The college football rankings have been as volatile and unpredictable as August’s storm in the US topography. Before we jump ship into a more chaotic week 8, the cynosure of the last week should call attention. And it was nothing but a wholesome match between Ohio State Buckeyes and Oregon Ducks. Another thrilling weekend ascends upon the field as No. 3 Oregon threw an upset on No. 2 Ohio State with a 32-31 epic Big Ten Battle, marking their first-ever victory against a top-two ranked opponent.

Consequently, the change in the ranking became the instant talk of the town, and here’s how much it makes sense.

Does the week 8 AP Poll ranking need some rejig? Explained

Unsurprisingly, these sudden turns and twists caused a stir in the AP Poll rankings, the multi-layered parameter of the team’s worth in the highly competitive playoff. Despite starting on a good note, the Buckeyes failed to keep up the momentum by the time they walked into the halftime locker room, leading to a close (32-31) loss. But as they say, a loss is a loss. It ended the claim of the No.1 rank of the Buckeyes in the AP Top 25 poll. They moved down to No. 4 in the country while Oregon took over with a sharp No.2.

To track the legitimacy of the change in the spots, college football analyst RJ Young said, ”Number four, they have Ohio State. Fine, I’m not going to fault that except to say I think I would flip them because Ohio State looks like the better football team and if you’re using your eye test, you’re going to pick Ohio State to beat Penn State, hence the rankings right if we’re going to respect being undefeated I’m with that.”

The loss would hurt the Buckeyes because they were leading for the majority of the game. Even at the end, they just needed a field goal to win the game, but QB Will Howard, who had a great game, failed to see that the clock had run out when he rushed to extend the game. Head Coach Ryan Day took responsibility for his team’s not-so-tragic downfall in their game.

Ryan Day reflects on Ohio State’s recent downturn 

Autzen Stadium was rallying behind the Ducks’ after they outlasted the Buckeyes with a Big 10 thriller. There might be several pointers that went wrong for the team, but Day chose to call out a specific fatal decision. If you keenly watched the game, you can’t agree more that the offensive pass interference call on Jeremiah Smith changed the direction of the entire fight. It fell heavily on the Buckeyes’ game-saving field goal attempt.

On the last play, when they were just a few more yards away from a field goal, Ohio State quarterback Will Howard rushed, but the clock pulled the rug. However, overall, Day sees it as a team failure over anything.

”You hate to point fingers, and I won’t do that. That is a team loss. We wanted to keep adding to the field goal because every time you add five yards, it increases it. You take a little penalty like that. It’s heartbreaking, but that’s football.” said the 45-year-old veteran, silently bulking up for the remaining test as their season is far from being over.

What’s your critical take on the week 8 college football rankings? Let us know in the comments.