Projected college football rankings after Oregon avoids travel curse and survives BYU

While you were sleeping, two top 15 teams won on Friday night to really start Week 8 of the 2024 college football season with a bang. No. 2 Oregon had little trouble against the woeful Purdue Boilermakers in Ross-Ade. The Ducks left West Lafayette with an easy 35-0 shutout against Ryan Walters' football team, which now falls to 1-6 overall and 0-4 in Big Ten play. Oregon is now 7-0!

While it remains to be seen whether Oregon has a chance at No. 1 in the next college football rankings, BYU could cause the Cougars to fall from No. 13. On Friday evening they achieved a 38:35 victory over Oklahoma State. The game took place in Provo. On the other hand, beating a Mike Gundy team that just has a bye is almost as impressive as beating an Andy Reid team that just has a bye, for what that's worth.

Let's see if any of the games with a ranked opponent on Friday impact the predicted rankings.

1. Texas Longhorns
2. Oregon Ducks
3. Penn State Nittany Lions
4. Ohio State Buckeyes
5. Georgia Bulldogs
6. Miami Hurricanes
7. Alabama Crimson Tide
8. LSU Tigers
9. Cyclones in the state of Iowa
10. Clemson Tigers
11. Tennessee Volunteers
12. Notre Dame fights against Irish
13. BYU Cougars
14. Texas A&M Aggies
15. Boise State Broncos
16. Indiana Hoosiers
17. Kansas State Wildcats
18. Ole Miss Rebels
19. Missouri Tigers
20. Pittsburgh Panthers
21. SMU Mustangs
22. Illinois battles Illinois
23. Black knights of the army
24. Michigan Wolverines
25. Navy midshipmen

Even though Oregon has a good chance of being No. 1 next week, should Georgia beat Texas in Austin, the Ducks beat a team with one win this year. The Ducks won't be ranked lower than No. 2 next week. As far as BYU is concerned, the Cougars may be 7-0, but it feels like the Associated Press is looking for evidence to downgrade this Big 12 contender. It might happen, but they will stay.

That's because we have a whole bunch of games coming up on Saturday that will really impact the rankings.

Right now, Oregon appears to be the Power Four's best chance to go undefeated this season. Texas is the only team that hasn't lost in the SEC, but that conference is already starting to cannibalize. BYU has a legitimate chance to get to Arlington unscathed, but the Cougars could face their peers in the Big 12 title game. Who that will end up being remains to be seen, whether Iowa State or someone else entirely.

All in all, Oregon appears to have a shot at making the College Football Playoff while BYU has a lot at stake. This is because the Big Ten will have between three and four teams this season. Oregon will be one of the top three teams in its league at the end of the season. While BYU may be one of the top two teams in the Big 12, the league may not be strong enough to get multiple teams into the playoffs.

Ultimately, Oregon's win over Purdue was impressive, while BYU getting everything it could from Oklahoma State was a little worrisome. The Pokes may be in for a terrible year, but conversely, everything that could have gone for BYU this season has gone for the Cougars. In the end everything will balance out. Then again, is there a chance we're seeing the best BYU team since 1984?

Oregon will definitely remain in the top 2 after this weekend's games, while BYU will remain in the top 15 no matter what.