Danny Kanell releases updated top 12 rankings after Week 8, dropping Texas several spots

Danny Kanell is back with another edition of its Top 12 rankings after an exciting eighth week of college football action. Texas was the biggest riser, falling from No. 1 in last week’s rankings to No. 11 this week after a loss to Georgia.

The Bulldogs were in control from start to finish and never trailed in the 30-15 win. The win gave them a rise from No. 9 to No. 5 in the CBS Sports analyst rankings.

Oregonwhich was ranked No. 2 last week, took the top spot while Texas slipped. The Ducks improved to 7-0 with a close win over the Ducks on Friday Purdue after scoring a resume-building win against Ohio State in week 7.

You can check out Danny Kanell’s complete list of the top 12 college football teams below.

There were questions about Oregon after it struggled to put it away Idaho And Boise State in his first two games this season. The Ducks have since addressed those concerns with their performance since Big Ten play began.

After its biggest win of the season against Ohio State in Week 7, Oregon showed no signs of a hangover in Saturday’s 35-0 win over Purdue. Dillon Gabriel threw for 290 yards and two touchdowns with one interception while the defense forced two turnovers and held the Boilermakers under 100 yards passing.

Penn State sits just behind Oregon in Kanell’s rankings and will look to challenge the Ducks for the Big Ten title. The Nittany Lions had a bye this week after taking care of business in overtime against them USC in Week 7 to remain undefeated.

They got to this point thanks to one of the best defenses in the country, which ranks 9th in points allowed per game. Offensively, Penn State has perhaps one of the best running back backfield duos in the country Nick Singleton And Kaytron Allen. They have combined for 857 yards rushing and six touchdowns this season.

Miami has maintained itself as the favorite to win the ACC so far this season and has a favorable schedule the rest of the way. The Hurricanes earned a 52-45 win over the Hurricanes Louisville on Saturday in which quarterback Cam Ward put up another big stat line with 319 passing yards and four touchdowns.

Behind Ward, who leads the country with 2,538 passing yards and 25 touchdowns this season, Miami ranks second in offense with 48.3 points per game. Few teams are as exciting to watch as the Hurricanes, and they should be national title contenders if they keep this up.

The Hoosiers are forcing the country to take notice in their first season as coach Curt Cignetti. The 7-0 start is just the second in program history and the first since 1967.

Indiana is the only team in the country that averages more points per game at quarterback (48.7) than the Hurricanes Kurtis Rourke leads the Big Ten with 15 passing touchdowns. The Hoosiers won a clear 56:7 win against the Hoosiers Nebraska last week and, based on the schedule, could challenge Penn State and Oregon for a spot in the conference title game.

Georgia earned its biggest win of the season last week by defeating No. 1 Texas by a score of 30-15, moving up four spots in Danny Kanell’s Top 12. The Bulldogs held a 23-0 halftime lead and never trailed in the game as its defense forced four turnovers on the day.

This win against the Longhorns combined with a win in Week 1 against Clemson really help boost Georgia’s College Football Playoff resume. The Bulldogs have a tough schedule the rest of the way as there are still matchups against each other Ole Miss And Tennesseebut right now they appear to be in good shape to make the SEC playoffs.

The Buckeyes’ only blemish this season is a 1-point loss to Oregon. This game could have gone either way as Ohio State actually had a chance to win with a late field goal but failed to get within shooting range.

Still, it remains one of the most balanced teams in college football, ranking in the top 10 in the country in both offense and defense. The Buckeyes had a bye last week to correct their mistakes from the loss to the Ducks and still have games to prove themselves against Penn State and Indiana.

Clemson has won six straight games since suffering a 34-3 loss to Georgia in its season opener. The Tigers are fully committed to the ACC Championship, which they have done in seven of the last nine years.

quarterback Cade Klubnik has been on a roll since Week 1 and now has 1,836 yards passing and 20 touchdowns with three interceptions this season. Clemson will likely need to win the ACC to secure its spot in the CFP, but even if it doesn’t, it could have a chance as an overall team.

Iowa State trailed for most of the day on Saturday UCF in front of the quarterback Rocco Becht led them back to a 38:35 victory at the last second. Becht drove the Cyclones 80 yards downfield in just 1:18 and capped the drive with a punching go-ahead touchdown from one yard out with 55 seconds left.

On the following drive, the defense made the game-winning interception. ISU has never won a Big 12 championship, but that could change this season. Becht came through Saturday with a season-high 97 yards rushing and three total touchdowns and has two elite receivers Jaylin Noel And Jayden Higgins.

The reality is that only one team from the Big 12 will likely make the playoffs, and if it’s not Iowa State, it’s probably BYU. The Cougars also had a scare last week when they went down until the end Oklahoma State on Friday with a narrow 38:35 victory.

BYU made a big play at running back LJ Martinwho rushed for a season-high 120 yards and two touchdowns on 20 carries. It was only his second game back after missing the previous three contests through injury and he will look to continue to grow in recent months.

Pittsburgh is one of four remaining teams that is undefeated in ACC play but has only played two conference games so far. There’s still a lot of work to be done to prove that Miami and Clemson are on par after narrowly escaping California with a score of 17-15 last week.

The Panthers have a balanced offensive attack led by a dual-threat quarterback Eli Holstein and No. 8 in the country with 481.3 yards per game. They have a matchup with Clemson later next month that could be crucial in determining which two teams compete for the conference title.

Things looked disastrous for Texas in the first half as they ultimately lost to Georgia 30-15 on Saturday. The Longhorns quarterback benched him Quinn Ewers after committing two turnovers and trailing 23-0 at halftime.

Ewers returned to start the second half and nearly led Texas back to just one possession late in the third quarter, but the Bulldogs responded by putting the game on ice. The Longhorns are still in good shape and should have a compelling case for a spot in the College Football Playoff if they don’t win the SEC but fall into Danny Kanell’s top 12.

SMU rounds out Danny Kanell’s top 12 as another team in the ACC title discussion. The Mustangs got off to a 3-0 start in conference play and earned a commanding 40-10 win against another newcomer to the league Stanford on Saturday.

quarterback Kevin Jennings threw for a season-high 322 yards and three touchdowns to one interception to secure the win. Pittsburgh is the only ranked team SMU faces the rest of the way, so it will be interesting to see how they fare in the end.