’ come-from-behind win over the fifth-ranked Rebels on Saturday.
« He’s wired for these tight moments because he’s tough », Georgia coach Kirby Smart said afterward of the Bulldogs’ quarterback. « His team believes in him. »
Nearly 60% of the way through the 2025 college football regular season, we’re learning more about the nation’s top programs with each passing week. Rising stars, like Stockton, are emerging. Surprise powers are gaining steam in the College Football Playoff race. And once-vaunted title contenders are showing their true colors, falling off one by one.
Week 8 featured statement wins in the SEC from Alabama, Georgia and Vanderbilt and gut-check defeats for CFP favorites Miami, Ole Miss and Texas Tech. Quarterbacks Diego Pavia (Vanderbilt) and Fernando Mendoza (Indiana) padded their Heisman Trophy résumés, while Carson Beck’s candidacy suffered a blow in Miami’s defeat to Louisville. At Notre Dame, we saw just how dangerous the Fighting Irish can be when, you know, they simply hand the ball off to Jeremiyah Love.
With Week 8 in the books, this week’s power rankings explore the biggest lessons we’ve learned about the top teams across the country so far this fall. — Eli Lederman
Previous ranking: 1
The Buckeyes brought back a pair of star defenders from last year’s national championship team in safety Caleb Downs and linebacker Sonny Styles. Yet there might not be a defender playing better in college football than Styles’ cohort at linebacker, Arvell Reese. The junior from Cleveland has been an absolute game-wrecker, compiling a team-high 42 tackles and 5.5 sacks for a defense that has given up just 41 points all season. Reese is establishing himself as a first-round NFL draft talent while teaming up with Styles to give the Buckeyes the best linebacking duo in the country. Ohio State had the No. 1-ranked defense last year. Reese is a big reason the Buckeyes are suffocating the opposition once again. — Jake Trotter
Previous ranking: 3
The Hoosiers have another star at quarterback in Fernando Mendoza, who not only has emerged as a Heisman front-runner but is rocketing up 2026 NFL draft boards as potentially the top quarterback prospect. The Cal transfer has completed 73.5% of his passes and tossed a national-best 21 touchdowns with only two interceptions. Mendoza is also fifth nationally with a QBR of 87.7 and fourth in yards per passing attempt (9.7). Indiana won 10 games for the first time in school history and made it to the playoff last year behind the arm of Ohio transfer quarterback Kurtis Rourke. The second-ranked Hoosiers are getting even better quarterback play this season. — Trotter
Previous ranking: 4
The biggest lesson Texas A&M has learned this year, according to coach Mike Elko, is how to win. That was tested again Saturday against a dangerous Arkansas team in Bobby Petrino’s first home game since returning as interim coach, and just the Aggies’ second visit to Fayetteville since 1990, when the Ags and Hogs were Southwest Conference members. Marcel Reed threw for 280 yards and three TDs and ran for 55 yards and another score — he had another 57-yard TD run called back on a penalty — and A&M is 7-0 for the first time since 1994. The Aggies allowed 8.4 yards per carry and will have to tighten that up. They head to Baton Rouge this week to face an LSU team coming off a loss to Vanderbilt, then play at Missouri, before returning home to face South Carolina and Samford, setting up the final-game showdown against Texas. The schedule is tough but manageable, and now Elko will find out how far along they are in their education. — Dave Wilson
Previous ranking: 7
Perhaps the biggest lesson the Crimson Tide have learned is how to play with an edge, something that was missing in the season-opening loss to Florida State. Over their six-game winning streak, the Tide have rewritten the narrative to their season, and coach Kalen DeBoer praised his team for finding a different way to win every week with the type of edge that makes the difference. In a 37-20 win over Tennessee, it was the defense that stepped up for its best performance to date. Ty Simpson has led the way with his steady leadership, making clutch throws to help the Tide seal wins against Georgia and Missouri. It has not looked pretty at times, and DeBoer acknowledges this team still has a long way to go, but the sign of any good team is finding ways to win. And that is what Alabama has done since the opener. The Crimson Tide are now sitting in great position to make their way back to the SEC title game, particularly after four straight wins against ranked conference opponents. Quite the turnaround from late August, when there were questions about whether DeBoer was the right guy to lead this team. — Andrea Adelson
Previous ranking: 8
Georgia fans who had any lingering doubts about quarterback Gunner Stockton probably don’t have them any longer after Saturday’s 43-35 victory against Ole Miss. After missing two days of practice because of an oblique injury he sustained in the victory at Auburn on Oct. 11, Stockton returned and had the best game of his career against the Rebels. He completed 26 of 31 passes for 289 yards, ran 10 times for 59 yards and scored five total touchdowns. Stockton was a perfect 12-for-12 with three touchdowns in the second half. In his first full season as Georgia’s starter, Stockton has shown plenty of toughness, physically and mentally. Even when the Bulldogs fell behind in games against Tennessee, Alabama, Auburn and Ole Miss, Stockton never flinched. He ranks No. 2 in the FBS in total QBR (91.0) and has thrown only one interception with 17 total touchdowns. — Mark Schlabach
Previous ranking: 9
After losing their first home game in the Dan Lanning era since 2022, the Ducks took out their frustration on Rutgers, scoring 56 points in just three quarters and gaining 750 total yards on their way to a commanding bounce-back victory. Oregon’s misstep against Indiana on Oct. 11 could have allowed for the cross-country road trip to be a letdown spot. Instead, Lanning & Co. proved that the Ducks still have all the makings of a title contender. If there’s any lesson they have learned through seven games, it is that their running game is as good as any in the country and likely should be what carries them forward the rest of the season. On Saturday, they rushed for 415 yards, bumping their average per game to 243 yards — the ninth-best mark in the nation — and this season they boast four rushers who have 249 yards or more on the ground and have combined for 18 rushing touchdowns. — Paolo Uggetti
Previous ranking: 10
The last remaining unbeaten team in the ACC? That would be the Yellow Jackets, just as we all predicted back in August, right? Saturday’s win at Duke was hardly emphatic, but Tech got the breaks it needed, and Haynes King was outstanding once again, throwing for 205 yards, running for 120 and scoring once. The fact Duke tested Georgia Tech’s secondary isn’t a surprise. The Blue Devils’ passing attack is ferocious. And any red flags raised aren’t likely to be serious concerns against the next few opponents. But awaiting at year’s end is Georgia, and the Bulldogs will test Georgia Tech’s defense significantly. The Jackets need to be ready. — David Hale
Previous ranking: 2
Carson Beck’s four interceptions doomed Miami in a loss to Louisville that felt like another check mark in the « How to blow your postseason expectations » playbook the Canes have run for a while now.
