Betting AP Top 25 Teams | The good news for the Utah Utes this past week was the return of quarterback Cam Rising. He missed the whole 2023 season due to injury, only to have a finger injury put him on the shelf for four games this time around.
He returned against Arizona State, but things didn’t go well at all for the Utes as they lost to the Sun Devils, 27-19. Rising threw three picks, including a red-zone interception, going just 16 of 37 for 209 yards.
Utah crossed the Sun Devils’ 30-yard line seven times but only managed one touchdown on those trips.
The Utes were the preseason sports betting favorites to win the Big 12 at many books, but back-to-back losses to Arizona and Arizona State have pushed them to the brink.
Unless they can win the rest of their Big 12 games, getting to the conference title game is almost impossible at this point.
Betting AP Top 25 Teams in the Week 8 of the College Football
Let’s look at the updated AP Top 25 rankings ahead of Week 8, as well as thoughts on some of the top teams.
POLL ALERT: Oregon and Penn State rise to Nos. 2-3 in AP Top 25 football poll; Navy and Army both ranked for first time since 1960.
— AP Top 25 (@AP_Top25) October 13, 2024
Full poll: https://t.co/7dTTUiSC1j pic.twitter.com/MSiZpVFjnQ
Texas Longhorns
The Longhorns haven’t been 6-0 in 16 years. They hadn’t even trailed at any point until this past weekend, when Oklahoma took a brief lead in the first quarter of the Red River Rivalry. That game has often turned into a house of horrors for the favorite, whether it was Oklahoma or Texas, but the Longhorns more than took care of business against the Sooners.
The Longhorns have lost several tailbacks, including C.J. Baxter, who led the team in rushing in 2023. Quarterback Quinn Ewers has missed 2 ½ games due to an oblique injury, but Arch Manning, who could be starting for any program in the country, came on as the backup with nary a hint of a controversy. According to ESPN’s FPI, the Longhorns have a whopping 32.8% probability of winning the national championship, far and away the best odds in the nation. This next weekend brings a home date with fifth-ranked Georgia, which might be the last tough test remaining until November 30, when they head to College Station to renew one of college football’s most storied rivalries with Texas A&M.
^Oregon Ducks
The Ducks survived a test at home on Saturday night, edging the Ohio State Buckeyes, 32-31. The Ducks’ offense was outstanding, as seventh-year quarterback Dillon Gabriel found Tez Johnson and Evan Stewart down the field multiple times. Tailback Jordan James kept the Ohio State defense honest. A crucial – but obvious – offensive pass interference penalty in the waning seconds of the game pushed the Buckeyes out of field-goal range, and if the Ducks hadn’t missed an extra point and a couple of field goals earlier in the game, things wouldn’t have been that tight at the end. Coming up, Oregon has to go to Michigan on November 2, but all of their other games seem quite manageable.
^Ohio State Buckeyes
Why did Oregon beat Ohio State, anyway? The Buckeyes’ defense got torched. The Ducks could have stacked up 20 more points, but a lot of other factors kept the Ducks out of the end zone, including a spitting penalty that made a field goal necessary. Ohio State had zero takeaways and zero sacks – and zero answers for the Oregon running game. Cornerback Denzel Burke, an All-American last year, got torched on several occasions. The defense has to improve for the Buckeyes to have a chance at the Big Ten Championship.
^Miami Hurricanes
The Hurricanes were idle in Week 7, likely well-timed after the team’s previous two games had both come down to the last play of the game. Week 8 brings a trip to Louisville, who bounced back from losses to Notre Dame and SMU by going to Virginia and winning, 24-20. Miami has come from behind to beat Virginia Tech and Cal, but there are only so many miraculous comebacks that teams can expect to pull off. Which Louisville team will show up – and will quarterback Cam Ward be able to torch Louisville like Kevin Jennings did two weeks ago for SMU?
^AP Top 25 Penn State Nittany Lions
Only three unbeaten teams remain in the Big Ten, and one of those is Penn State. At halftime on Saturday, it looked like the Nittany Lions would fall as they trailed USC, 20-6, but the offense woke up after the intermission. Quarterback Drew Allar threw for 391 yards on the day, in large part due to his connections with tight end Tyler Warren. Even with that big production, Penn State ranks 58th in the nation in passing production. The toughest date remaining on the Nittany Lions’ slate is a home date with Ohio State on November 2.
