Upsets you want? How about close games that end in OT wins? Back-and-forth contests with the underdog prevailing? We had all of that and more in college football Week 8.
Upsets! That’s the byword to remember. It started Thursday night when the first unbeaten, James Madison, fell to Appalachian State. Then, on Friday night, we saw Army beat Tulsa with a no-time-left, game-winning field goal.
That’s one way to put it (photo courtesy of Big 12 Fans on Facebook)
Done? Not a chance! On Saturday, the Big 12 took the baton. Cincinnati (+11.5) put up a complete game, upsetting the undefeated Texas Tech Raiders as 11.5-point underdogs. BYU, riding high on their upset win over Notre Dame, couldn’t extend their winning streak against UCF in Orlando. The Knights grabbed a double-overtime win that kept fans on the edge of their seats, with officials scratching their heads over what to do. What a crazy ending, indeed!
That wasn’t all, either. Utah woke up in the second half, beat Houston, and now leads the league. Arizona kept winning, Oklahoma State took it to Deion, West Virginia squeezed out a hard-fought win against TCU, and Kansas edged Baylor thanks to a blocked field goal. The home loss sealed the deal for the Bears’ administration, and they fired Head Coach Dave Aranda on Sunday.
The Big 10 tried to keep pace (well, sort of), but IU over Michigan was a snooze fest. People expected a defensive battle, but instead got offensive ineptitude. UCLA handled business against Michigan State, as expected, and the Bruins continue to lead the league. Minnesota upset Iowa, Northwestern handled business against Rutgers, Illinois put the nail in the coffin in Oregon’s season (thank you), and Wisconsin sent USC packing back to California.
In the ACC, Syracuse stole an OT win in Chapel Hill, and Miami handled their business, and SMU spanked California. The rest of the league? Yawn….
Are you kidding me? No. It’s real. (photo courtesy of Pure Prospects on Substack)
In the SEC, Blue Nation leads at 7-1, with Vandy the latest victim. We’re talking about football here, not basketball, so loyal fans have something to scream about. Will Stein should win coach of the year. LSU finally found its offensive mojo and spanked Auburn. The surprise of the week, and I mean it was HUGE, was the Gamecocks (no misprint) edging out Tennessee after a Vols fumble with seconds to go. Then South Carolina kicked a FG to win.
Alabama finally woke up in the fourth quarter and put away Texas A&M. I thought I was watching MASH because ‘Bama players were getting injured every quarter. Then, Red Morgan, one of the team’s defensive players, was ejected for targeting. If that wasn’t enough, Conor Tally went 1-for-3 on field goal attempts. Things weren’t looking good at that point, and I thought DeBoer would have to dig a tunnel to escape Bryant-Denn, but the Tide scored 14 fourth-quarter points, held the Aggies scoreless, converting a 20-17 Aggie lead into a 31-20 Tide win. Still, Bama’s bye week couldn’t come at a better time. Then it’s on the Baton Rouge to face the up-and-down Tigers on November 7.
Then came the Texas-Ole Miss game, a Jekyll-and-Hyde affair. Mississippi did nothing in the first half, and Texas did nothing wrong. In the second half, Mississippi kept chipping away, and Texas kept trying to lose. In the end, Texas’ goal-line stand at the end of the first half was the play of the game. Without that, Texas (a 34-27 winner) would have lost its third straight, and Sarkisian might have been out of a job with the Baylor coach. Manning continues to perplex, looking good and then turning over the ball.
What a weekend in college football!!! Excitement, close contests, and upsets keep coming. Let’s hope it continues!
