Week 8 Recap

Week 8 had some pretty interesting finishes. There was a pair of 4OT games, a blocked FG returned for a TD as time expired, and the number 3 ranked team got beat by an unranked team, but that was supposed to happen. Just another weekend of college football.

How I Fared: (3-3 this week, 27-22 overall)

Conference Overviews
SEC: Arkansas and Auburn played one for the ages. The Hogs came out on top 54-46 in 4OT on a cloudy day in Fayetteville. (It was the most stressful 4 hours of my life.) The Auburn players had a case of the drops in this game. The receivers dropped 8 passes and the defense probably dropped 3. Arkansas started off with a 14-0 lead early in the second quarter. The Arkansas defense forced 4 straight punts by Auburn, but the Tigers gained a lot of momentum after picking off Brandon Allen near the goal line. Auburn then had TD drives of 96, 75, and 93 yards then forced OT with a 41-yard FG with 4 seconds remaining. The teams traded TDs, PATs and 2-point conversions in the first 3OTs, but WR Drew Morgan caught a short pass from Allen at the 20-yard line, broke a tackle and dove into the end zone. Kody Walker then caught the pass from Brandon Allen for the 2-pt conversion. With the game on the line, Arkansas’s Josh Liddell broke up the pass on 4th and 9, giving Arkansas the win. What a game. Western Kentucky kept it close in the first half of their game against 5LSU, but the Tigers scored 34 points in the second half to remain unbeaten. Leonard Fournette had another big game, rushing for 150 yards and a TD. Alabama had a close call against Tennessee, but Derrick Henry sealed the 19-14 win with a late TD run. Henry carried the ball 28 times for 143 yards and 2TDs in the game. Tennessee got the ball back after Bama scored, but fumbled with 1:18 left and Alabama was able to kill the clock. Ole Miss got an ugly 23-3 win over Texas A&M. These two combined for 7 total turnovers and A&M only gained 192 total yards. Vanderbilt got their first conference win under Derek Mason by beating Missouri 10-3. The Tigers got all the way to the Vanderbilt 13, but ran out of time. Missouri didn’t convert on 3rd down in this game. Missouri hasn’t scored a TD in their last 13 quarters of play. Mississippi State used a big 21-point 2nd quarter to beat Kentucky 42-16. Dak Prescott was once again the star, passing for 348 yards and 3TDs and also rushing for 117 yards and 3TDs. Next Week: UTM at ARK, 19OM at AUB, SCAR at TAMU, 11UF vs UGA (JAX), VAN at 18HOU, TENN at UK

Big 10: Top-ranked Ohio State didn’t have any trouble on the road at Rutgers. The Buckeyes won 49-7 and the lone Rutgers’ TD came with 13 seconds remaining in the game. JT Barrett threw 3TDs and rushed for 2 more in the game. Ezekiel Elliott rushed for 142 yards and 2TDs as well. Indiana game Michigan State a scare for 3 quarters. After only having a 28-26 lead entering the 4th quarter, Sparty won 52-26. Connor Cook was 30/52 for 398 yards and 4TDs. Northwestern barely got by Nebraska 30-28. Nebraska scored with 4:23 remaining but couldn’t add the 2-point conversion. Northwestern was able to keep the ball for the rest of the game and get out of Lincoln with a close win. Wisconsin beat Illinois 24-13 but lost QB Joel Stave early in the game. Illinois threw an INT, turned the ball over on downs, and fumbled on their final 3 possessions of the game. Penn State beat Maryland 31-30 thanks to a late INT. Maryland scored on their first 3 drives of the second half, but turned the ball over on their last 4 drives. The Terps turned the ball over 5 times in this game. Next Week: ILL at PSU, NEB at PUR, RUT at WIS, MD at 10Iowa, 15MICH at MINN

Pac 12: UCLA thumped California 40-24 on Thursday night. Cal was never really in this game. UCLA QB Josh Rosen looked great in this game. He was making throws most true freshmen don’t make. Rosen and Cal QB Jared Goff each threw 3TDs in this game, but UCLA outgained Cal by almost 150 yards. USC beat up Utah 42-24. I guess the people in Vegas knew what they were talking about when they made the Trojans the favorites. Utah started out with a 14-7 lead, but USC scored 21 in the second quarter. Utes QB Travis Wilson doubled his INTs, throwing 4 in this game. Three went to Cameron Smith and he returned one for a TD. Devntae Booker only rushed for 62 yards in this game. Stanford didn’t have much trouble with Washington, winning 31-14. Christian McCaffrey rushed for 109 yards and a TD and had 112 receiving yards and a TD. The Cardinal outgained the Huskies 478-231 in total yards. Washington State extended their Pac 12 winning streak to 3 with a 45-42 win at Arizona. QB Luke Falk threw for 514 yards and 5TDs (just another day at the office for him). Arizona scored 14 points in the final quarter, but were unable to recover the onside kick, sealing the win for the Cougars. Colorado got their first Pac 12 win of the season over Oregon State by a score of 17-13. The Buffaloes sealed the win by picking off Oregon State QB Nick Mitchell with less than a minute to play. Next Week: ORE at ASU (Th), USC at CAL, COLO at 24UCLA, ORST at 13Utah, 8STAN at WSU, ARI at WASH

