Week 8 Recap: Compared to a few of the previous weeks, week 8 of the College Football season turned out to be rather mundane. There weren’t a lot of jarring upsets or shocking developments. Most of the big games were uncompetitive and there really weren’t that many great games to be honest. However, we learned a lot in week 8, and the picture now seems much clearer than it did a few weeks ago. And don’t anybody worry: there’s still a whole hell of a lot left to come. We’re just gettin’ started.
Five Ranked Teams Fall to Unranked Foes: Not that there weren’t a few upsets or ranked teams to go down in week 8, it’s just that most of the upsets were minor and the ranked teams that found trouble in week 8 mostly came out of the final 10 spots in the top 25. 1 top 10 team did fall to an unranked opponent in week 8 and the 17th, 18th, 21st, and 25th ranked teams also lost to unranked teams.
The highest ranked team to lose in week 8 was the #9 BYU Cougars, who came into the week 6-0 led by Heisman candidate QB Max Hall. There had been talk of BYU going undefeated and being a BCS buster for most of the season. It looked like they were probably headed for a collision with Utah in the final week of the season that could feature two undefeated teams and would decide the Mountain West Conference Championship and a birth in a BCS bowl. Some people were even saying that if BYU ended up undefeated and there was only 1 undefeated team from a BCS conference the Cougars “would have to be given the chance to play in the National Championship Game.” But all the talk of undefeated seasons and BCS bowls came to a crashing halt on Thursday night when the Cougars went into Fort Worth and got absolutely stomped by the TCU Horned Frogs, 32-7. It’s not like anybody was sleeping on TCU. They’ve been a power for years and everyone had looked at this contest as one of the games that BYU could lose. In fact, BYU was a 1.5 point underdog on the road in this game, so it wasn’t that big of a surprise that they ended up losing. What was a surprise was the way that they lost. BYU had outscored their opponents 227-61 over their first 6 games, averaging 37.8 points a game and allowing an average of just 10.2 points a game. They had scored at least 21 points in each game and hadn’t allowed more than 27 points in any game, but against the Horned Frogs they were outscored 32-7.
TCU scored the first 26 points of the ball game, leading 14-0 after the 1st quarter and 23-0 at halftime. BYU did not get on the board until there was 4:26 to play in the 3rd quarter and the Horned Frogs shut them out the rest of the night. TCU outgained BYU 410-297, had 10 more first downs (29-19), and turned the Cougars over 4 times. BYU had just 23 yards rushing, and Hall was just 22 of 42 for 274 yards, 0 TD’s, and 2 interceptions. He was sacked 6 times and lost a fumble. BYU should never have been ranked in the top 10 and following the loss they tumbled all the way to 18th in the AP Poll. On the other hand, the Horned Frogs vaulted from unranked (27th in terms of votes) to 15th this week. In BYU’s last visit to Fort Worth prior to this game back in 2006, the Cougars had upset the Horn Frogs to snap their 13 game win steak that at the time was the nation’s longest. On Thursday, TCU returned the favor, snapping BYU’s 16 game win streak that was the longest in the nation.
BYU wasn’t the only ranked team to lose ugly against an unranked opponent in week 8. #21 Wake Forrest went into College Park on Saturday as a 1 point underdog and got blanked by the Turtle, 26-0, getting shutout for the first time in 123 games, since a 42-0 loss to Air Force in 1998. Remember, when we last saw Maryland they were the ones being shutout, as they lost 31-0 to UVA in week 6. But the bye week and the home crowd seemed to transform Maryland and they outgained WF 470-219 and sacked Riley Skinner 4 times, outscoring the Deacons 13-0 in each half. The Demon Deacons did not receive a single vote in this week’s AP Poll.
