2026 College Football Rankings Recap: Week 8
UCLA (7-0) stays on top of The Davis Rankings after week 8 of the 2026 season, with a score of 94.4 out of 100. The rest of the top five: #2 Miami, #3 Utah, #4 Ohio State, #5 Wake Forest.
Every score comes from the same published formula, explained on the methodology page.
Editor's note
The Big 12 is just a gauntlet. Nobody walks into the Bounce House and can expect to walk out 
UCF with the HUGE OT win.
Then you have 
Cincinnati "No chili for you"
Rivalry shoutout win to 
Kent State for bring home the Wagon Wheel
Winnin' ain't easy, welcome to the club 
UL Monroe
Until next week.
Just Win! Excuses and Polls are for Losers.
The top 25
SEC It just means something, when you have... Vanderbilt (#115), 2nd week running
| Rank | Team | Record | TDR scoreTDR | Move |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 |  UCLA | 7-0 | 94.4 | - |
| 2 |  Miami | 7-0 | 92.4 | - |
| 3 |  Utah | 7-0 | 91.0 | ▲ 3 |
| 4 |  Ohio State | 6-1 | 85.0 | ▲ 3 |
| 5 |  Wake Forest | 6-1 | 84.9 | ▲ 2 |
| 6 |  Kentucky | 7-1 | 82.9 | ▲ 5 |
| 7 |  Indiana | 7-1 | 82.8 | ▲ 36 |
| 8 |  UTSA | 7-1 | 82.2 | ▲ 6 |
| 9 |  Boise State | 6-1 | 81.5 | ▲ 7 |
| 10 |  Arizona | 6-1 | 80.9 | ▲ 8 |
| T-11 |  Liberty | 6-1 | 80.4 | ▲ 10 |
| T-11 |  Northwestern | 6-1 | 80.4 | ▲ 8 |
| T-11 |  SMU | 6-1 | 80.4 | ▲ 9 |
| 14 |  New Mexico | 6-1 | 80.3 | ▲ 9 |
| 15 |  Alabama | 6-2 | 77.4 | ▲ 34 |
| 16 |  Texas | 5-2 | 74.9 | ▲ 45 |
| 17 |  LSU | 6-2 | 74.0 | ▲ 9 |
| 18 |  Virginia Tech | 6-2 | 73.7 | ▲ 9 |
| 19 |  Ohio | 6-2 | 73.0 | ▲ 10 |
| 20 |  Memphis | 6-2 | 72.7 | ▲ 46 |
| 21 |  Toledo | 6-2 | 72.5 | ▲ 15 |
| 22 |  Florida | 5-2 | 71.6 | ▲ 3 |
| 23 | Cincinnati | 5-2 | 71.2 | ▲ 52 |
| T-24 |  Oklahoma State | 5-2 | 71.1 | ▲ 49 |
| T-24 |  Wisconsin | 5-2 | 71.1 | ▲ 50 |
Biggest movers
31 teams jumped two or more tiers (14 up, 17 down). 40 more moved a single tier.
Risers
| Team | From | Direction | To | Tiers | Rank | Move |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Cincinnati 5-2 | Character Building | → | Winning | ▲ 2 | 75 → 23 | ▲ 52 |
| After a home win over #5 Texas Tech (37-24). An upset: Cincinnati entered with 52.2 TDR points to Texas Tech's 91.1. Now 5-2. TDR score +19.0: win/loss record +2.6, opponent record at game time +0.5. | ||||||
 Duke 5-2 | Do We Need to Talk? | → | Feeling Good | ▲ 2 | 79 → T-28 | ▲ 51 |
| After a road win at #90 Virginia (19-16) in a one-score game. As expected: Duke entered with 51.5 TDR points to Virginia's 45.0. Now 5-2. TDR score +18.9: win/loss record +2.6, road-win bonus +0.9. | ||||||
| Wisconsin 5-2 | Character Building | → | Winning | ▲ 2 | 74 → T-24 | ▲ 50 |
| After a home win over #9 USC (24-7). An upset: Wisconsin entered with 52.4 TDR points to USC's 84.0. Now 5-2. AP: unranked to #25. TDR score +18.7: win/loss record +2.6. | ||||||
| Oklahoma State 5-2 | Character Building | → | Winning | ▲ 2 | 73 → T-24 | ▲ 49 |
| After a home win over #112 Colorado (57-24) in a blowout. As expected: Oklahoma State entered with 53.1 TDR points to Colorado's 28.8. Now 5-2. AP: unranked to #24. TDR score +18.0: win/loss record +2.6. | ||||||
 Minnesota 5-2 | Do We Need to Talk? | → | Feeling Good | ▲ 2 | 76 → 27 | ▲ 49 |
| After a home win over #17 Iowa (13-10) in a one-score game. An upset: Minnesota entered with 52.0 TDR points to Iowa's 79.6. Now 5-2. TDR score +18.6: win/loss record +2.6, road-win bonus +0.5. | ||||||
and 9 more tier jumpers
Marshall 97→T-48, Arizona State 99→T-50, Oklahoma 89→41, UCF 93→46, Memphis 66→20, Texas 61→16, Kansas 114→T-70, Syracuse 118→74, Florida Atlantic 77→34
Fallers
| Team | From | Direction | To | Tiers | Rank | Move |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
 Louisiana 5-3 | Feeling Good | → | Do We Need to Talk? | ▼ 2 | 31 → 84 | ▼ 53 |
