Das Team » sses heading into Saturday nights game

The U. is back -- near the bottom of the ACC Coastal Division standings.After opening the Mark Richt era with four straight victories, the Hurricanes have lost three consecutive games, including an ugly 37-16 loss at Virginia Tech last week.The Hurricanes play three of their final five regular-season games on the road, starting with Saturdays trip to reeling Notre Dame, which meant a lot more in the 1980s and 90s than it means right now.Miami and Houston were the only teams eliminated from the College Football Playoff race this week by The Eliminator, which is trimming the 128-team FBS field to four teams for the four spots in the playoff.Through eight weeks, 106 of the 128 FBS teams have been eliminated from the College Football Playoff race, leaving 22 teams in contention for the four spots.Heres where the FBS stands after Week 8:Jump to sections: Whos in??| Still in contention | On the fence | Better luck next season | Previously eliminatedWhos in?Ohio States stunning 24-21 loss at unranked Penn State on Saturday night shook up the top four spots in the CFP race. No. 1 Alabama remains in the top spot after winning its 20th consecutive game and 12th straight over a ranked foe, 33-14 over No. 6 Texas A&M at Bryant-Denny Stadium on Saturday. Michigan, which is 7-0 for the first time since 2006, moves into the No. 2 spot, and Clemson is No. 3 after taking the weekend off. Washington, which beat Oregon State 41-17 to improve to 7-0, moves into the No. 4 spot. The Buckeyes are still alive in the playoff race, but theyll have to win their final five regular-season games, including a Nov. 26 showdown against the Wolverines at the Horseshoe, which figures to be a winner-take-all finale in the Big Ten East.Still in contentionAlabama Crimson TideTrending: UPAccording to research by ESPN Stats & Information, Alabamas defense is adding about 21 points per game to its net scoring margin by forcing turnovers and turning them into points, controlling field position and limiting opponents offenses. Thats the highest defensive efficiency this far into the season in the past decade.Baylor BearsTrending: EVENI hope the Bears havent worn themselves out after their recent four-game stretch: Iowa State, bye, Kansas, bye. At least the bye teams didnt have 1-6 records, like four of the six teams Baylor has defeated this season.Clemson TigersTrending: EVENThe six FBS foes the Tigers have defeated this season are a combined 14 games above .500. Thats the best opponents record among the top four teams in the AP top 25: Alabamas eight FBS opponents are 34-25, Michigans seven opponents are 27-24 and Washingtons six foes are 16-28.Louisville CardinalsTrending: UPGo ahead and hand him the Heisman? Louisville quarterback Lamar Jackson has accounted for 34 touchdowns (rushing and passing), which is more than any other player through seven games in FBS history. Its eight more than Robert Griffin III and Jameis Winston had through seven games during their Heisman-winning seasons in 2011 and 13, respectively.Michigan WolverinesTrending: UPIts kind of lonely atop the Big Ten East standings, isnt it Wolverines? Dont worry, the Buckeyes are right below you.Nebraska CornhuskersTrending: DOWNAfter having to come from behind to beat Big Ten cellar-dweller Purdue 27-14 last week, the Cornhuskers play on Saturday at Wisconsin, where they havent won in 50 years. A Nebraska linebacker named Barry Alvarez had an interception in the Cornhuskers last victory at Camp Randall Stadium on Oct. 8, 1966.Washington HuskiesTrending: EVENHuskies coach Chris Petersen isnt saying when linebacker Joe Mathis will return to the field. Mathis, who leads the Huskies with five sacks and 7? tackles for loss, didnt play in last weeks 41-17 win over Oregon State. He was seen wearing a walking boot on campus last week. Petersen said his injury isnt season ending, but wont say when hell be back.West Virginia MountaineersTrending: UPWest Virginias Dana Holgorsen has guided the Mountaineers to 11 victories in their past 12 games, or six more than Notre Dame has won in the same span.On the fenceAuburn TigersTrending: UPIm not sure bleach and Spray N Wash will get the cleat marks off Arkansas jerseys.Boise State BroncosTrending: UP Upset alert: The No. 13 Broncos play at Wyoming on Saturday night, which might not sound so daunting. But the Cowboys have won four of their past five games, and theyre 5-2 (3-0 Mountain West), after going 6-18 in coach Craig Bohls first two seasons.Florida GatorsTrending: EVENIts the first time in 27 seasons that neither Mark Richt nor Steve Spurrier coached in the annual Florida-Georgia game. The last time it happened was