Two other ranked ACC teams lost to unranked opponents in week 8. #17 Virginia Tech was a 3 point underdog at BC on Saturday night and despite a terrible game by Eagles QB Chris Crane, the Hokies somehow ended up losing, 28-23. BC turned the ball over 5 times and did not score a single point in the second half but they wound up winning. Crane threw 3 interceptions—2 of which were returned for touchdowns—and lost a fumble, while completing just 16 of 32 passes for 218 yards. VT scored the first 10 points of the game but the Eagles outscored them 28-7 the rest of the first half and then held the Hokies to 6 points in the second half. VT failed to gain a yard on its final drive as the Eagles hung on for the win. The Hokies fell all the way out of the rankings this week, while BC jumped into the rankings at #23 in the AP.
The other ranked ACC team to lose to an unranked opponent was the team you had to feel the most sympathy for. UNC came into their game at UVA ranked #18 in the country with a 5-1 record and favored by 3.5 points, but the Heels had been without QB TJ Yates for the last few weeks, and the previous week they lost their star WR Brandon Tate for the season. Despite the injuries, the Heels controlled the game throughout, but 3 turnovers kept them from putting the game away. UNC led 7-0 at halftime, held the Cavaliers scoreless into the 3rd quarter, and kicked a FG to make the score 10-3 with 2:22 left in the game. But the Tar Heel defense allowed the Cavs to go 82 yards in 9 plays and just a minute and 35 seconds to score a TD with 47 seconds left. Chris Hinkebein’s extra point was just barely good and the game went to overtime. UNC got the ball first in OT and settled for a FG but it only took UVA 4 plays to get into the end zone, with Cedric Peerman scoring on a 2 yard run to hand UNC a 16-13 loss in OT. UNC dropped all the way out of the AP Top 25 this week.
One more ranked team fell to an unranked opponent in the final game to be completed in week 8. The #25 California Bears were 2.5 point favorites on the road in Arizona in a late night contest on Saturday. Cal led 7-0 at the end of the 1st quarter and 24-14 at halftime but the Wildcats outscored them 28-3 in the 3rd quarter on their way to a 42-27 win. Mike Thomas caught 6 passes for 104 yards and a TD; Rob Gronkowski caught 6 passes for 91 yards and a TD; and freshman RB Keola Antolin ran for 149 yards on 21 carries and scored 3 TD’s to lead the Wildcats to one of their biggest wins in years. A 21 yard INT return for a TD by Devin Ross put the game away and the Bears were shutout over the final 24 minutes of the game.
The silliness of the poll system can be seen in the way that voters reacted to last week’s ACC play. The 3 ACC teams that lost for the second time all fell out of the rankings and were immediately replaced by 3 ACC teams with only 1 loss. When GT, FSU, and BC lose their 2nd game will VT, UNC, and WF go back in the rankings? As for the Pac-10, #6 USC is now their only ranked team after #25 Cal lost to fall out of the rankings. In fact, in terms of votes, no Pac-10 team other than USC finished higher than 34th in this weeks poll. But again it’s just silly the way the poll system works. 37 teams received votes in this week’s AP Poll. The teams ranked 34th, 35th, 36th, and 37th were all from the Pac-10. Meanwhile South Carolina and Ole Miss—who have more losses than all of those Pac-10 teams but have also played much harder schedules—received no votes.
Four Battles Between Ranked Teams Are Mostly Non-Competitive: There were 4 games between ranked opponents in week 8 but none of the games was that great and 2 of them were absolute runaways. Of the 4 games, the one between #10 Georgia and #22 Vanderbilt in Athens was the closest. Georgia was favored by 16.5 but as usual the Dawgs had a hard time putting the Commodores away. Georgia led 7-0 at the end of the 1st quarter and scored to go up 14-0 with 2:45 left in the half. But the Georgia defense allowed Vandy to go 75 yards in 8 plays over just 2 minutes and 22 seconds, and with help from a pair of questionable pass interference calls, the Dores got on the board with a TD to cut the deficit in half with just 22 seconds left on the clock. Georgia scored on its first possession of the second half to go up 21-7 but later in the 3rd quarter Matt Stafford was intercepted deep in UGA territory and the Dores quickly turned it into points, getting in the end zone again to cut the lead back down to 7 points. Georgia couldn’t add to their lead but they wouldn’t allow Vandy to get any closer either. With just 3 minutes left in the game, the Bulldawgs looked on the verge of putting the game away, with Blair Walsh set to kick a 37 yard field goal, but he banged it off the right upright for his second miss of the game and the Dores were still alive. But Georgia’s defense wouldn’t let Vandy even start a potential game scoring TD drive, forcing Vandy into a 4th and 6 and then stopping the Dores short of the first down to get the ball back with just over 2 minutes to play. Walsh tried another field goal and this time he made it and the Dawgs won it 24-14. A few weeks ago the Dores were 5-0 and ranked 14th in the country but after back to back defeats they dropped out of the rankings in this week’s AP.
