What the College Football Playoff Rankings might have been after Week 8

Believe it or not, we’re steaming ahead in this whole college football season thing, and the first College Football Playoff Rankings are less than a week away. Teams such as Ohio State, Georgia, Alabama, Michigan, Clemson and Tennesee want to win their conference but have an ultimate goal of reaching the College Football Playoff.

Now that we’ve seen teams for eight weeks, we have a much better idea of what the pecking order is. And while we still have to wait a few days for the official CFP rankings, we can throw darts at pictures of teams ahead of that to give you an idea of what they might have looked like after Week 8 if we got an early peek.

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Now, keep in mind that the CFP committee has rotating members and it seems every year, it prioritizes its framework of guidelines differently, so we’ll probably tear it all up when the rankings are released, but we like a good challenge.

Here’s our look at how we believe the College Football Playoff rankings might have played out if they were released after Week 8 as a part of all the fun. It’s not necessarily how we would rank the teams, but how we feel they might have lined up according to past history with this CFP committee.

25

Tulane Green Wave (7-1)

Oct. 31, 2014; New Orleans, Louisiana; The mascot for the Tulane Green Wave runs onto the field during their game against the Cincinnati Bearcats in the fourth quarter at Yulman Stadium. Cincinnati won, 38-14. Chuck Cook-USA TODAY Sports

Up Next

IDLE

24

NC State Wolfpack (5-2)

Nov. 13, 2021; Winston-Salem; North Carolina State Wolfpack helmet seen on the sideline during the second half against the Wake Forest Demon Deacons at Truist Field. William Howard-USA TODAY Sports

Up Next

vs. Virginia Tech

23

South Carolina Gamecocks (5-2)

July 19, 2022; Atlanta, Georgia; The South Carolina helmet on the stage during SEC Media Days at the College Football Hall of Fame. Dale Zanine-USA TODAY Sports

Up Next

vs. Missouri

22

Cincinnati Bearcats (6-1)

Oct. 3, 2020; Cincinnati, Ohio; Cincinnati Bearcats helmet during the game between the Cincinnati Bearcats and the South Florida Bulls at Nippert Stadium. Joseph Maiorana-USA TODAY Sports

Up Next

at UCF

21

North Carolina Tar Heels (6-1)

Oct. 30, 2021; South Bend, Indiana; A detailed view of a North Carolina Tar Heels football helmet during warmups before the game against the Notre Dame Fighting Irish at Notre Dame Stadium. Matt Cashore-USA TODAY Sports

Up Next

vs. Pitt

20

Oregon State Beavers (6-2)

July 29, 2022; Los Angeles, California; A detailed view of Oregon State Beavers helmet during Pac-12 media day at Novo Theater. Kirby Lee-USA TODAY Sports

Up Next

IDLE

19

Kansas State Wildcats (5-2)

Nov. 6, 2021; Lawrence, Kansas; A general view of a Kansas State Wildcats helmet against the Kansas Jayhawks during the second half at David Booth Kansas Memorial Stadium. Denny Medley-USA TODAY Sports

Up Next

vs. Oklahoma State

18

LSU Tigers (6-2)

Oct. 6, 2018; Gainesville, Florida; A detailed view of LSU Tigers football helmets against the Florida Gators during the second half at Ben Hill Griffin Stadium. Kim Klement-USA TODAY Sports

Up Next

IDLE

17

Utah Utes (5-2)

Sept. 14, 2019; Salt Lake City, UT, USA; A general view of the helmet worn by Utah Utes quarterback Tyler Huntley (1) against the Idaho State Bengals at Rice-Eccles Stadium. Rob Gray-USA TODAY Sports

Up Next

at Washington State

16

Illinois Fighting Illini (6-1)

Dec. 30, 2019; Santa Clara, California; General view of the Illinois Fighting Illini helmet during the second quarter against California Golden Bears at Levi’s Stadium. Stan Szeto-USA TODAY Sports

Up Next

at Nebraska

15

Wake Forest Demon Deacons (6-1)

Sept. 30, 2017; Winston-Salem, NC, USA; A closeup view of a Wake Forest Demon Deacons helmet during the game against the Florida State Seminoles at BB&T Field. Jeremy Brevard-USA TODAY Sports

