The Big Ten and Mountain West conferences started their seasons this week, and they subsequently sent teams into this week's rankings. The Pac-12 and Mid-American Conference (MAC) will begin in November.
On Saturday, Ohio State looked strong in all phases of the game with their romp over Nebraska, and the Buckeyes enter the rankings at No. 3 this week. Wisconsin looked solid in their Friday night win over Illinois, and the Badgers enter the rankings at No. 6. Both of those teams will have tough road games this week as Ohio State travels to Penn State, and Wisconsin travels to Nebraska.
Clemson and Alabama continued their dominance on Saturday, and they stayed atop the rankings. Clemson was in a dog fight with Syracuse in the third quarter before pulling away in the second half. Alabama lost one of its best players for the season as Jaylen Waddle had a leg injury on the opening kickoff.
Oklahoma State took care of business over Iowa State in a game of teams undefeated in Big 12 play. Oklahoma State is now No. 5 in the rankings behind Notre Dame, which is No. 4.
Michigan entered the rankings this week at No. 12 after their win over Minnesota. Boise State enters at No. 18 after its season-opening win, and Marshall enters at No. 20 after extending their record to 5-0.
The most entertaining game Saturday was perhaps the Penn State-Indiana matchup. Penn State took a late lead, and Indiana tied the game to send it into overtime. After a Penn State touchdown and extra point, Indiana scored and made a 2-point conversion for a 36-35 upset win.
Newsweek Top 20
Some teams are playing right now, and others won't start until early November. Here are the rankings after games from the Oct. 22-24 weekend. When other leagues begin play, they will be inserted into the rankings, accordingly.
| 1 | Clemson | 6-0 | (Sat) vs Boston College |
| 2 | Alabama | 5-0 | (Sat) vs Mississippi State |
| 3 | Ohio State | 1-0 | (Sat) at Penn State |
| 4 | Notre Dame | 5-0 | (Sat) at Georgia Tech |
| 5 | Oklahoma State | 4-0 | (Sat) vs Texas |
| 6 | Wisconsin | 1-0 | (Sat) at Nebraska |
| 7 | Cincinnati | 4-0 | (Sat) vs Memphis |
| 8 | BYU | 6-0 | (Sat) vs Western Kentucky |
| 9 | Miami (Fla.) | 5-1 | (Nov. 6) at N.C. State |
| 10 | Georgia | 3-1 | (Sat) at Kentucky |
| 11 | Texas A&M | 3-1 | (Sat) vs #14 Arkansas |
| 12 | Michigan | 1-0 | (Sat) vs Michigan State |
| 13 | Florida | 2-1 | (Sat) vs Missouri |
| 14 | Arkansas | 2-2 | (Sat) at #11 Texas A&M |
| 15 | Kansas State | 4-1 | (Sat) at West Virginia |
| 16 | North Carolina | 4-1 | (Sat) at Virginia |
| 17 | Army | 6-1 | (Nov. 7) at Air Force |
| 18 | Boise State | 1-0 | (Sat) at Air Force |
| 19 | Coastal Carolina | 5-0 | (Sat) at Georgia State |
| 20 | Marshall | 5-0 | (Fri) at Florida International |
Dropped out: No. 8 Iowa State, No. 14 SMU, No. 16 Virginia Tech, No. 17 Kentucky, No. 18 N.C. State
Where is College 'GameDay' this week?
ESPN's popular 'GameDay' road show will be in State College, Pennsylvania this Saturday for the game between the Ohio State Buckeyes and Penn State Nittany Lions. The game will kickoff Saturday night at 7:30 p.m. ET on ABC.
Heisman Frontrunners
Here are the Newsweek Heisman rankings after Week 8 of the season. When other conferences like the Pac-12 and MAC join the season, their players will then be considered.
- Trevor Lawrence, QB, Clemson
- Zach Wilson, QB, BYU
- Justin Fields, QB, Ohio State
- Mac Jones, QB, Alabama
- Dillon Gabriel, QB, UCF
Updated College Football Playoff Prediction (Only conferences currently playing games are considered—it could adjust at a later date)
- Clemson
- Alabama
- Ohio State
- Oklahoma State
Games to Watch This Week (Times ET)
Friday, October 30
7:30 p.m. Minnesota at Maryland, ESPN
Saturday, October 31
12:00 p.m. Boston College at Clemson, ABC
12:00 p.m. Memphis at Cincinnati, ESPN
12:00 p.m. Michigan State at Michigan, FOX
3:30 p.m. Notre Dame at Georgia Tech, ABC
3:30 p.m. Wisconsin at Nebraska, FS1
3:30 p.m. LSU at Auburn, CBS
3:30 p.m. Indiana at Rutgers, Big Ten Network
3:30 p.m. TCU at Baylor, ESPN2
4:00 p.m. Texas at Oklahoma State, FOX
7:00 p.m. Mississippi State at Alabama, ESPN
7:30 p.m. Ohio State at Penn State, ABC
7:30 p.m. Arkansas at Texas A&M, SEC Network
8:00 p.m. North Carolina at Virginia, ACC Network
10:15 p.m. Western Kentucky at BYU, ESPN
Uncommon Knowledge
Newsweek is committed to challenging conventional wisdom and finding connections in the search for common ground.
Newsweek is committed to challenging conventional wisdom and finding connections in the search for common ground.
About the writer
Scott McDonald is a Newsweek deputy night editor based in Cape Coral, Florida. His focus is assigning and writing stories ... Read more
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