NFCA softball poll week 8: big changes after sweeps, rallies, and key outs

Risers and fallers: this week’s poll.

Week eight of college softball saw some of the biggest matchups yet, with another shakeup of the National Fastpitch Coaches Association top-25 poll.

The biggest story is Tennessee's continued decline. The Lady Vols were ranked No. 1 just weeks ago, but now find themselves at No. 7.

Tennessee hosted unranked Ole Miss and dropped two of three games. Two 2-1 final scores are very emblematic of Tennessee’s season. The pitching has been elite, but the bats have left a lot to be desired.

Another faller is Florida. After taking two of three games against Tennessee two weeks ago, Florida found itself as the No. 3-ranked team in the country. The good times would be cut surprisingly short, as the Gators dropped two of three to No. 9 Arkansas.

Florida, at No. 5 in the coaches poll, gave up six runs in each game, and only managed six total runs in their losses. 

Two SEC contenders were able to capitalize on Tennessee and Florida’s struggles.

The perpetual contender, Oklahoma, finds itself ranked No. 3 following its success this past weekend. The Sooners took two out of three from No. 20 LSU.

Despite losing the series, LSU fought hard, almost flipping the script and taking two of three from Oklahoma after a thrilling game one. 

LSU lost the lead in the top of the seventh before tying it in the bottom of the inning. Oklahoma would come through in the top of the 8th, however, and hold on to a 3-2 victory. 

Alabama was the other team to capitalize, jumping back into the No. 4 spot after losing it last week. Alabama took care of business against some easier opponents like Jacksonville State, the University of North Alabama, and North Dakota State.

The real test comes next week. The Crimson Tide will host the No. 1-ranked Texas Longhorns in a high-powered matchup. Any outcome but a sweep would be a win for Alabama, and if they can win or sweep the series themselves, there might be a new top dog come next week.

A showdown between the top Big Ten teams brought another upset to the table. Nebraska hosted UCLA in the school’s lone regular-season meeting. 

The Bruins avoided a sweep by staving off a seventh-inning rally by the Cornhuskers in game two. This is the first time all season Nebraska has been ranked above UCLA, No. 8 and No. 10, respectively. 

Another Big Ten team, Washington, keeps on winning. A dominant three-game sweep over rival Iowa has their win streak up to 20 games. Washington, ranked No. 21, scored a total of 36 runs in the series.

The Huskies will play a similarly ranked No. 24 Stanford for a two-game series this week. This will be Washington’s first ranked competition in a few months. 

Stanford has been trending in the opposite direction of Washington, having dropped five spots to No. 24. The Cardinals dropped two of three to the now No. 23-ranked Duke, which includes one of the craziest games of the year.

Stanford led the final game of the series 14-8 going into the bottom of the seventh inning, before Duke rallied for an insane nine runs. The game was capped off by Tyrina Jones, who hit a walk-off three-run homer to complete the comeback. 

25. South Carolina, 22-14, (23)

24. Stanford, 20-10, (19)

23. Duke, 24-11, (24)

22. LSU, 23-12, (20)

21. Washington, 30-6, (25)

20. Arizona State, 28-9, (22)

19. Oklahoma State, 25-10, (21)

18. Oregon, 26-9, (18)

17. Grand Canyon, 36-2, (17)

16. Texas A&M, 24-11, (16)

15. Georgia, 27-8, (15)

14. Arizona, 27-8, (14)

13. Mississippi State, 31-7, (12)

12. Virginia, 31-3, (13)

11. Virginia Tech, 31-4, (11)

10. UCLA, 29-4, (7)

9. Arkansas, 30-5, (10)

8. Nebraska, 26-6, (9)

7. Tennessee, 30-5, (4)

6. Florida State, 32-4, (8)

5. Florida, 33-4, (3)

4. Alabama, 33-2, (6)

3. Oklahoma, 34-3, (5)

2. Texas Tech, 34-2 (2)

1. Texas, 31-2, (1)

Thank you for reading Female Athlete News. Carter Joseph Brooks is a student-intern at Penn State University.