Week Eight was the week when most of the pretenders to the crown fell by the wayside with Ole Miss, Syracuse & UCLA all losing their 100% records. They are pretty much eliminated from contention for the Final Four but are still in contention for nice bowl games. We are sure that their fans would have taken that before the season started.
Ohio State returned from their week off to put down a marker, demolishing Iowa and Tennessee who are the surprise team of the year continued to impress offensively beating up on FCS side UT Martin. The game was even more clearcut than the score suggests as the Volunteers took the second half off so to speak. Well, why keep your starters on when you are leading 52-7 at the interval?
Oregon kept their slim chances alive with a fairly resounding win over UCLA, however, their opening drubbing by Georgia will count heavily against them even if they do end up a one-loss Pac-12 champion. It was a big night for Bo Nix who completed 22 of his 28 passes for 5TDs. He has thrived here after a bit of a tumultuous time at Auburn.
The Winners
Michigan gained without throwing a ball thanks to Penn State thrashing Minnesota. Their win over the Nittany Lions was not given the credit it deserved initially, but it looks like a quality win now.
In the Big 12, the game of the night saw TCU kept their hopes alive with a gutsy performance against Kansas State. They trailed by 18 points in the second quarter but then put on 28 unanswered points to stay unbeaten. They would give the CFP committee plenty to think about if they end up as unbeaten Big 12 champions. To do that though they would most likely have to beat Oklahoma State again.
In the ACC both Clemson won the battle of the unbeaten’s edging past Syracuse thanks in no small part to a change in QBs! Syracuse led this one 21-7 early thanks in no small part to DJ Uiagalelei turning the ball over three times. Once Cade Klubnik came on they steadied the ship and ended up deserving winners. How this affects the thinking of the CFP will largely depend on how Syracuse finishes their season.
Speaking of the Tide. This win puts them right back into contention in the playoff race. They face LSU next and then Ole Miss and now look like favorites for the Western Division. We cant see the Committee leaving out a one-loss SEC Champion so win out and they are in.
Bad Night In…
Mississippi with both teams losing. Ole Miss probably won’t fall too far in the rankings given a trip to LSU is never easy, However Miss State looked well out of their depth against Alabama and it took a last-second TD to stop them from being shut out.
Anyway, the top 25 results are below and there were some thrillers:
All Ranked Games
No.14 Syracuse 21 @ No. 5 Clemson 27
No.24 Mississippi State 6 @ No.6 Alabama 30
No. 17 Kansas State 28 @ 8 TCU 38
No.9 UCLA 30 @ No.10 Oregon 45
No.20 Texas 34 @ No.11 Oklahoma State 41
Wins for Alabama, Oklahoma State & Oregon keep them as the three best one-loss teams in the country. There is still hope for them if any of the undefeated teams sl1p up.
SEC Games
UT Martin 24 @ No.3 Tennessee 65
No.7 Ole Miss 20 @ LSU 45
This win should see LSU back in the rankings. This was a classic game of two halves with the Rebels starting fast before capitulating late on.
Big Ten Games
Iowa 10 @ No. 2 Ohio State 54
Minnesota 17 @ No.16 Penn State 45
Maybe Penn State is quite good after all! Just not quite good enough to hang with Michigan or Ohio State.
ACC
Boston College 15 @ No.13 Wake Forest 43
Another solid win for the Deamon Deacons whose only loss was that double OT thriller against Clemson. QB Sam Hartman had another big night throwing for 5 Tds and running for another.
American Athletic
No.21 Cincinnati 29 @ SMU 27
Memphis 28 @ No.25 Tulane 38
Is Tulane the best team in the AAC? They forced four turnovers in this one and led 35-0 at the interval. They were in cruise control for most of the second half. The Bearcats were always in control against SMU but won’t get any style points for this win. Still, it has set up an intriguing last-game meeting between them. The G5 “at large” place in the Cotton Bowl now looks to be between these two.
Other Important Divisional Results
North Texas 27 @ UTSA 31
UTSA edged this thanks to a TD with 15 seconds left. They are now in pole position in the CUSA given they have the head-to-head over Western Kentucky. If they can get a win at UAB next week they will pretty much be guaranteed a place in the conference final. The ending is well worth a watch…
Toledo 27 @ Buffalo 34
Buffalo moved into pole position in the MAC with a storming fourth-quarter comeback. They trailed 27-10 going into the final quarter but put up 24 unanswered points to go 4-0 in conference play. Toledo only has themselves to blame for the loss as they turned the ball over six times!
Boise State 19 @ Air Force 14
The Broncos are 4-0 in MW play thanks to a hard-fought win over divisional rival Airforce. Not a game that will stick in the mind long, however, this puts Boise in a strong position and sets things up nicely for their possibly decisive trip to Wyoming on 20th November.
Troy 10 @ South Alabama 6
Another low-scoring, but highly significant game that all but guarantees the Trojans a place in the Sun Belt Conference Final. They are 4-1 in conference play and now have the head-to-head over both their nearest rivals.
On The Up
Texas A&M 24 @ South Carolina 30
The Gamecocks have now won four in a row and should be pushing for a place in the top 25. Their only defeats so far have been to No 1 Georgia and then No 10 Arkansas.
One you probably missed
Weber State @ Montana State
Not every day that a team gives up four safeties in one game! Those 8 points ended up costing them the game. Their Long Snapper had a day to forget.
Still Unbeaten
Down to six, and all from Power Five Conferences. Those still standing are:
ACC
Clemson 8-0
Big 12
TCU 7-0
Big Ten
Michigan 7-0
Ohio State 7-0
SEC
Georgia 7-0
Tennessee 7-0
So ends our brief overview of week eight. A week when the CFP playoff race became a little clearer. You can check out our other 2022 Weekly Round Ups here
[…] our quick look at what’s on offer in week Eight. Before you go why not check out our Week Eight roundup and check back next week for week tens […]