College Football

College football rankings: Idle Georgia stays No. 1, Cincinnati, Oklahoma climb in RJ Young's Top 25

Updated Oct. 24, 2021 2:07 p.m. ET

By RJ Young
FOX Sports College Football Writer

Editor’s note: Every Sunday morning during the college football season, RJ Young will release his updated Top 25 rankings.

AP-ranked No. 18 North Carolina State, No. 14 Coastal Carolina, No. 8 Oklahoma State and No. 7 Penn State all caught losses to unranked opponents this week.

As we get closer to the College Football Playoff rankings release date, I think those losses should matter as much as those suffered earlier in the season by other Top-25 teams.

While Ohio State looks like it possesses the offense most capable of penetrating the Georgia defense, the Buckeyes’ loss to Oregon in Week 2 also needs to matter.

And while Oklahoma is 8-0 for the first time since 2004, the Sooners don’t look like a team that might challenge in the Playoff this season.

However, winning is winning.

While I acknowledge Group of 5 programs San Diego State, Texas San-Antonio and Southern Methodist do not look like teams that could beat Alabama, which has a loss, I also picked the Buckeyes to beat the Ducks, the Tide to beat Texas A&M and Iowa to beat Purdue.

Those games were played, and the results were reflected on the scoreboard. The result needs to matter more than my or your opinion, and that is how I create my rankings: using rationality and reason.

1. How many AP Top-25 teams (ranked at the time of the matchup) a team has beaten.

2. A premium placed on being undefeated. Power 5 teams, more than likely, play tougher schedules than Group of 5 teams.

3. Being undefeated supersedes strength of schedule, with the belief that winning every game is more difficult than losing a game to a good football team.

4. Results, résumé and winning matter. When two teams have identical résumés, that's when the eye test becomes necessary.

Here are my Top-25 teams in the country for Week 8:

1. Georgia Bulldogs (7-0)
Idle

Top-25 wins: four

2. Cincinnati Bearcats (7-0)
Defeated Navy 27-20

Top-25 wins: one

3. Oklahoma Sooners (8-0)
Defeated Kansas 35-23

Top-25 wins: one

'Kansas deserved to win this game' - RJ Young reacts to Oklahoma's shaky 35-23 victory over Kansas

RJ Young reacts to Oklahoma's shaky 35-23 victory over unranked Kansas, saying that the Jayhawks deserved to win the game.

4. Michigan State Spartans (7-0)
Idle

Top-25 wins: one

5. Michigan Wolverines (7-0)
Defeated Northwestern 33-7

Top-25 wins: zero

'It's put up or shut up' - Joel Klatt breaks down Michigan's 33-7 victory over Northwestern

Joel Klatt breaks down the keys to Michigan's 33-7 win over Northwestern and looks ahead to the Wolverines' marquee matchup with Michigan State next week.

6. Wake Forest Demon Deacons (7-0)
Defeated Army 70-56

Top-25 wins: zero

7. San Diego State Aztecs (7-0)
Defeated Air Force 20-14

SDSU has two wins against Power 5 teams whereas SMU has just one (TCU), and UTSA has one (Illinois).

Top-25 wins: zero

8. SMU Mustangs (7-0)
Defeated Tulane 55-26

Top-25 wins: zero

9. UTSA Roadrunners (8-0)
Defeated Louisiana Tech 45-16

Top-25 wins: zero

10. Alabama Crimson Tide (7-1)
Defeated Tennessee 52-24

Top-25 wins: three

11. Iowa Hawkeyes (6-1)
Idle

Top-25 wins: three

12. Oklahoma State Cowboys (6-1)
Lost to Iowa State 24-21

Top-25 wins: three

13. Baylor Bears (6-1)
Idle

Top-25 wins: two

14. Kentucky Wildcats (6-1)
Idle

Top-25 wins: one

15. Ole Miss Rebels (6-1)
Defeated LSU 31-17

Top-25 wins: one

16. Oregon Ducks (6-1)
Defeated UCLA 34-31

Top-25 wins: one

17. Notre Dame Fighting Irish (6-1)
Defeated USC 31-16

Top-25 wins: one

18. Ohio State Buckeyes (6-1)
Defeated Indiana 54-7

Top-25 wins: zero

19. Coastal Carolina Chanticleers (6-1)
Lost to Appalachian State 30-27

Top-25 wins: zero

20. Penn State Nittany Lions (5-2)
Lost to Illinois 20-18 (9 OTs)

Top-25 wins: two

21. Texas A&M Aggies (6-2)
Defeated South Carolina 44-14

Top-25 wins: one

22. Auburn Tigers (5-2)
Idle

Top-25 wins: one

23. BYU Cougars (6-2)
Defeated Washington 21-19

Top-25 wins: two

24. North Carolina State Wolfpack (5-2)
Lost to Miami 31-30

Top-25 wins: one

25. Fresno State Bulldogs (6-2)
Defeated Nevada 34-32

Top-25 wins: one

RJ Young is a national college football writer and analyst for FOX Sports and the host of the podcast "The No. 1 Ranked Show with RJ Young." Follow him on Twitter at @RJ_Young, and subscribe to "The RJ Young Show" on YouTube. He is not on a StepMill.