Big 12: Baylor was held to their lowest score of the season in their 45-27 win over Iowa State. The Bears also lost QB Seth Russell for the rest of the season. He broke a bone in his neck. Shock Linwood rushed for 171 yards and a TD in this game. Iowa State turned the ball over 4 times and have since fired their offensive coordinator. Oklahoma State crushed Kansas 58-10 in the aftermath of the horrible tragedy during the homecoming parade. QB JW Walsh threw 2TDs and rushed for 3 more. Oklahoma dismantled Texas Tech in a 63-27 win. Red Raider QB Patrick Mahomes threw 4INTs while Oklahoma’s star RB, Samaje Perine rushed for 201 yards and 4TDs. Texas Tech had more first downs than points in this game. Texas’s defense flexed their muscles in their 23-9 win over Kansas State. Tyrone Swoopes rushed for 3TDs for the Longhorns. Next Week: WVU at 5TCU (Th), 14OU at KU, 12OKST at TTU, TEX at ISU

ACC: Clemson went to Miami and handed the Hurricanes the worst loss in school history by beating them 58-0. This loss led to the firing of Al Golden. There really isn’t too much more to say about this game. Now to a game that made me very happy: Georgia Tech upsetting 9th ranked Florida State with their own version of the “Kick-6”. I am not a Florida State fan at all, nor am I really an ACC fan, so seeing the ‘Noles lose their first regular season game since losing to Florida on November 24, 2012 made me smile. Georgia Tech shut out FSU in the second half and tied the game on a FG with 54 seconds left. FSU kicker Roberto Aguayo set up for a 56-yard FG, but it was blocked and returned 78 yards for the score by Lance Austin. If you haven’t seen the play, you should go look it up. The call is pretty awesome too. Everett Golson threw his first INT as a Seminole in this game too. Duke beat Virginia Tech 45-43 in 4OTs (it was rude of them to overshadow Arkanas’s 4OT win). This was an extremely high scoring game for the ACC and especially for Virginia Tech. Duke QB Thomas Sirk threw 4TDs in this game and ran for the game winning 2-point conversion in the 4th OT. VT QB Michael Brewer threw 3TDs to Bucky Hodges and got help on the ground from Travon McMillian who rushed for 142 yards and 2TDs. Pittsburgh escaped with a win thanks to kicker Chris Blewitt for the second straight game. This time it was to beat Syracuse 23-20. He nailed a 25-yarder as time expired in the Carrier Dome. North Carolina State used a huge 28-point first quarter to beat Wake Forest 35-17. The shortest TD for the Wolf Pack was a 52-yard punt return. Louisville beat Boston College 17-14 despite being shut out in the second half. Neither team scored in the 4th quarter and neither was able to move the ball in the second half. North Carolina got to bowl eligibility with their 26-13 win over Virginia. The Tar Heels shut out UVA in the second half and forced 5 turnovers during this game. Elijah Hood rushed for 101 yards and 2TDs for UNC. Next Week: UNC at 23PITT (Th), LOU at WF (Fri), SYR at 17FSU, VT at BC, GT at UVA, 3CLEM at NCST, MIA at 22Duke

Independents: Army lost to Rice 31-38. The Black Knights tied the game at 31 with just over 2 minutes remaining, but Driphus Jackson hit Zack Wright for a TD with 24 seconds left to take the lead. Army was able to get into Rice territory, but just didn’t have enough time to score. BYU got a big 70-6 win over FCS Wagner. Tanner Mangum threw 3TDs and the Cougars rushed for 6TDs as a team. BYU outgained Wagner 741-129 in total yards. Next Week: 9ND at 21TEM

American: After week 8 there are still 3 undefeated teams in the American, just in case you were wondering. Temple beat East Carolina 24-14 to get to 7-0 and the best start in school history. This was not a pretty win for the Owls. They needed 14 in the final quarter to secure their win. Memphis had a hard fought game for awhile against Tulsa, but pulled away late to win 66-42. Paxton Lynch and Dane Evans each threw 4TDs for their respective teams. Houston had no problem going on the road to UCF. The Cougars beat UCF 59-10 to stay undefeated. Houston’s Kenneth Farrow rushed for 167 yards and 3TDs. Navy beat Tulane 31-14 thanks to QB Keenan Reynolds’ two rushing TDs. USF beat SMU 38-14 despite being down 3-7 after the first quarter. Quinton Flowers rushed for 201 yards and 3TDs for the Bulls. Cincinnati got Gunner Kiel back and beat Connecticut 37-13. Kiel was 26/35 for 327 yards and 2TDs in his first game back since getting hurt against Memphis. Next Week: ECU at UConn (Fri), UCF at CIN, USF at Navy, TULS at SMU, TUL at 16MEM, VAN at 18HOU, 9ND at 21TEM