| After a road loss at #130 Southern Miss (31-35) in a one-score game. An upset: Louisiana entered with 70.4 TDR points to Southern Miss's 14.8. Now 5-3. TDR score -21.6: win/loss record -4.9, road-win bonus -0.8. | ||||||
 Michigan 4-3 | Feeling Good | → | Do We Need to Talk? | ▼ 2 | 29 → T-81 | ▼ 52 |
| After a home loss to T-43 Indiana (6-13) in a one-score game. An upset: Michigan entered with 70.5 TDR points to Indiana's 66.2. Now 4-3. TDR score -21.6: win/loss record -5.3, road-win bonus -1.0. | ||||||
 North Carolina 4-3 | Feeling Good | → | Do We Need to Talk? | ▼ 2 | 37 → 87 | ▼ 50 |
| After a home loss to #118 Syracuse (30-31) in a one-score game. An upset: North Carolina entered with 68.5 TDR points to Syracuse's 27.2. Now 4-3. TDR score -22.6: win/loss record -5.3, road-win bonus -1.3. | ||||||
 Clemson 4-3 | Feeling Good | → | Do We Need to Talk? | ▼ 2 | 38 → T-88 | ▼ 50 |
| After a home loss to #27 Virginia Tech (16-20) in a one-score game. A coin flip: Clemson entered with 67.8 TDR points to Virginia Tech's 70.8. Now 4-3. TDR score -22.1: win/loss record -5.3, road-win bonus -1.2. | ||||||
 Western Michigan 5-3 | Feeling Good | → | Do We Need to Talk? | ▼ 2 | 28 → T-77 | ▼ 49 |
| After a road loss at #36 Toledo (38-45) in a one-score game. A coin flip: Western Michigan entered with 70.6 TDR points to Toledo's 69.7. Now 5-3, snapped a 3-game winning streak. TDR score -21.1: win/loss record -4.9, road-win bonus -0.8. | ||||||
and 12 more tier jumpers
North Dakota State 13→61, Tennessee 14→62, Oregon 38→86, South Alabama 43→91, Kansas State 45→93, Iowa 17→64, Auburn 24→T-70, Houston 12→T-57, Texas A&M 50→95, TCU 64→T-109, Air Force 22→66, Ole Miss 10→T-53
Weekly awards
Eight awards in four groups, each with one you want and one you don’t. The biggest poll gaps are in Polls vs the data, in detail under Mind the Gap. Season totals for every team are on the Awards page. The week’s game honors are in Games that mattered.
Kitchen
Who sits on top of the rankings, and who is stuck at the bottom.
Lowest TDR score in the FBS that week
Mountaineering
Two straight weeks of climbing, and two straight weeks of falling.
Biggest two-week rise, up both weeks
Biggest two-week fall, down both weeks
Mind the Gap
Where the polls and the data disagree most.
Poll rank far better than the data's
Polls vs the data, in detail
The biggest gaps between the TDR rank and the best rank in any poll. A team in no poll counts as just outside them, so its gap is a minimum (shown with a +). Gaps under 5 spots are not listed.
Wins don't matter
TDR counts every win.
| Team | TDR | AP | Coaches | Gap |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| UTSA 7-1 | 8 | NR | NR | ▲ 18+ |
| Liberty 6-1 | T-11 | NR | NR | ▲ 15+ |
| New Mexico 6-1 | 14 | NR | NR | ▲ 12+ |
| Boise State 6-1 | 9 | 20 | 22 | ▲ 11 |
Moving Company
The biggest single-week moves up and down the rankings.
Biggest rank rise of the week
Biggest rank fall of the week
Games that mattered
The week’s standout games, each shown once, in the first list it qualifies for. The one exception: a close loss by a top-25 team can be in both Upset of the Week and Winnin’ ain’t easy (one is about the size of the gap, the other about how close it was). Upset of the Week, Winnin’ ain’t easy and Coin Flips are recognitions: they are not trophy-case awards, so they never go on a helmet.
The lowest-entering team to beat a better-ranked one. Ranks are from the week before.
Southern Miss beat Louisiana35-31#130 vs #3199 spots- UCF beat
BYU39-31#93 vs #390 spots 
Syracuse beat North Carolina31-30#118 vs #3781 spots
Nevada beat 
San José State28-13#128 vs #5276 spots- Cincinnati beat
Texas Tech37-24#75 vs #570 spots
A top-25 team in a one-score game against a team ranked far below it: it survived, or it fell. Ranks are from the week before.