After losing to Texas as the #1 team in the country in week 7, #4 Oklahoma hosted #16 Kansas in week 8 and came into the game favored by 19.5. This game was never really in doubt but Kansas hung around for a while and certainly didn’t embarrass themselves. The Sooners scored first in the game but the Jayhawks answered their TD with a TD of their own and the 1st quarter ended with the two teams tied at 7. Oklahoma scored a TD early in the 2nd quarter to retake the lead, and after Kansas kicked a FG to bring the score to 14-10, the Sooners added another TD to take a 21-10 lead. Kansas got a 69 yard TD pass get back within 4 points, down just 21-17, but the Sooners got a late FG to take a 24-17 lead into halftime. Kansas got the ball first in the second half with a chance to tie the game with a TD but they went 3 and out and Oklahoma needed just 3 plays to find the end zone and increase their lead to 14 points. The Jayhawks answered with a quick TD to make it 31-24 and later in the 3rd Kansas had a first down at their 42 and looked as if they might be about to drive for the game tying TD. But the drive stalled and Oklahoma got the ball back and scored another TD to make it a 2 score game again and it was never really close after that. The Sooners led 45-24 in the 4th quarter until Kansas scored with 58 seconds left to make the final score look a little closer than the game was. Oklahoma rebounded from their loss to the Longhorns nicely, getting back on track with a 45-31 win. I’ve picked on the AP Poll several times in this week’s review but I actually have to give the voters credit concerning KU. I don’t think Kansas is that good of a team but the voters had them ranked 16th going into last week. They shouldn’t have fallen far from 16th just for losing at Oklahoma, and they didn’t, dropping only 3 spots to #19 in this week’s rankings.
The two most highly anticipated games in week 8 were between #12 Ohio State and #20 Michigan State in East Lansing, and between #1 Texas and #11 Missouri in Austin. Neither game proved worthy of the advanced billing. They were both non-competitive routs. Both the Buckeyes and the Longhorns looked like dominant juggernauts in winning blowouts, while neither the Spartans nor the Tigers showed up for the games.
Ohio State held Michigan State to just 240 yards of total offense and limited Javon Ringer to just 67 yards on 16 carries and no TD. Beanie Wells ran the ball 31 times for 140 yards and 2 TD, and Terrelle Pryor rushed for 72 yards and a TD and threw for 116 yards and a TD. The Buckeyes led 21-0 at the end of the 1st quarter, led 28-0 at halftime, and outscored the Spartans 17-0 in the 4th quarter on the way to a 45-7 shellacking of Michigan State in East Lansing. So much for Michigan State being a contender for the Big Ten Title and so much for Ohio State struggling on offense. Sparty dropped out of the rankings this week.
The Texas-Mizzu game was even less competitive if you can believe that. Texas achieved 32 first downs, racked up 591 yards of offense, converted 10 of 12 third downs into first downs, and held the ball for 36 minutes and 26 seconds in a 56-31 domination of Missouri that was nowhere near as close as the final score. The Horns scored touchdowns on all 5 of their first half possessions, and they led 28-0 before Missouri finally crossed midfield. Missouri appeared to have scored a TD on 4th down from the 8, but the call was reversed following a review, and Texas went all the way down and scored again to go up 35-0, before Missouri kicked a FG on the final play of the half to make it a 35-3 score. The Horns went on to put 56 points up on the Tigers on their way to a 25 point win. After reaching the #3 spot in the AP Top 25 a couple of weeks ago, Missouri has lost their last two games and dropped 13 spots in the rankings, as they came in at #16 this week.
