College football’s playoff picture got blown apart in a single Saturday, and the ripple effects were immediate. Five of the top 7 teams in the AP Top 25 went down on the same day for the first time ever, turning Week 8 into a full-on reshuffle of the race for the CFP.
Missouri was one of the biggest casualties. The Tigers got hammered 31-3 by Ole Miss and missed a chance to force their way into the conversation as real playoff contenders. Instead, after looking completely out of sorts in Oxford, Mizzou now has to win out to have any shot at a CFP bid - and even that path looks shaky.
Ole Miss, meanwhile, surged into the SEC favorite spot after that convincing win. The Rebels now have a massive opportunity ahead with Texas on deck Saturday night.
Ohio State also strengthened its case with a big road win over defending national champion Indiana, even if the Buckeyes took a hit of their own with the injury to Julian Sayin.
Miami (FL) remains the steady hand in all of this. The Hurricanes are 6-0, sitting at No. 1 in the latest AP Top 25, and look like the most complete team in the country right now.
BYU has surged into the Big 12 driver’s seat as well. The Cougars are 6-0 and No. 2 in the AP poll after last week’s 28-24 statement win over Notre Dame. Now comes a tricky road trip to UCF on Saturday afternoon, fresh off that emotional victory.
Notre Dame, despite the loss at BYU, still holds the automatic-bid spot in this projection. The Irish took a close road loss and didn’t lose much ground in the CFP picture, though they’re still chasing a truly quality win.
Boise State sits atop the Group of Six race. The Broncos are 5-1, ranked No. 21 in the AP Top 25, and coming out of a bye week with a trip to Washington State waiting on Saturday.
The at-large picture is crowded after the weekend chaos. Georgia remains in the mix despite the home upset loss to Auburn, though the Bulldogs did show some cracks.
Indiana, after falling 19-15 to Ohio State, will try to respond at Michigan. That defeat was the Hoosiers’ first since the 2024 CFP first round.
Tennessee has jumped into the playoff picture at 6-1 and No. 11 after its statement win over Alabama. UCLA is also lurking at 6-0 and No. 9 after a 17-7 win over Wisconsin, and the Bruins will host Michigan State on Saturday.
Texas Tech has quietly built a strong case of its own. The Red Raiders are 6-0, ranked No. 8, and coming off a 53-25 win over Arizona State.
Cincinnati is next. Kentucky is another team climbing fast under first-year head coach Will Stein.
The Wildcats are 6-1, No. 12 in the AP Top 25, and fresh off a 21-13 road win at Oklahoma. Vanderbilt comes to town Saturday night.
The current top four seeds project as Miami (FL) at No. 1, BYU at No.
2, Ohio State at No. 3 and Ole Miss at No. 4.
That bracket would set up Boise State at Georgia, Tennessee at Indiana, Kentucky at Texas Tech, and UCLA at Notre Dame in the first round.
From there, the projected Final Four has Miami (FL) facing Ole Miss and BYU meeting Ohio State.
In Other News...
Mizzous Midseason Honors Confirm Just How Loaded This Roster Is
Midseason honors have a way of confirming what the eye test already suggested, and this week offered another reminder of how much talent is packed into Missouris roster. Four Tigers landed on the Associated Press midseason All-American team, with Jamal Roberts and Nicholas Rodriguez earning first-team recognition and Cayden Green and Daeden Hopkins showing up on the second team.
It was not just football bringing good news around campus, either. Megan Jolly picked up SEC Womens Diver of the Week after sweeping first place in both the 1-meter and 3-meter events at a recent meet, adding to a stretch of updates that has kept Missouri in the conversation across multiple sports as the season moves along. [Read more 🡒]
Former Mizzou Star Jordan Elliott Faces Career Crossroads After NFL Incident
Jordan Elliotts NFL path hit another rough patch this week after the Tennessee Titans released the former Missouri standout following an incident at the teams practice facility. The situation reportedly began with an altercation involving teammate JC Latham and escalated to the point where Elliot retrieved a gun before John Franklin-Meyers helped de-escalate things.
Titans coach Robert Saleh later framed the episode as a lapse in judgment rather than a criminal act, and said he would be willing to help Elliot land another opportunity. Elliott had signed a two-year deal with Tennessee in the offseason after previous stops with the Browns and 49ers, leaving the 27-year-old once again at a crossroads in a league that has already tested his staying power. [Read more 🡒]
Former Mizzou DT Jordan Elliott Is Suddenly Facing Serious NFL Fallout
Jordan Elliotts run with Tennessee ended abruptly after a practice incident that escalated far beyond the usual training-camp friction. The former Missouri defensive tackle, who signed a two-year deal with the Titans in the offseason, was released after an altercation with offensive tackle JC Latham led to Elliott retrieving a firearm, according to the account that emerged from the team.
Veteran defensive lineman John Franklin-Myers stepped in to help calm things down, and the episode was captured on the Titans security cameras. For a player once taken in the third round in 2020, it is a sudden and serious NFL setback, and one that leaves plenty unresolved about what comes next. [Read more 🡒]