WSU hangs steady at No. 8 in the College Football Playoff

The Washington State Cougars remained No. 8 in the College Football Playoff rankings for the third consecutive week as a Saturday devoid of big upsets led the committee to leave the top 10 unchanged.

Despite a big 24-point road win over the Colorado Buffaloes, the Cougars remained one spot behind the LSU Tigers and one spot ahead of the West Virginia Mountaineers in the rankings, which were released Tuesday night.

ESPN.com

I’ll be honest — I’m not sure how winning 24-17 at Arkansas (2-8 overall, 0-6 in the SEC) bolsters LSU’s resume to the point that they remain ahead of one-loss WSU and WVU after their decisive wins.

But if there’s a chance for WSU (and WVU) to move past LSU — and maybe even the Oklahoma Sooners or Georgia Bulldogs or Michigan Wolverines — without any of them losing, it might be this weekend. The Cougs are playing an Arizona Wildcats team on the rise, while all of those teams are playing a bunch of jokers. If it’s truly about resume, and those teams truly are close in the eyes of the committee, WSU has a chance to bolster theirs in a way that none of the teams immediately above them do.

(Also: Go Syracuse!)

Joining WSU in the top 25 from the Pac-12 are the Washington Huskies (up seven spots to No. 18 despite not playing last weekend) and Utah Utes (back in the rankings at No. 19 after beating the Oregon Ducks).