No Major Upsets: In each week prior to week 8 there had been a few teams to lose as heavy favorites, but last week there wasn’t even one such upset. In fact, the biggest underdog to win in week 8 was Miami (OH) which was just a 9.5 point dog on the road at Bowling Green. They won 27-20. Other than that, the biggest underdog to win was UVA, and they were just 3.5 point dogs at home against UNC. It just wasn’t a week for surprises.
Number of Unbeatens Shrinks to Nine: We began week 8 with 10 unbeaten teams and by the end of the week the number was down to 9. Actually, it happened early in the week, as BYU lost to TCU on Thursday night for their first defeat of the season. The Cougars had been 6-0 but they lost in Fort Worth by 25 points to see their undefeated dreams go up in smoke.
The other team from the MWC that entered the week undefeated—Utah—ended the week still undefeated, as the Utes cruised to a 49-16 win over Colorado State at home to get to 8-0. Utah has 4 games left and 3 of them are challenging. They have a bye in week 9 and then they play at New Mexico in week 10. Utah lost their last game in Albuquerque back in 2006 and the Lobos have won 2 of the last 3 and 3 of the last 5 against the Utes. The next week the Utes host TCU, who just blew out BYU. The Utes get a break in week 11 with a game against San Diego State on the road, but in the final week of the season they play BYU at home. Utah might come out of it still undefeated but they will have to travel across a fairly tough road to get there.
Boise State played last Friday night at home against Hawaii, and after leading just 10-7 at the half, the Broncos shutout the Warriors 17-0 in the second half and went on to win 27-7 to get to 6-0 on the season. The Broncos have 6 games left this year and 3 of them are somewhat challenging. Next Friday they play at San Jose State and their last two games there were decided by 3 and 7 points respectively. They’ll kill New Mexico State, Utah State, and Idaho, but in week 13 they have to go to Nevada, and last year the Wolf Pack took them to 4 overtimes in Boise. In their final game of the season the Broncos play Fresno State at home. The Bulldogs are a decent team but Boise State is almost impossible to beat at home.
Tulsa destroyed UTEP at home last week, 77-35, to get to 7-0 on the season. The Golden Hurricane debuted at #22 in this week’s AP Top 25. Tulsa has 5 games left and then the C-USA Championship Game. Next week Tulsa hosts UCF, who they have met in 2 of the last 3 C-USA Title Games. They have “tough” road games at Arkansas and Houston, then they host Tulane which should be a pushover, and they shouldn’t have trouble winning at Marshall in the final week of the season.
Ball State did not play in week 8 and thus they remained undefeated at 7-0 and this week they reached #20 in the AP rankings. They have 5 games left and 3 of them should be challenging. Games against EM and Miami (OH) should be cakewalks, but they also play NIU and WM at home, and play at CM. All 3 of those teams are solid.
Alabama hung on to beat Ole Miss, 24-20, in week 8 to stay unbeaten and get to 7-0 on the year. The Tide has 5 more games and the SEC Championship Game remaining. Home games against Mississippi State and Arkansas State are automatic W’s but they could find themselves in trouble at Tennessee this week, and they play at LSU in week 11. In the final game of the season they play the Iron Bowl of course, and they’ve lost 6 straight to Auburn, but they do play this one at home.