- Minnesota beat
Iowa13-10#76 vs #17top-25 team fell by 3 
South Carolina beat 
Tennessee27-24#64 vs #14top-25 team fell by 3
App State beat 
James Madison34-31#47 vs #4top-25 team fell by 3- Texas beat
Ole Miss34-27#61 vs #10top-25 team fell by 7
Teams within 3 points of each other on paper going in, closest finish first. Scores are away, then home.
- Virginia Tech at Clemson20-163.0 points apartwon by 4
North Dakota State at New Mexico16-212.9 points apartwon by 5
Georgia State at 
Arkansas State32-381.9 points apartwon by 6
One-score games involving a top-60 team that are not already above.
Miami (OH) beat 
Central Michigan28-27#44 vs #116won by 1
Florida Atlantic beat 
Rice51-49#34 vs #132won by 2- Duke beat
Virginia19-16T-28 vs T-96won by 3 
Army beat 
Tulsa38-35#26 vs #100won by 3
Middle Tennessee beat 
Florida International26-23T-53 vs #111won by 3
The biggest margins by a team in the current top 50, the two top tiers.
- SMU beat
California59-20T-11 vs #114won by 39 - Arizona beat
Iowa State39-3#10 vs #104won by 36 - Oklahoma State beat
Colorado57-24T-24 vs #118won by 33
Conference snapshot
Conferences by average team score, with how many of each conference's teams sit in each tier. This is a different measure from the non-conference record ranking (for this week) on the standings page.
| Conference | Avg score | Highest-ranked team | ||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| SEC | 60.6 | 5 | 3 | 6 | 1 | 1 | - | #6Kentucky |
| Big 12 | 58.0 | 4 | 5 | 2 | 2 | 3 | - | #3Utah |
| Big Ten | 56.8 | 5 | 2 | 4 | 3 | 4 | - | #1UCLA |
| ACC | 55.0 | 4 | 3 | 3 | 3 | 4 | - | #2Miami |
| American Athletic | 49.1 | 2 | 4 | 1 | 2 | 3 | 2 | #8UTSA |
| Sun Belt | 46.1 | - | 4 | 1 | 4 | 3 | 2 | T-28 Louisiana Tech |
| Pac-12 | 45.9 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 2 | 1 | 2 | #9Boise State |
| Conference USA | 44.5 | 1 | 1 | 2 | 2 | 2 | 2 | T-11Liberty |
| Mountain West | 42.9 | 1 | 1 | 2 | 3 | 1 | 2 | #14New Mexico |
| Mid-American | 42.1 | 2 | 1 | 1 | 3 | 3 | 3 | #19Ohio |
Winning | Feeling Good | Character Building | Do We Need to Talk? | Sick of It | Oh Crap
The most teams in the Winning tier: SEC and Big Ten (5 each). The most teams in the bottom two tiers (Sick of It and Oh Crap): Mid-American (6).
Not ranked as a conference: FBS Independents (not a conference: Notre Dame #35, UConn T-57).
Conference race
Who leads each conference and what the title game picture looks like. Ties are shown as ties, never broken: each conference decides them with its own rules. See the full conference standings.
| Conference | Leaders | Title game |
|---|---|---|
| SEC | Kentucky 5-1 | SetTop two: Kentucky and Georgia |
| Big 12 | Utah 4-0 | TiedUtah in; Arizona, Oklahoma State, BYU and Texas Tech tied for the last spot |
| Big Ten | UCLA 5-0Ohio State 4-0 | SetTop two: UCLA and Ohio State |
| ACC | Miami 5-0 | TiedMiami in; Wake Forest and SMU tied for the last spot |
| American Athletic | UTSA 4-0 North Texas 3-0 | SetTop two: UTSA and North Texas |
| Sun Belt | East James Madison 4-1West Louisiana Tech 3-0 | DivisionsEast and West leaders meet in the title game |
| Pac-12 | Boise State 3-0 Oregon State 3-0 | SetTop two: Boise State and Oregon State |
| Conference USA | Liberty 3-0 Jacksonville State 3-0 | SetTop two: Liberty and Jacksonville State |
| Mountain West | New Mexico 3-0 | SetTop two: New Mexico and Wyoming |
| Mid-American | Ohio 4-0 | TiedOhio in; Toledo, Miami (OH), Buffalo and Western Michigan tied for the last spot |
Looking ahead to week 9
The biggest games between current top-25 teams, best matchup first.
Show all 56 games between ranked teams
Every game next week between two ranked FBS teams, best matchup first. The matchup score is the two ranks added together plus how far apart they are (lower is better). A coin marks a toss-up by the numbers.
#40 
#45 
#41 
#50 
#56 
#30 
#57 
#65 
#48 
#57 
#66 
#60 
#67 
#69 
#70 
#73 
#76 
#79 
#70 
#81 
#81 
#86 
#91 
#105 
#99 
#106 
#70 
#109 
#112 
#107 
#93 
#53 
#119 
#35 
#120 
#121 
#122 
#75 
#123 
#124 
#109 
#48 
#126 
#98 
#127 
#129 
#130 
#124 
#131 
#133 
#113 
#77 
#135 
#80 See the full 2026 week 8 rankings, see every team by tier, the conference standings, or browse every weekly recap.
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