Unafraid Show’s College Football Top 10 Rankings Week 8: Big Shake Ups

College Football Top 10 Rankings Week 8

Week 7 was the Best

The Unafraid Show College Football Top 10 Rankings Week 8 are not going to look like the AP Poll. Open your eyes to see a different view of evaluating the top 10. Most polls including the College Football Playoff Committee give college blueblood teams a massive “benefit of the doubt.”  I don’t believe in that. The college football top 10 teams are ranked by the correct criteria: quality wins, schedule played, and dominance. Only the games have played matter.

I re-rank the top 10 every week from scratch. The previous week’s rankings do not factor into the next week. So, the rankings will change, sometimes drastically every week because we will have new information.  For weeks I had been criticized for ranking Georgia, Penn State, and West Virginia too low. Week 7 proved me right.

Before we get to College Football Top 10 Rankings Week 8, you can reference the Unafraid Show’s College Football Top 10 Rankings for Week 7.

1.  Alabama (7-0) Last Week: #1

Alabama destroyed Missouri but suffered a casualty. Tua Tagoviloa left the game with an aggravation to his sprained knee. Nick Saban said he could have returned to the game if needed. The truth is that if Tagoviloa is not healthy Alabama goes from unstoppable offensively to mortal. Their defense is still the most dominant in all the land. This team feels a lot like the Patriots team that went 18-0. Will they have a different ending than losing in the championship?

2. Ohio State (7-0) Last Week: #3

The Ohio State moved up a spot this week. They had a dominant performance against Minnesota. The Buckeyes defense has made a living shutting teams down in the second half of games. Dwayne Haskins had another 400 yard three touchdown day. Their receivers Hill and Campbell can score every time they touch the football. Only Oklahoma has a more dynamic receiving corps. I can’t wait to see the Buckeyes play Michigan.

3. Notre Dame (7-0) Last Week: #2

Yuck. What an ugly win against Pitt. Ian Book had his first real struggles as starting quarterback for the Fighting Irish. But, he found a way to make enough plays to win. The Notre Dame defense has not failed them at all this year. They will need their best defensive effort in two weeks against Navy. I am still not fully buying into the idea that Notre Dame won’t have a let down this year. But, they have earned a seat in the College Football Playoffs at this point.

4. Clemson (6-0) Last Week: #4

Clemson had a BYE this week. They get a tough NC State team next weekend.

5. Texas (6-1) Last Week: #5

Texas will not let up. The Longhorns won with defense against Baylor. Their offense didn’t score a point after halftime, but they held on for the win. Texas fans should be concerned going forward. They lost quarterback Sam Ehlinger to a shoulder sprain, and who knows if he will miss time. Their offense is completely different without the threat of Ehlinger running the football. Next week Texas gets a much-needed BYE.

6. Florida (6-1) Last Week: #9

The Gators survived a scare from Vanderbilt. Florida’s offense is still less than impressive, but their defense is fast and physical. They will need to get more from Feleipe Franks passing the football for Florida to turn a good start to the season into an SEC East championship. Their win over LSU looks much better this week. Will they be able to beat Georgia in two weeks?

7. LSU (6-1) Last Week: #NR

We have to give Coach O credit. He has knocked off Miami, Auburn, and Georgia so far this year, so technically he does have three top 10 wins. The fact is that Miami and Auburn (lost to Tennessee) were ranked WAY too high in the preseason and neither will be ranked in week 8. Georgia was completely untested, and the Unafraid Show top 10 were the only place that didn’t have the Bulldogs in the top 5.  LSU is battle tested. Joe Burrow and the offense are complementing a stout defense. If the Tigers continue to improve, Bama better watch out.

8. Oregon (5-1) Last Week: #NR

The Ducks are back, and the Ducks are for real. They got an overtime win against their most bitter rival Washington. You haven’t seen Oregon play a physical brand of football like 2018 in a long time. The defense is tough and disciplined. The offensive line had controlled the line of scrimmage in all their games. Their quarterback Justin Herbert is as good as advertised. They have a trap game coming up this week at Washington State.

9. Michigan (6-1) Last Week: #NR

The Wolverines finally got a quality win. They took Wisconsin behind the woodshed and did some terrible things to them. I am starting to believe that this could be the year Michigan wins the Big Ten. Shea Patterson has breathed life into Jim Harbaugh’s offense.  If they can avoid stumbling against Michigan State or Penn State, the winner of the Ohio State vs. Michigan game will make the College Football Playoffs.

10. Central Florida (6-0) Last Week: #9

The Knights have won 20 straight games going back to last season. Much to the chagrin of the CFB Playoff committee, UCF escaped Memphis in week 8. It will cause too much commotion if UCF doesn’t get in the playoffs two years in a row undefeated. The only team people wish losses on more than the UCF Knights is Notre Dame. Both teams could take a spot for a Power 5 team.