Penn State rolled Michigan in week 8 to get to 8-0 on the year. They have 4 games left but it would seem that only their game this week will be much of a fight. Fortunately for those of us hoping they will lose, it should be quite a fight indeed this week, when PSU travels to Columbus to play the Buckeyes inside the Horseshoe. If the Nittany Lions get by Ohio State they have a clear path to 12-0. They should win easily at Iowa, they couldn’t possibly lose to Indiana at home if they tried, and they play Michigan State at home this year so that figures to be another easy win. That’s it, as the Big Ten has no conference championship game.
The other 3 unbeatens are all in the Big XII South. Texas crushed Missouri in week 8 to get to 7-0. They have 5 games left and the conference championship game. A home game against Baylor will be a breeze but a game against Oklahoma State this week could be tough. A&M is always tough no matter what year it is, and they have to play on the road at Texas Tech and Kansas. Oklahoma State whipped Baylor in week 8 to get to 7-0 on the season. They could easily lose at Texas this week. After that they have an easy game at home against Iowa State, then they have to play at Texas Tech and Colorado, and they host Oklahoma in their final game. Texas Tech is 7-0 after beating Texas A&M in week 8. They play at Kansas next week and then they host Texas and Oklahoma State the next two weeks. After a bye week they play at Oklahoma before hosting Baylor in the final week of the season. Only 1 of these teams can finish undefeated and I think we’d all agree the most likely team to do so would be Texas.
Still 2 Lonely Winless Souls: There are still 2 teams in the FBS that have not won a single game this year, even against an FCS team. Washington lost at home to Oregon State last week, 34-13, to fall to 0-6 on the season. They host Notre Dame this week. North Texas lost on the road at ULM last week, 35-23, to fall to 0-7 on the year. This week they host Troy.
Number of Teams Without a Win Against FBS Team Shrinks From 12 to 8: Four teams got their first win against an FBS opponent in week 8. ULM went into last week 0-5 against FBS teams. The Warhawks beat North Texas at home, 35-23, for their first win over an FBS team. Miami (OH) was 0-5 against FBS teams entering last week but they upset Bowling Green on the road, 27-20, for their first win over an FBS team. UAB was 0-6 against FBS competition heading into last week. They got their first win over an FBS team with a 23-21 win over Marshall at home. Rutgers went into week 8 with an 0-5 record against FBS teams. They finally got their first win over an FBS team this year with a 12-10 victory over Connecticut at home.
National Championship Contender Field Shrinks: 11 teams suffered losses in week 8 that basically eliminated them from National Title contention. Any team from a non-BCS conference would almost certainly have to go undefeated to have any kind of shot at the NC, and thus BYU’s loss at TCU last Thursday basically wiped out their already slim hopes of a National Title. I do not think that a 2 loss team will make the National Championship game this year, but I felt like South Carolina might be able to sneak into the game somehow if they won out and beat LSU, Florida, Clemson, and an undefeated Bama in the SEC Championship Game. But they lost to LSU at home in week 8, ending their NC hopes for certain. In general, I think it’s safe to assume that a second loss for a team from a BCS conference would eliminate that team from NC contention. With that in mind, 9 teams lost for the second time in week 8 to fall out of the NC race. In the Big East, Connecticut fell to Rutgers for their 2nd loss. In the ACC, WF, VT, and UNC all suffered their 2nd loss of the season. In the Pac-10, Cal lost their 2nd game. In the Big Ten, Michigan State lost for a 2nd time this year. In the Big XII, both Missouri and Kansas lost for the second time. And in the SEC, Vandy lost its second game.
11 Serious Contenders: While there are a lot more than 11 teams left with 1 loss or less, I think that at this point there are 11 teams with a realistic shot at reaching the BCS Championship Game. The following is a list of the 11 teams ranked by how good or bad I feel their chances are, from worst to best.