^Georgia Bulldogs
The Bulldogs offense is rolling – quarterback Carson Beck threw for 459 yards and three scores in 41-31 home win over Mississippi State, but the 31 points that Georgia allowed have to be a huge red flag going into their visit to Texas. Mississippi State started true freshman Michael Van Buren Jr – who was making his second start as a college quarterback – and he went wild for 306 passing yards and three touchdowns.
Georgia has climbed out of the malaise they entered in the first half against Alabama, but they have four huge games in a row – at Texas, then the rivalry game with Florida in Jacksonville, at Ole Miss, and at home against Tennessee. As long as the Georgia defense is inconsistent, getting through this stretch with more than two wins might be a pipe dream at this point.
^Alabama Crimson Tide
Is Alabama an elite team at this point? Yes, they beat Georgia, but we already know that Kirby Smart has a mental block when it comes to taking on the Crimson Tide. They followed that up with a shocking 40-35 loss at Vanderbilt. Coming home to face South Carolina, many college football pundits thought the Tide would be ready to deal a whipping to the Gamecocks, but South Carolina turned a 14-0 deficit into a 19-14 lead going into the fourth quarter.
Jalen Milroe made some huge plays late in the game to put the Tide ahead, but he also threw a pair of picks himself. South Carolina recovered an onside kick and had a chance to win it late before LaNorris Sellers threw an end-zone interception. This week, the Tide visit Tennessee, and it will be interesting to see what Kalen DeBoer can do to make the Tide look like a CFP team again.
^Iowa State Hawkeyes
The Hawkeyes beat West Virginia on the road, 28-16, and are now 6-0 for the first time since 1938. Quarterback Rocco Becht is 25th in the nation in QBR (76.3), and he threw for 265 yards and a score in the win over the Mountaineers. Tailback Carson Hansen scored three touchdowns, and Jayden Higgins broke the 100-yard receiving mark for the second straight game. A date that the Cyclones will have now circled November 30 on the calendar as the “Farmageddon” rivalry game with Kansas State could be for a slot in the Big 12 Championship and a slot in the College Football Playoff.
^Betting AP Top 25 Teams After Week 7, 2024 Season
| RANK | SCHOOL | POINTS | RECORD | PREV |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Texas (56) | 6-0 | 1544 | 1 |
| 2 | Oregon (6) | 6-0 | 1493 | 3 |
| 3 | Penn State | 6-0 | 1380 | 4 |
| 4 | Ohio State | 5-1 | 1357 | 2 |
| 5 | Georgia | 5-1 | 1300 | 5 |
| 6 | Miami (FL) | 6-0 | 1232 | 6 |
| 7 | Alabama | 5-1 | 1127 | 7 |
| 8 | LSU | 5-1 | 994 | 13 |
| 9 | Iowa State | 6-0 | 982 | 11 |
| 10 | Clemson | 5-1 | 980 | 10 |
| 11 | Tennessee | 5-1 | 959 | 8 |
| 12 | Notre Dame | 5-1 | 914 | 11 |
| 13 | BYU | 6-0 | 889 | 14 |
| 14 | Texas A&M | 5-1 | 744 | 15 |
| 15 | Boise State | 5-1 | 597 | 17 |
| 16 | Indiana | 6-0 | 580 | 18 |
| 17 | Kansas State | 5-1 | 567 | 18 |
| 18 | Ole Miss | 5-2 | 511 | 9 |
| 19 | Missouri | 5-1 | 409 | 21 |
| 20 | Pittsburgh | 6-0 | 397 | 22 |
| 21 | SMU | 5-1 | 260 | 25 |
| 22 | Illinois | 5-1 | 249 | 23 |
| 23 | Army | 6-0 | 137 | NR |
| 24 | Michigan | 4-2 | 133 | 24 |
| 25 | Navy | 5-0 | 84 | NR |
AP’s national player of the week for Week 7 is Penn State TE Tyler Warren. He tied the FBS record with 17 catches in a 33-30 OT win over USC. His 224 yards set new records for both Penn State and the Big Ten. https://t.co/zDHv1Rvf9d pic.twitter.com/jA6JFphCtJ
— AP Top 25 (@AP_Top25) October 14, 2024
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Betting AP Top 25 Teams in the Week 8
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