Nov. 11, 1989, when Ray Goff guided the Bulldogs to a 17-10 win over the Gators, who were led by interim coach Galen Hall.LSU TigersTrending: UPIf interim coach Ed Orgeron guides the Tigers to an upset win over No. 1 Alabama (and former LSU coach Nick Saban), theyll give him the full-time job -- and rename Tiger Stadium in his honor.North Carolina Tar HeelsTrending: EVENDont look now, but it looks like North Carolinas defense has turned the corner under second-year coordinator Gene Chizik. The Tar Heels allowed season-low rushing totals in each of their past two games and had seven tackles for loss in a 35-14 win at Virginia.Ohio State BuckeyesTrending: DOWNThe Buckeyes are going to need some help if theyre going to get back into the playoff race, but history shows theyre probably going to rebound quickly. Urban Meyers teams have lost consecutive games only four times in his 15-year career and only once at Ohio State, when the Buckeyes dropped back-to-back games against Michigan State and Clemson at the end of the 2013 season.Oklahoma SoonersTrending: DOWNThey broke calculators in Lubbock, Texas, on Saturday night.Pittsburgh PanthersTrending: EVENThe Panthers are probably going to need North Carolina to lose twice to win the ACCs Coastal Division. But they can stay in the race by upsetting No. 25 Virginia Tech on Thursday night.?Tennessee VolunteersTrending: EVENThe Volunteers are coming off back-to-back losses heading into Saturday nights game at South Carolina. The good news: No UT players were hurt during last weeks open date.Texas A&M AggiesTrending: EVENCome on, Aggies, its OK to admit it. You thought you had a chance to win, didnt you??Utah UtesTrending: EVENI think its really cool that Utah coach Kyle Whittingham schedules his teams practices in the morning so once-retired tailback Joe Williams can still catch Golden Girls reruns.Virginia Tech HokiesTrending: UPThank goodness Hokies defensive coordinator Bud Foster isnt allowed to hand out Benjamins for quarterback sacks. He would have been broke after Tech sacked Miamis Brad Kaaya eight times in last weeks 37-16 win over the Hurricanes.Western Michigan BroncosTrending: UPThe Broncos are still rowing their boats -- maybe all the way to the Cotton Bowl.Wisconsin BadgersTrending: UPThe Badgers 17-9 win at Iowa came with a costly loss. Leading tackler Jack Cichy tore a pectoral muscle and will miss the rest of the season. The Badgers also lost starting inside linebacker Chris Orr to a season-ending ACL injury on the first drive of the season against LSU.Better luck next seasonHouston CougarsTrending: DOWNHoustons surprising 38-16 loss to SMU probably didnt help Cougars coach Tom Hermans chances of landing the Texas job (if it opens). But it probably boosted Mustangs coach Chad Morris chances of landing the Baylor job if he wants it.Miami HurricanesTrending: DOWNYou can buy tickets to attend Miamis game at Notre Dame on Saturday for less than $45 on StubHub. Oh, how the once mighty have fallen.Previously eliminatedEliminated in Week 7: Arizona State Sun Devils, Maryland Terrapins, Ole Miss Rebels, Wake Forest Demon DeaconsEliminated in Week 6:?Air Force Falcons,?Arkansas Razorbacks,?Colorado Buffaloes,?Indiana Hoosiers,?Minnesota Gophers,?Stanford Cardinal,?Texas Tech Red Raiders,?UCLA BruinsEliminated in Week 5:?Arizona Wildcats, Cincinnati Bearcats, Florida State Seminoles, Georgia Bulldogs, Georgia Tech Yellow Jackets, Iowa Hawkeyes, Kansas State Wildcats, Memphis Tigers, Michigan State Spartans, Navy Midshipmen, Oregon Ducks, San Diego State Aztecs, TCU Horned Frogs, Texas Longhorns, Toledo RocketsEliminated in Week 4: Army Black Knights, Central Michigan Chippewas, East Carolina Pirates, Georgia Southern Eagles, Oklahoma State Cowboys, Oregon State Beavers, Penn State Nittany Lions, Rutgers Scarlet Knights, South Carolina Gamecocks, South Florida Bulls, USC TrojansEliminated in Week 3: Boston College Eagles, Duke Blue Devils, Illinois Fighting Illini, Marshall Thundering Herd,?Missouri Tigers, Notre Dame Fighting Irish, Southern Mississippi Golden Eagles, Syracuse Orange, Texas State Bobcats, Vanderbilt CommodoresEliminated in Week 2: Akron Zips, Ball State Cardinals, BYU Cougars, California Bears, Connecticut Huskies, Eastern Michigan Eagles, Florida Atlantic Owls, Idaho Vandals, Kansas Jayhawks, Louisiana Monroe Warhawks, Middle Tennessee Blue Raiders, Nevada Wolf Pack, New Mexico Lobos, NC State Wolfpack, Old Dominion Monarchs, Purdue Boilermakers, SMU Mustangs, South Alabama Jaguars, Texas San Antonio Roadrunners, Troy Trojans, Tulsa Golden Hurricane, UCF Knights, UNLV Rebels, Utah State Aggies, UTEP Miners, Western Kentucky Hilltoppers, Wyoming CowboysEliminated in Week 1: