Overrated and Underrated College Football Teams - Reviewing NCAA CFB Rankings For Week 8 (2024)

The 2024 college football season has been a wild ride, and since we're at roughly the halfway point, most teams have a solid body of work to analyze. The Week 7 CFB slate saw Oregon take down Ohio State in a battle of top-three teams, Tennessee narrowly survives at home in overtime against rival Florida, Penn State pulls off a big comeback against USC to stay unbeaten, Alabama on the ropes against South Carolina, and LSU win in dramatic fashion to hand Ole Miss its second loss of the season.

Especially with the new 12-team College Football Playoff in play this year, college football has never seemed so wide open, so hopefully, Week 8 delivers another strong combination of games. Week 8 is headlined by matchups between No. 5 Georgia and No. 1 Texas and No. 7 Alabama vs. No. 11 Tennessee, but don't overlook any game that features a ranked opponent, as upsets have been plentiful this year.

It's time for the next article of a year-long series: Overrated and Underrated College Football Teams, after the weekly Associated Press Poll release. All rankings listed are based on the AP Poll.

Overrated College Football Teams For Week 8

Ole Miss Rebels: No. 18
Week 7 Result: L at LSU (26-29)

Ole Miss is likely one of the best 18 teams in the country, but after losing two of its first seven games (one to a poor Kentucky team), it should not continue to be ranked like one. Only two two-loss programs are in the top 25, and Ole Miss is ranked higher than any.

Preseason Heisman hopeful Jaxson Dart has thrown for just two touchdowns and one interception in his last three games, and he completed under 60% of his passes in two of those contests.

The Rebels opened the season with four consecutive bottom-feeder opponents and looked unstoppable, but against Kentucky, South Carolina, and LSU, Lane Kiffin's offense has been held under 30 points. Dart has been sacked 11 times in the last three weeks.

LSU WALK OFF TOUCHDOWN AGAINST OLE MISS pic.twitter.com/IPvOmls2Z5

— Pardon My Take (@PardonMyTake) October 13, 2024

The Rebels get a much-needed bye in Week 8 before games against Oklahoma and Arkansas. If Ole Miss can win those games, a potential playoff eliminator awaits in Week 11 as Georgia travels to Oxford. Given the strong recruiting classes and transfer portal additions Kiffin has brought in, a 9-3 season and missing the playoffs would be a massive disappointment in 2024.

Michigan Wolverines: No. 24
Week 7 Result: Bye

So far in 2024, Michigan has victories over Fresno State, Arkansas State, USC, and Minnesota. All four wins were at home. The Week 2 home blowout loss to Texas can be excused, but the 10-point loss to Washington, who was just blown out by Iowa, is looking worse by the minute.

Michigan's offense is a disaster, and its defense isn't quite as dominant as in previous seasons. The Wolverines will face No. 22 Illinois on the road this week, and matchups against No. 2 Oregon, No. 16 Indiana, and No. 4 Ohio State wait ahead. Based on what we've seen thus far, Michigan could be headed toward a four-or-five-loss season.

For now, at least Navy, Vanderbilt, Nebraska, and Arizona State have more impressive resumes and should jump Michigan in the rankings.

Underrated College Football Teams For Week 8

Miami Hurricanes: No. 6
Week 7 Result: Bye

Miami has needed late-game heroics to defeat Virginia Tech and Cal in its last two outings, but the Canes are an undefeated Power 4 program with talent across the board and have arguably the best quarterback in college football.

No. 4 Ohio State and No. 5 Georgia do not deserve to plummet in the rankings due to losses against great teams, but this early in the season, a team like Miami would traditionally take the No. 4 spot.

Miami leads the nation in points per game (46.0), passing yards per game (400.0), and total yards per game (583.8). Despite the lackluster opponents, that's impressive. With the emphasis on offense in modern college football, Miami's resume so far suggests it can hang with any team in the country.

While it's true Miami has an "easy" road ahead, an undefeated regular season is in play. Luckily, rankings don't mean everything right now, and the Canes control their destiny to a first-round bye in the College Football Playoff.

BYU Cougars: No. 13
Week 7 Result: W vs. Arizona (41-19)

BYU remains undefeated and has wins over one-loss Kansas State and one-loss SMU. On Saturday, the Cougars dominated Arizona and limited all-world wide receiver Tetairoa McMillan to just five receptions for 78 yards. The Cougars' defense picked off talented Arizona QB Noah Fifita three times and had control of this new-look Big 12 matchup from start to finish.

Its defense has allowed just 16.3 points per game halfway through the season. Does this BYU team not look like a clear top-10 team in 2024? Why is BYU behind Notre Dame, Tennessee, and Clemson in the rankings? This feels like a clear case of the big-name programs getting a boost while BYU is slept on. The Cougars are still (+500) to win the Big 12, behind (+160) Iowa State and (+350) Kansas State.

TRICK PLAY FROM THE LEFTY

What a TD by @BYUfootball 🔥😱 pic.twitter.com/ekvdjcHcNq

— FOX College Football (@CFBONFOX) October 12, 2024

BYU does not have Iowa State on its schedule, so a spot in the Big 12 title game is feeling more and more likely. This squad has the makeup of a CFP playoff team.

Vanderbilt Commodores: N/R
Week 7 Result: W at Kentucky (20-13)

Look at the Commodores! Vanderbilt remained a significant betting underdog at Kentucky this week, but the Dores took care of business in Lexington. It felt like a trap game for Vandy following a historic win over No. 1 Alabama, but quarterback Diego Pavia did not let that happen.

Pavia has scored 12 total touchdowns and thrown just one interception through six games, and if it weren't for small mistakes or kicking woes, Vanderbilt could be 6-0 -- or at least 5-1. The SEC feels more balanced than ever before this season, and the Commodores are no longer an easy out for the league's top programs. Based on Vandy's resume, a top-25 ranking is appropriate heading into Week 8.

Dores on the board! pic.twitter.com/RaSTHoDuCV

— Vanderbilt Football (@VandyFootball) October 13, 2024

Clark Lea's squad better not overlook Ball State this week. If the Dores take care of business in Nashville this weekend, they will likely be ranked for a matchup against No. 1 Texas at home in Week 10.

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