Next Up:

Oklahoma, Georgia, Washington, NC State

I know some of you are steaming mad right now because your team is ranked too low or is unranked. Take a breathe and realize that your fandom is causing irrational thoughts. The College Football Top 10 Rankings Week 8 is accurate, unbiased, and unafraid.

Leave a comment or shoot an email: ImMad@unafraidshow.com… Yes, that is the real email address.

College Football: 5 Teams Headed for Disappointment

Yesterday’s list featured the 5 most overrated teams in College football this season. This list is different. These are the 5 teams most likely to disappoint their fan base. The unique part about this list is that some of these schools have National Championship caliber teams and some are teams looking to bounce back from a down year. These teams all have the same thing in common. At the end of the year they will be one play, one penalty, one injury, one dropped pass, or one missed field goal away from football fan euphoria.
5. Oklahoma– Not your fault your coach Bob Stoops retired abruptly. At least he waited until after the recruiting class was signed. Lincoln Riley was the offensive coordinator of the high-powered Sooners offense, now he’s the head ball coach. Coming off of 3 straight BIG XII titles expectations are high in Norman. The signal calling magician with the heart of a lion, Baker Mayfield is back. The offense will be fine despite losing so many playmakers to the NFL (Westbrook, Perine, Mixon). The defense on the other hand will have its hands full with BIG XII offenses and Ohio State in the shoe. Last year the Sooners gave up over 28ppg. Again, the defense will stand between the Sooners having a really good season and being real National Championship contenders.
Vegas win total: 9.5 (Over -140, Under +110)
4. Notre Dame– This is an exciting schedule for college football fans everywhere! Take note SEC, ACC, Pac-12, B1G, and Big XII, 11 Bowl teams and Michigan St on the schedule. That was the good news, now time for the bad news. The Irish are going to massively disappoint this season. In 2016, ND finished 4-8 with 4 soul-crushing defeats by 3 points or less. When I look at the schedule I cannot figure a way they get to 10 wins. Freshman QB Brandon Wimbush was highly coming out of high school, but is still inexperienced. Mike McGlinchey and Quenton Nelson are All-America candidates on an offensive line that returns four starters. While they Irish may be able to protect their QB, the question is can they stop an opponents offense. Last year the Notre Dame defense was almost as painful to watch as my Ducks. The Irish will try really hard this year, and fight hard. Anything over 7 wins should will be a victory.
Vegas win total: 7.5 (Over -130, Under EVEN)
3. Georgia– Even with Kirby Smart instead of Mark Richt as the coach, Georgia is gonna be Georgia. The Bulldogs fan base is excited and energized. Nick Chubb and Sony Michel will share the backfield again. Jacob Eason has the potential to be a good quarterback. The defense returns 11 starters, linebackers are the best unit on the team, and the secondary has 3 seniors.  Georgia’s schedule is super light, 3 very winnable non-conference games, and SEC schedule without Bama or LSU. What could possibly go wrong? I’m not sure, however, I am sure that the Bulldogs will find a way to get 9 wins out of what should be 11.
Vegas win total: 8.5 (Over -130, Under EVEN)
2. USC– The Trojans have a shot at the national championship with sophomore Sam Darnold at QB. He is the preseason favorite for the Heisman and favored to be the #1 pick in the 2018 NFL draft. The Trojans also have Ronald Jones at RB, who might be the most dangerous back in college football. So what could go wrong? A lot. Try having 12 straight games without a bye week, 11 of which are against Power 5 opponents. The one non Power 5 school that USC plays is Western Michigan. They won 13 games last season. Needless to say, a simple injury that a bye week could usually fix might derail the Trojans National Championship hopes. This is a really good team. One way or another head coach Clay Helton will answer all questions about if he the guy to lead the Trojans long term.
Vegas win total: 9.5 (Over -180, Under +150)
1. Florida State– I believe this team is a National Championship caliber squad if they can protect their sophomore stud QB Deondre Francois for change. The ACC was the toughest conference in college football last season. If that trend repeats, one loss in tough games against Clemson, Louisville, NCST could cost them a chance to play in the ACC title game and likely mean no College Football Playoff bid. The Seminoles defense will be stout with the nations best defender, Derwin James, back in the fold. Oh… I almost forgot about that game against Alabama week 1. And Miami… And Florida. Good luck Seminoles fans. You are going to need it. The good news is that (depending how everyone else shakes out) you might be able to fade 2 losses and make the CFP top 4. At the end of the day, this feel like another 1 play away season.

Vegas win total: 9.5 (Over -150, Under +120)

How many wins are you giving each team? Which team do you think is most likely to disappoint in 2017?