#11 Oklahoma (6-1; 4th in BCS) For most teams, where they rank in the BCS would seem to be crucial even in October. When the BCS standings came out for the first time this week Oklahoma came in at #4. And yet, in my opinion, Oklahoma has the least chance of making it to the BCS Title Game of any of the remaining contenders. When the Sooners came out on the losing end of that classic Red River Shootout a couple weeks ago, I really thought it wasn’t that bad for them because they were unlikely to drop much in the polls and they had plenty of season left. But when you think about it, Oklahoma’s chances of playing in the NC aren’t great. Incredibly, they’ll probably finish the season 11-1 but won’t get close to the NC. The main reason is this: for Oklahoma to play in the NC they would have to win the Big XII, and for Oklahoma to win the Big XII they would have to win the Big XII South, and for Oklahoma to win the Big XII South they would have to win their remaining 5 games, and Texas would have to lose 2 of their final 4 games. Right now, it seems extremely unlikely that the Longhorns will lose twice.
#10 Oklahoma State (7-0; 6th in BCS) Whoever wins the Big XII South has a good shot at making it to the NC if they win the Big XII Title Game. If the Big XII champ goes undefeated they will most likely go to the NC. In order to go undefeated, Ok State would have to win at Texas, at Texas Tech, at Colorado, at home against Oklahoma, and over the North Champ in the title game. I don’t see that happening. Ok State could make the NC if they win the Big XII with 1 loss. Their key game is this week when they play on the road against #1 Texas. I seriously doubt they will win this one. If they do, obviously they’ll be in great shape to make the Big XII title game even if they do lose to Texas Tech or Oklahoma. If they lose to Texas their NC hopes will take a serious hit. Not only would they still have to win at Tech and Colorado and beat Oklahoma at home, they would need Texas to lose 2 of their final 3 games in order to make it to the conference championship game. As we’ve seen in the past, it’s nearly impossible to get to the NC if you don’t play in your conference’s championship game.
#9 Texas Tech (7-0; 8th in BCS) I like Texas Tech’s schedule a little bit better than Ok State’s. The Red Raiders play at Kansas and at Oklahoma but they get both Oklahoma State and Texas at home. If they go undefeated they will almost certainly be in the NC unless there are two undefeated teams besides them and then it’s anyone’s guess who gets left out. If they lose 1 game but they win the Big XII they would need help but they’d still have a chance. Once again, it will all depend on them being able to get into the Big XII title game. Personally, I don’t think they will get out of conference play with less than 2 losses.
#8 Ohio State (7-1; 9th in BCS) The Buckeyes’ biggest problem is not their record or their remaining schedule; it is their recent history and the public’s perception of them. If Ohio State beats Penn State at home in week 9 they will be alive for a 3rd straight NC appearance. They should win their other 3 games fairly easily and would finish 11-1 with a win over PSU and their only loss coming at USC. Still, they would need a lot of help from the teams in front of them and voters would most likely only turn to Ohio State if they absolutely had to.
#7 Georgia (6-1; 7th in BCS) If the Bulldawgs take care of business on their end they would either play for the NC or their absence in the game would cause an uproar so great it would shake the BCS to its core. It’s not just UGA; if any SEC champion is ever kept out of the NC again with 1 loss or less I think there will be a tremendous clamor and I think people will be so disgusted they will simply ignore the BCS and it will become meaningless. The problem isn’t getting in; it’s taking care of the business. The Dawgs would have to win at LSU, over Florida in Jacksonville, at Kentucky, at Auburn, over Tech at home, and then they would likely have to beat Bama in the SEC Championship Game. That’s a pretty tough row to hoe and one more loss ends all discussion of the NC.
#6 Florida (5-1; 10th in BCS) The Gators schedule is a bit more manageable than Georgia’s but it’s still tough. They would have to beat Georgia in Jacksonville, beat Vandy and FSU on the road, beat Kentucky and South Carolina at home, and then beat probably Bama in the conference championship. If Florida ends the season 12-1 with wins over LSU, Georgia, Vandy, FSU, SC, and Bama and doesn’t make the NC there will be a tremendous uproar. But just like Georgia, one slip up will end all hopes of playing for the NC.
