Biggest risers in College Football after Week 8

We have officially reached “look-ahead” season. The time of year in college football when you think you know how good every team is, and so you start calculating each team’s remaining wins and losses.

This look-ahead always feels different after a big win; it suddenly becomes believable that the team with two losses can get to 10-2 if they win out.

Here are some teams who are looking ahead and feeling a lot better about their outlook after Week 8:

MORE: 24-Team College Football Playoff is good thing

LSU

Don’t look now, but Lane Kiffin’s group of mercenaries is coming together and looking scary. Week 8 brought a truly dominant 38-17 victory over an Auburn team that just beat Georgia. Sam Leavitt threw for 387 yards, and his top weapon Trey’Dez Green returned from injury and scored a touchdown.

The Tigers still have games remaining against Alabama, Texas, and Tennessee, but this team can absolutely win out if they play like they did today.

Wisconsin

Rank the Badgers! It wasn’t always aesthetically pleasing, but Wisconsin pulled away in the second half for a 24-7 victory over USC. Through 7 games, Wisconsin’s only losses are to Notre Dame and UCLA – two top-10 teams. If they beat Iowa next week, the remaining schedule is the cellar-dwellers of the Big Ten.

With a lot of strength on the offensive and defensive lines, and an offense that doesn’t turn the ball over, the Badgers are going to be a tough out.

South Carolina

2025 was a major disappointment for the Gamecocks after a breakthrough 2024 season. But they had hope coming into 2026 because they retained their two stars – QB LaNorris Sellers and DE Dylan Stewart. It was those two stars who came up clutch to beat Tennessee.

Sellers defied the laws of physics to stretch the ball across the line to score the game-tying touchdown, and Stewart took the football away from George MacIntyre to set up the offense in range for the game-winning field goal. 9-3 is not out of the question, but it would require a home victory over Georgia. An 8-4 season, however, is a big step forward for the program and likely enough for Shane Beamer to keep his position as head coach.

Texas

It wasn’t always pretty, and it certainly wasn’t stress-free, but the Longhorns bounced back and defeated Ole Miss to end their two-game losing streak. It began like all Texas games do, fast, showing why they’re one of the most talented teams in the country.

Then it started to turn, much like the Oklahoma and Florida games. Bad penalties (a lot of bad penalties), inexcusable Arch Manning turnovers, and a massive comeback from the opposition followed. But unlike the last two weeks, the Longhorns had the resolve to pull back ahead for the 34-27 victory. The remaining schedule is not a cakewalk, but the Longhorns have to feel like they can return to the CFP after this victory.

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