Week 8 brought enough chaos to keep the College Football Playoff picture moving, and ESPN’s panel responded with a fresh round of predictions that still has Miami sitting at the top of the board.
The Hurricanes were the unanimous No. 1 seed among ESPN’s 12 experts after staying unbeaten with a blowout win over Pittsburgh. Their next major test is coming Nov. 7 against Notre Dame, a matchup that already hangs over the bracket conversation.
Notre Dame, meanwhile, was idle this week after the loss to BYU in Week 7, but the Irish stayed firmly inside every one of the 12 projections. ESPN’s group clearly believes last year’s omission won’t repeat.
Georgia also remained a constant in the field. The Bulldogs had a bye and are lined up for Florida next Saturday, but every ESPN expert still had them in the 12-team bracket.
A few other teams are drawing more split opinions. Alabama appeared in only three of the 12 picks, while 2-loss Texas showed up in seven after its dramatic Saturday night win over Ole Miss.
Then there’s Kentucky, the surprise of the bunch. The Wildcats have won six straight, and ESPN’s entire panel now has them in the Playoff field, with Will Stein continuing to blaze a trail of success in his first season.
There’s still plenty of time for this picture to change - one more October Saturday remains before November arrives - but for now, here’s how ESPN’s 12 experts filled out their latest brackets:
Andrea Adelson: 1. Miami 2.
Ohio State 3. UCLA 4.
Georgia 5. Indiana 6.
Utah 7. BYU 8.
Notre Dame 9. Kentucky 10.
Wake Forest 11. LSU 12.
Boise State
Kyle Bonagura: 1. Miami, 2.
Ohio State 3. UCLA 4.
Utah 5. Georgia 6.
Indiana 7. BYU 8.
Notre Dame 9. Kentucky 10.
Wake Forest 11. Alabama 12.
Boise State
Bill Connelly: 1. Miami 2.
Utah 3. UCLA 4.
Ohio State 5. Georgia 6.
Notre Dame 7. Kentucky 8.
Indiana 9. BYU 10.
Arizona 11. Wake Forest 12.
New Mexico
David Hale: 1. Miami 2.
Ohio State 3. Georgia 4.
UCLA 5. BYU 6.
Notre Dame 7. Kentucky 8.
Indiana 9. LSU 10.
Utah 11. Texas 12.
New Mexico
Eli Lederman: 1. Miami 2.
Georgia 3. Ohio State 4.
Utah 5. Notre Dame 6.
Indiana 7. UCLA 8.
Kentucky 9. BYU 10.
Alabama 11. Wake Forest 12.
New Mexico
Max Olson: 1. Miami 2.
Georgia 3. Ohio State 4.
Indiana 5. Notre Dame 6.
BYU 7. Utah 8.
UCLA 9. Kentucky 10.
Texas 11. Alabama 12.
Boise State
Adam Rittenberg: 1. Miami 2.
Ohio State 3. Georgia 4.
Notre Dame 5. UCLA 6.
Kentucky 7. Indiana 8.
Utah 9. BYU 10.
Texas 11. Ole Miss 12.
Boise State
Alex Scarborough: 1. Miami 2.
Ohio State 3. Georgia 4.
Notre Dame 5. Indiana 6.
UCLA 7. Kentucky 8.
Texas 9. Utah 10.
BYU 11. LSU 12.
Boise State
Mark Schlabach: 1. Miami 2.
Ohio State 3. Georgia 4.
Notre Dame 5. UCLA 6.
Indiana 7. Kentucky 8.
Utah 9. BYU 10.
Texas 11. Ole Miss 12.
Boise State
Jake Trotter: 1. Miami 2.
Ohio State 3. Georgia 4.
Notre Dame 5. Indiana 6.
UCLA 7. Utah 8.
Kentucky. 9.
BYU 10. Texas 11.
Arizona 12. Boise State
Paolo Uggetti: 1. Miami 2.
Ohio State 3. Georgia 4.
UCLA 5. Utah 6.
BYU 7. Notre Dame 8.
Kentucky 9. Indiana 10.
LSU 11. Wake Forest 12.
Boise State
Dave Wilson: 1. Miami 2.
Ohio State 3. Georgia 4.
Notre Dame 5. UCLA 6.
Indiana 7. Kentucky 8.
Utah 9. BYU 10.
Texas 11. LSU 12.
Boise State
In Other News...
LSUs Auburn Grades Exposed Whos Fueling This Surge And Who Isnt
LSUs 38-17 win over Auburn came with another strong showing in the grading sheet, as Pro Football Focus gave the Tigers an 83.6 overall mark. It was the second straight week LSU finished above 80, a sign that the offense and defense are both carrying real momentum as the season starts to take shape.
Jackson Harris led the way with a 90.2 grade, while DJ Pickett also landed among the top performers at 84.6. On the other end, Tre Brown and William Satterwhite II were the lowest-graded LSU players, a reminder that even in a comfortable win, there are still a few spots the Tigers will want to clean up before the next test. [Read more 🡒]
LSU Fans Have A New Reason To Revisit Dave Arandas Legacy
Dave Arandas run at Baylor ended with another abrupt reset, as the school moved on from the former LSU defensive coordinator after a 4-3 start in his seventh season. Joe Klanderman was elevated to interim coach, closing a tenure that had produced a 40-40 record and included multiple losing seasons in recent years.
For LSU fans, it is another chance to look back at a coach whose name still carries real weight in Baton Rouge because of what he built on that side of the ball. Aranda is expected to receive a $12 million buyout, a reminder of how costly these coaching changes can be, even as Baylor now searches for a cleaner direction after years of uneven results. [Read more 🡒]
LSU Is Climbing But One Thing Still Stands Between The Tigers And The Playoff
Another wild Saturday across college football is likely to shake up the AP poll, and LSU is sitting in a much better spot because of it. Two previously unbeaten teams lost for the first time this season to unranked opponents, while two one-loss teams also stumbled against unranked foes, opening the door for the Tigers to climb as pollsters reassess the field. Miami still looks locked into No. 1 after another dominant showing, but the churn behind the top spot is exactly the kind of chaos that can help a team like LSU move closer to the conversation that matters most.
For LSU, the bigger picture is still about where it lands in the playoff race and how much ground it can make up with the contenders around it taking hits. Oklahoma State, Iowa and Texas Tech are among the teams facing possible movement after the weekends results, and every reshuffle matters this time of year. The Tigers can benefit from the mess in front of them, but they still need the rankings to break their way before anything feels secure. [Read more 🡒]