#5 LSU (5-1; 13th in BCS) LSU somehow came in 13th in the BCS standings and people seem to have forgotten about them. I'm not sure why. They've lost one game at Florida and that's it. The Tigers have an easier schedule the rest of the way than Georgia or Florida. They get Georgia, Bama, and Ole Miss at home, and Arkansas on the road. If they then won the SEC Championship Game they would have a great chance to play in the NC again. How could you keep out the defending champs? But again, one slip up and it’s all over.
#4 Alabama (7-0; 2nd in BCS) Bama has a relatively tough remaining schedule, with road games against Tennessee and LSU, as well as a home game against rival Auburn. But they could easily finish the regular season undefeated and then win the conference title game and if they finish the year as undefeated SEC champs, they will play in the NC, regardless of what the rest of the teams in the country do. That’s the reason that I like their chances better than most other teams: they don’t need help from anyone yet. If they do slip up it will all depend on whether or not they make and win the SEC Championship Game. But they’ll need help if they end up with a loss.
#3 USC (5-1; 5th in BCS) I like the Trojans’ chances a lot because they do not have a single challenging game remaining on their schedule and they should finish the year 11-1. By the time the regular season is over and all the conference championship games have been played, USC will be the first 1-loss team in line should less than 2 teams finish undefeated.
#2 Texas (7-0; 1st in BCS) Texas still has to play Ok State at home and Texas Tech on the road but I think they’ll win those games and they shouldn’t have a problem with any of their other games, including the Big XII Championship Game. There is a long way to go, but at this point I think that Texas is going to finish the season undefeated for an automatic pass to the NC.
#1 Penn State (8-0; 3rd in BCS) If PSU wins at Ohio State this week the number of spots available in the National Title Game will shrink from 2 to 1. There is almost no chance of them losing any of their other 3 games and the Big Ten does not have a championship game. If they go undefeated they will almost certainly play in the NC. The only way they could be left out would be if Bama and Texas both went undefeated. Even then, part of you thinks that the powers at be would not allow Joe Paterno to be shutout of the NC if Penn State finishes undefeated, despite the fact that both Bama and Texas will have played significantly harder schedules. It’s pretty realistic to say that if the Nittany Lions win this week they are guaranteed to play in the NC.
Last Week’s Notable Scores
TCU 32, BYU 7 (BYU’s undefeated hopes go up in smoke.)
Boise St. 27, Haw 7 (Broncos win to remain undefeated.)
USF 45, Cuse 13 (Cuse remains without a win against FBS.)
FSU 26, NC St. (FSU moves to 5-1.)
NW 48, Pur 26 (NW rebounds to get to 6-1.)
Mary 26, WF 0 (Maryland’s up and down season continues.)
ECU 30, Mem 10 (Pirates end 3 game slide.)
Rut 12, Conn 10 (Rut finally gets first win over FBS opponent.)
Mia (OH) 27, BG 20 (Mia (OH) pulls off upset for first win vs. FBS.)
GT 21, Clem 17 (Tech beats Clem team in ruin to move to 6-1.)
Texas Tech 43, A&M 25 (Raiders come from behind to beat in-state rival.)
CM 38, WM 28 (CM wins huge MAC game over rivals.)
Iowa 38, Wis 16 (Wisconsin’s fall continues.)
UGA 24, Vandy 14 (Dawgs hang on to beat pesky Dores.)
Utah 49, CSU 16 (Utes cruise to stay undefeated.)
Ok St. 34, Bay 6 (Okie State avoids let down with blowout of Baylor to stay unbeaten.)
Ohio St. 45, Mich St. 7 (Buckeyes finally put it all together in huge Big Ten win.)
Oklahoma 45, Kan 31 (Sooners rebound from first loss to outscore Kan in shootout.)
USC 69, Wash St. 0 (This was like watching the varsity play the band with pads on.)
UVA 16, UNC 13 (OT) (UVA’s return to decency continues.)
Bama 24, Miss 20 (Bama hangs on to beat Rebels and stay undefeated.)