Mountain West: San Diego State made me look a little dumb by beating up Utah State 48-14. The Aztecs scored 34 points in the first half and didn’t give the Aggies a chance. SDSU RB Donnel Pumphrey rushed for 181 yards and 2TDs in the rout. The Aggies turned the ball over 4 times and SDSU rushed for 5TDs. Air Force got a big win over Fresno State, winning 42-14. The majority of the Air Force offence ironically came from QB Karson Robert’s 4 rush TDs. Nevada needed a comeback to beat Hawaii 30-20. The Wolf Pack scored 17 points in the 4th quarter to get this win. Hawaii turned the ball over 4 times in this game. San Jose State beat New Mexico 31-21 behind RB Tyler Ervin’s 263 rush yards and TD. Boise State took down Wyoming 34-14 to get to 6 wins and bowl eligibility. Bronco QB Brett Rypien threw 3TDs in the win. Next Week: WYO at USU (Fri), BSU at UNLV, SDSU at CSU, AF at HAW

MAC: Toledo started off very slow in this game, going into the half down 10-24. The Rockets only gave up 7 points in the second half while scoring on all of their second half possessions to end up winning 51-35 to stay undefeated. QB Phillip Ely threw 5TDs and 3INTs in this game. Bowling Green blanked Kent State 48-0. QB Matt Johnson threw 5TDs and rushed for another. Western Michigan beat Miami of Ohio 35-13 behind QB Zach Terrell’s 278 yards and 3TDs. Central Michigan escaped Ball State 23-21. Ball State turned the ball over on downs on their final two drives. Buffalo had no problems with Ohio, winning 41-17. The Buffalo defense had two pick sixes in this game and 4 total INTs. Northern Illinois got a 49-21 win over Eastern Michigan. QB Drew Hare threw 4TDs in this game. Joel Bouagnon and Jordan Huff each rushed for 100+ yards and a TD. Next Week: WMU at EMU (Th), BUF at MOH (Th), UMass at BALL, CMU at AKR

C-USA: Western Kentucky lost to 5th ranked LSU 20-48. The Hilltoppers were only down 7-14 at the half but the Tigers were just too much in the second half. QB Brandon Doughty threw 3TDs in this game. Rice got by Army 38-31 with a late TD pass from Driphus Jackson to Zach Wright. The Owls were up 24-14 at the half. Southern Miss routed Charlotte 44-10 on the road. QB Nick Mullens threw 4TDs to 4 different receivers. Louisiana Tech thumped Middle Tennessee 45-16. The Bulldogs scored 35 points in the first half. Kenneth Dixon rushed for 3TDs and caught one more for Louisiana Tech. Marshall beat North Texas 30-13, thanks mostly in part to a 17-point first quarter. The Thundering Herd was held to just two FGs in the second half. Florida International cruised by Old Dominion 41-12 behing QB Alex McGough’s 3 passing TDs and one rush TD. UTEP overcame a 17-point FAU second quarter to win 27-17. QB Mack Leftwich threw 3TDs for the Roadrunners. Next Week: LT at Rice (Fri), WKU at ODU, UTEP at USM, MRSH at CHAR, FIU at FAU, UTSA at UNT

Sun Belt: Idaho beat ULM 27-13 behind Matt Linehan’s 3TD passes. Texas State got a big win over South Alabama with a final score of 36-18. Robert Lowe carried the ball 30 times for 248 yards and 3TDs for the Bobcats. Brandon McDowell returned a missed FG 100 yards for a TD right before halftime. Troy went on the road to New Mexico State and routed the Aggies 52-7. QB Brandon Silvers threw 5TDs, all in the first half to secure the road win for the Trojans. Troy only scored 7 points in the second half. Next Week: TXST at GASO (Th), Troy at APP, ULM at ULL, GAST at ARST, Idaho at NMSU

Top 25
1Ohio State 49 Rutgers 7
2Baylor 45 Iowa State 27
USC 42 3Utah 24
4TCU BYE
5LSU 48 Western Kentucky 20
6Clemson 58 Miami(FL) 0
7Michigan State 52 Indiana 26
8Alabama 19 Tennessee 14
Georgia Tech 22 9Florida State 16
10Stanford 31 Washington 14
11Notre Dame BYE
12Iowa BYE
13Florida BYE
14Oklahoma State 58 Kansas 10
15Michigan BYE
24Ole Miss 23 15Texas A&M 3
17Oklahoma 63 Texas Tech 27
18Memphis 66 Tulsa 42 (Fri)
19Toledo 51 Massachusetts 35
UCLA 40 20California 24 (Thurs)
21Houston 59 UCF 10
22Temple 24 East Carolina 14 (Thurs)
23Duke 45 Virginia Tech 43 4OT
25Pittsburgh 23 Syracuse 20

Stats and Scores from ESPN.com