Boise State moves up one spot in Week 8 AP Poll

Boise State remained at No. 22 in the Coaches Poll after Saturday’s 31-10 road Pac-12 victory over Washington State.

The Week 8 AP Poll was also released on Sunday, and the Broncos (6-1, 3-0) moved up one spot into a tie for 20th with Northwestern. Boise State was No. 21 in last week’s poll.

Boise State and Northwestern both received 422 votes in the poll. The Wildcats (6-1, 3-1 Big Ten) travel to sputtering Oregon (4-3, 2-2) next week while Boise State hosts Texas State (4-3, 2-1) at 8 p.m. Mountain time on Halloween.

The Broncos, who are tied with Oregon State (5-2, 3-0) atop the Pac-12 standings, got off to a slow start in Pullman on Saturday and entered the fourth quarter locked in a surprising 10-10 tie. Boise State outscored the Cougars 21-0 in the final period to seal the win.

Dylan Riley heated up in the fourth quarter with touchdown runs of 33 and 72 yards. Prior to his explosive runs, Riley had just 10 carries for 22 yards.

With Riley and Sire Gaines, the Broncos were finally able to wear down Washington State’s defense after three quarters.

“That’s always the mentality, especially when we know how good a defense can be,” Riley said. “It’s not always going to pop the first quarter, the second quarter, because sometimes you’ve got to wear a team out. It was just a matter of us doing our job, keep doing what we’re doing, and eventually it just happened.”

The Broncos were once again the only Group of Six team in the top 25.

Three other Group of Six teams earned votes in the poll: New Mexico (41), Oregon State (10) and UTSA (one). James Madison, which received 52 votes last week, did not get a vote after suffering a 34-31 overtime loss to Appalachian State.

The top Group of Six team in the final College Football Playoff rankings receives an automatic bid to the 12-team playoff.

Miami held its spot atop the AP Poll, followed by Ohio State, Georgia, Indiana and Notre Dame.

Here is the full Week 8 AP poll (first-place votes in parentheses):

Week 8 AP Poll

1. Miami (59)

2. Ohio State (10)

3. Georgia

4. Indiana

5. Notre Dame

6. Utah (1)

7. UCLA

8. BYU

9. Kentucky

10. Alabama

11. Texas

12. Ole Miss

13. Texas Tech

14. Wake Forest

15. LSU

16. Tennessee

17. Florida

18. Houston

19. SMU

T-20. Boise State

T-20. Northwestern

22. Arizona

23. Missouri

24. Oklahoma State

25. Wisconsin

Others receiving votes: Iowa 76, New Mexico 41, Cincinnati 11, Oregon State 10, South Carolina 8, Minnesota 7, USC 7, UTSA 1, Virginia Tech 1

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