UAB 23, Marsh 21 (UAB gets first win vs. FBS.)
Pitt 42, Navy 21 (Pitt wins 5th straight since opening game debacle.)
PSU 46, Mich 17 (PSU shakes off slow start to run over Michigan and end 9 game losing streak against Wolverines.)
NM 70, SD St. 7 (Damn. Lobos show no mercy for pathetic Aztecs.)
FAU 24, WK 20 (Owls barley beat WK to keep Hilltoppers without a win vs. FBS.)
Ore St. 34, Wash 13 (Huskies lose big at home to fall to 0-6 on the season.)
ULM 35, NT 23 (ULM gets first win vs. FBS.)
LT 46, ID 14 (Idaho remains without a win against FBS opponent.)
BC 28, VT 23 (Eagles take care of Hokies to go to 5-1.)
Tex 56, Missouri 31 (Tigers lose 2nd straight game as Horns win in rout.)
Tulsa 77, UTEP 35 (Tulsa keeps unbeaten dreams alive.)
Hou 44, SMU 38 (Mustangs come up short to remain winless against FBS.)
Ari 42, Cal 27 (Bears go down in Tucson.)
LSU 24, SC 17 (Tigers rebound from romp in Swamp with solid road win.)
This Week’s Notable Games (Last week there were a few anticipated matchups but the games did not live up to our expectations. Week 8 was the most “chalky” week of the year but we needed a week like that. Once again there are a few big matchups in week 9 and there are some interesting conference battles taking place around the country.)
Tuesday
Ohio @ Tem (It’s Tuesday night football, don’t complain.)
Thursday
Aub @ WV (This looked like one of the best non-con matchups of the year in August.)
NM @ AF (AF gets bowl eligible with a win.)
Friday
Boise St. @ SJS (Broncos won last two in San Jose by just 3 and 7 points respectively.)
Saturday
Cin @ Conn (Big game in the Big East.)
NW @ Ind (Cats should move to 7-1.)
BC @ UNC (Solid ACC matchup.)
Ill @ Wis (Badgers still looking for first Big Ten win.)
EM @ BSU (BSU looks to stay undefeated.)
Texas Tech @ Kan (Red Raiders look to stay unbeaten; this should be a shootout.)
Min @ Pur (Gophers trying to get to 7-1 on the year.)
Ken @ Fla (Possible trap game for Gators with Georgia game looming next.)
Okla @ Kansas St. (Sooners look to stay in title hunt.)
UNLV @ BYU (Cougars try to rebound after first loss.)
Duke @ Vandy (Dores still looking for 1 more win to get bowl eligible.)
VT @ FSU (Intriguing ACC battle.)
UVA @ GT (UVA looks to keep turnaround going with upset of Jackets.)
USF @ Louisville (Interesting Big East matchup.)
UGA @ LSU (Huge SEC battle; loser is out of the NC picture.)
Mich St. @ Mich (Spartans look to end 6 game losing streak vs. in-state rivals.)
Kent St. @ Mia (OH) (Kent St. still looking for first win vs. FBS.)
Rut @ Pitt (Pitt tries to stay unbeaten in Big East play.)
Ok St. @ Tex (Battle of unbeatens; third straight big game for Horns.)
SMU @ Navy (Mustangs going for first win over FBS team.)
NMS @ ID (ID still looking for first win vs. FBS.)
Col @ Missouri (Tigers need a win badly after back to back losses.)
Troy @ NT (NT one of two FBS teams still without a win this year.)
Bama @ Tenn (Bama tries to stay unbeaten against long time rivals.)
PSU @ Ohio St. (Biggest game of the week; a win puts PSU in position to play in National Championship Game.)
ND @ Wash (Can Coach Ty get first win of the year vs. former team?)
USC @ Ari (Trojans last game outside the state of California.)
Sunday
UCF @ Tulsa (Tulsa tries to stay unbeaten against team they met in C-USA Championship Game in 2005 and 2007.)
No comments:
Post a Comment