Gerald Herbert/Associated Press

AP College Football Poll 2019: Week 8 Rankings Unveiled for Top 25 Teams

Rob Goldberg

A busy weekend of college football led to a few notable changes in the Week 8 Associated Press rankings. 

There was limited drama over the past month, but Saturday saw three of the Top 11 teams in the country go down, with two of those losses coming against another highly ranked squad. Georgia suffered the most surprising defeat with a home loss against unranked South Carolina.  

        

Associated Press Poll

1. Alabama

2. LSU

3. Clemson

4. Ohio State

5. Oklahoma

6. Wisconsin

7. Penn State

8. Notre Dame

9. Florida

10. Georgia

11. Auburn

12. Oregon

13. Utah

14. Boise State

15. Texas

16. Michigan

17. Arizona State

18. Baylor

19. SMU

20. Minnesota

21. Cincinnati

22. Missouri

23. Iowa

24. Appalachian State

25. Washington

     

Georgia took a major fall this week, dropping from No. 3 to No. 10.

That came after a 20-17 double-overtime loss to South Carolina, as UGA quarterback Jake Fromm threw three interceptions and lost one fumble. One of those picks was returned for a touchdown to give the Gamecocks a halftime lead:

"When a team scores on defense, it's like a 90 percent chance they're going to win, and we still almost overcame that," head coach Kirby Smart said after the game, per Mike Griffith of Dawg Nation. "But you can't turn the ball over four times and win."

Turnovers might have cost Georgia a shot at a national championship.

LSU had arguably the most impressive victory of the week, defeating No. 7 Florida. Down 28-21 in the third quarter, the Tigers finished the game with 21 unanswered points to make a big move to No. 2 in the rankings.

It continues an impressive trend for head coach Ed Orgeron in big games:

Florida fell to No. 9.

Oklahoma also proved itself, winning the Red River Rivalry 34-27, and Jalen Hurts and CeeDee Lamb connected for three touchdown passes.

Some off-the-radar squads also gained respect this week, including Minnesota, which moved into the Top 25 at No. 20 after improving to 6-0 with a 34-7 blowout win over Nebraska. Appalachian State is now No. 24 following its 5-0 start to 2019.

There is plenty to watch behind No. 1 Alabama and No. 2 Clemson, who won by a combined 50 points Saturday over Texas A&M and FSU, respectively.

   

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