Rankings from voters are a combination of what you've done, and what you are expected to do going forward.
The first few weeks of the season, votes are probably based more on what you are expected to do; and in Feb & Mar they are based almost entirely on what you've done.
Based on who we've played, AND how we performed against them, #8 might be generous. But I think voters also acknowledge our youth, and how Cal's teams improve more than most from Nov to March.
In the next 3 weeks we will be adding games vs Va Tech, UCLA, UL and Georgia. At that point voters will have a better idea where to place us. Those are not only all winnable games, but we will be favored in at least 3 of the 4, probably all 4. At that point 12-1 will look pretty good, even 11-2 won't look bad.
My prediction for Jan 1:
win all 4, be 12-1, be ranked #5 (40% chance)
win 3 of 4, be 11-2, be ranked #11 (45% chance)
win 2 of 4, be 10-3, be ranked #20 (10% chance)
win <2 of 4, not ranked (5% chance)
I'm happy with an 85% chance at being ranked in the top 11 after Dec w/ this young team (as long as we are seeing progress).