BLOOMINGTON, Ind. — Indiana football coach Curt Cignetti said quarterback Fernando Mendoza prepares better than any player he's ever been around. But nothing could've readied Mendoza for the sights and sounds he witnessed Saturday evening from Memorial Stadium's Northeast corner.

Alabama replaces Miami as a top-four seed in the College Football Playoff based on The Associated Press Top 25 released Sunday and Georgia Tech, Vanderbilt and BYU are on the mock bracket for the first time.

Fernando Mendoza heaps praise upon his teammates, but they're quick to elevate their leader. He's slowly built his Heisman Trophy campaign, even if he won't admit it.

How many times do we see a coach take a program to new heights only to jump to a job he thinks is bigger and better?

College Football Playoff projections Week 8: Where Ole Miss and Texas Tech landed originally appeared on The Sporting News. Add The Sporting News as a Preferred Source by clicking here.

Games with ACC or Big Ten teams that involved three times worth of travel generally went quite well for the home teams in Week 8, as they finished 6-1 in contests against their cross-country visitors. The one exception was quite notable, as Rutgers ended up on the wrong side of Oregon's wrath in a 56-10 loss to an angry group of Ducks.

Let's make something abundantly clear. Indiana won't be ranked No. 1 in any poll anytime soon as long as Ohio State keeps winning. In fact, no one is likely to unseat the Buckeyes unless the Buckeyes finally unseat themselves.

Indiana football freshman safety Byron Baldwin is off the team's availability report Saturday against Michigan State.