Ranking the 134 college football teams after Week 8: BYU can no longer be ignored

Editor’s Note: The Athletic 134 is a weekly ranking of all FBS college football teams.

It’s time to pay attention to BYU.

The Cougars are undefeated and handed Kansas State and SMU their only losses of the season. Still, BYU remains outside the top 10 in both the AP and Coaches polls. But not here. BYU is ranked No. 7 in this week’s edition of The Athletic 134.

I’m surprised the Cougars didn’t get more love. They are undefeated at 7-0 and have two really good wins, both better than the best wins of Iowa State (Iowa) and several other teams for their place in the polls. They’ve actually been in my top 10 for weeks.

Maybe it’s because BYU played twice on Friday nights, or because the 38-9 win over Kansas State kicked off at 10:30 p.m. on a Saturday. Yes, the Cougars have played some close games and needed a late touchdown to beat Oklahoma State, but this team and especially this defense look real and are now 13th in yards allowed per play.

Also note that the second half of the schedule is manageable. BYU and Iowa State do not play each other in the regular season. The Cougars have already beaten K-State and will not play Colorado at 5-2. If the Big 12 wants to get two teams into the College Football Playoff, BYU would likely be one of them.

We’re more than halfway through the season and we’re still getting surprising results that shake up the rankings. Here is this week’s edition of The Athletic 134.

1-10

Georgia slides to No. 2 after its win at Texas, while the Longhorns fall to No. 6 because their best win at this point is a sliding Michigan team or a sliding Oklahoma team. The Bulldogs’ loss to Alabama keeps them out of the top spot, especially after the Tide lost again and now sit alongside Boise State, which beat Oregon.

Miami overtakes Ohio State after its win at Louisville, but the Ohio State-Penn State game in two weeks will be another upset game.

Tennessee and LSU jump into the top 10 after the Vols beat Alabama and the Tigers beat Arkansas 34-10. Tennessee and LSU’s resumes are incredibly balanced, but Tennessee has the better Best Win, giving the Vols the slight edge.

11-25

I was a little skeptical of Indiana’s ceiling after beating bad teams, but Saturday’s 56-7 demotion of Nebraska made me a believer and pushed the Hoosiers to 11th. The bad news: Quarterback Kurtis Rourke is out indefinitely with a thumb injury. But the path to 10 or even 11 wins is there. Iowa State falls two spots, largely due to the performances of Tennessee, LSU and Indiana on the same day that the Cyclones had to rally late to survive UCF.

Illinois is the only newcomer in the Top 25, returning to 6-1 after a 21-7 win over Michigan.

26-50

Teams just outside the top 25 suffered all sorts of losses this week. As a result, Syracuse, UNLV, South Carolina, Memphis, Army, Duke and Cincinnati make big jumps into the top 35. Michigan State also jumps to No. 39 after a 32-20 win over Iowa. Next up is a game between Michigan and MSU , which could have big bowl implications for both.

Is it weird that we stopped talking about Colorado when the Buffs became a solid team? Colorado is 5-2 and No. 38 after a 34-7 win over Arizona, which comes after a last-minute loss to Kansas State and a win over UCF. It would be a shock if Colorado didn’t bowl, which is another improvement for coach Deion Sanders.

No. 46 Florida and No. 47 Virginia Tech also enter the top 50 after defeating Kentucky and Boston College, respectively. Utah continues to slide and remains at No. 50 after the loss to TCU.

51-75

USC fell to No. 52 after blowing another 14-point lead and losing at Maryland and falling to 1-4 in Big Ten play. No. 53 Rutgers surprisingly lost to UCLA and fell out of the top 50.

Louisiana continues to sneak around the top of the Sun Belt and is now No. 60 after defeating Coastal Carolina to reach 6-1 overall, while Georgia Southern has taken control of the Sun Belt East with a win over James Madison and from there moved up to No. 63 No. 82. Toledo moved up to No. 68 after defeating Northern Illinois.

No. 65 NC State and No. 66 Cal are the hardest teams to rank. NC State recently lost to Wake Forest but turned around and beat Cal, which is 0-4 in ACC play, by a total of nine points. If the Golden Bears could score a field goal, their record would be completely different.

76-100

Baylor jumps to No. 76 after a surprising 59-35 win over Texas Tech. Texas State drops to No. 77 after a loss to Old Dominion. Auburn blew a double-digit lead against Missouri, falling to 2-5 and slipping to No. 80.

No. 82 Western Michigan actually sits atop the MAC at 3-0 after beating Buffalo, which defeated Toledo and NIU. Marshall moves up to No. 81 because the Herd won against WMU and beat Georgia State last week.

The bottom of the Power 4 is balled up. Purdue is the bottom of the group at No. 95, but Florida State is just ahead at No. 94 after losing to Duke for the first time ever. No. 93 Mississippi State has played competitively against Georgia and Texas A&M in recent weeks, while Houston drops to No. 89 after a 42-14 loss to Kansas.

101-134

New Mexico has won three straight games after a 50-45 win over Utah State and moved up to 106th in Bronco Mendenhall’s first year. UTSA’s win over Florida Atlantic brings the Roadrunners back to No. 110.

UTEP picked up its first win of the season, defeating FIU and moving up to No. 129. That leaves the FBS with just two winless teams: Kennesaw State and Kent State.

The Athletic 134 Series is part of a partnership with Allstate. The Athletic retains full editorial independence. Partners do not control or participate in the reporting or editing process, and do not review stories before publication.

(Photo: Chris Gardner/Getty Images)