Up Next

at Louisville

14

Syracuse Orange (6-1)

Sept. 16, 2017; Syracuse, New York; General view of a Syracuse Orange helmet on the turf prior to the game against the Central Michigan Chippewas at the Carrier Dome. Rich Barnes-USA TODAY Sports

Up Next

vs. Notre Dame

13

Penn State Nittany Lions (6-1)

Nov. 16, 2013; University Park, Pennsylvania; General view of a Penn State Nittany Lions helmet prior to the game against the Purdue Boilermakers at Beaver Stadium. Rich Barnes-USA TODAY Sports

Up Next

vs. Ohio State

12

Oklahoma State Cowboys (6-1)

Jan. 1, 2022; Glendale, Arizona; Detailed view of an Oklahoma State Cowboys helmet during the 2022 Fiesta Bowl at State Farm Stadium. Mark J. Rebilas-USA TODAY Sports

Up Next

at Kansas State

11

Ole Miss Rebels (7-1)

Oct. 12, 2019; Columbia, Missouri; A general view of a Mississippi Rebels helmet during the game against the Missouri Tigers at Memorial Stadium/Faurot Field. Denny Medley-USA TODAY Sports

Up Next

at Texas A&M

10

UCLA Bruins (6-1)

Sept. 25, 2014; Tempe, Arizona; Detailed view of UCLA Bruins helmets on the sidelines against the Arizona State Sun Devils at Sun Devil Stadium. Mark J. Rebilas-USA TODAY Sports

Up Next

vs. Stanford

9

USC Trojans (6-1)

Dec. 29, 2017; Arlington, Texas; General overall view of the 2017 Cotton Bowl logo on the back of the helmet of Southern California Trojans long snapper Jake Olson at AT&T Stadium. Kirby Lee-USA TODAY Sports

Up Next

at Arizona

8

Oregon Ducks (6-1)

An “End racism” sticker joins the American Flag on the helmets of Oregon players Saturday, Oct. 30, 2021. USA TODAY Sports

Up Next

at Cal

7

TCU Horned Frogs (7-0)

July 14, 2022; Arlington, Texas; A view of the TCU Horned Frogs helmet logo during the Big 12 Media Day at AT&T Stadium. Jerome Miron-USA TODAY Sports

Up Next

at West Virginia

6

Clemson Tigers (8-0)

The Clemson football helmet near the Fiesta Bowl trophy at the coaches’ press conference in Scottsdale, Arizona Friday, Dec. 27, 2019. USA TODAY Sports

Up Next

IDLE

5

Alabama Crimson Tide (7-1)

July 18, 2018; Atlanta, Georgia; An Alabama Crimson Tide helmet is shown on the main stage during SEC football media day at the College Football Hall of Fame. Dale Zanine-USA TODAY Sports

Up Next

IDLE

4

Michigan Wolverines (7-0)

Dec. 30, 2016; Miami Gardens; A Michigan Wolverines football helmet sits on the field prior to the game between the Florida State Seminoles and the Michigan Wolverines at Hard Rock Stadium. Jasen Vinlove-USA TODAY Sports

Up Next

vs. Michigan State

3

Ohio State Buckeyes (7-0)

Oct. 1, 2022; Columbus; A sticker-laden Ohio State Buckeyes helmet sits on the turf during warmups before Saturday’s game against the Rutgers Scarlet Knights in Columbus. Barbara Perenic/Columbus Dispatch

Up Next

at Penn State

2

Georgia Bulldogs (7-0)

Dec. 12, 2020; Columbia, Missouri; A detailed view of a Georgia Bulldogs helmet during the second half against the Missouri Tigers at Faurot Field at Memorial Stadium. Jay Biggerstaff-USA TODAY Sports

Up Next

vs. Florida (neutral site – Jacksonville)

1

Tennessee Volunteers (7-0)

Nov. 23, 2019; Columbia, Missouri; A general view of a Tennessee Volunteers helmet during the second half against the Missouri Tigers at Memorial Stadium/Faurot Field. Denny Medley-USA TODAY Sports

Up Next

vs. Kentucky

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