College football week 8 is in the books. After every week, fans can take away things from what happened on the field. Here are 5 things learned from college football week 8.
Related: 5 Things to watch in college football week 8
Michigan’s defense played a fantastic game against Indiana and almost allowed the Wolverines to pull off an upset. They ended up losing 13-6 in overtime. Unfortunately, the offense couldn’t step up and score more points, even with a quarterback change. The Wolverines tried putting Tommy Carr in at quarterback and he played ok for a player making their first start against the defending national champions, but it wasn’t good enough.
The Wolverines had a chance to pick up a big upset and maybe change the narrative on their season, but just didn’t have any offense. Carr passed for 167 yards, while they only gained 57 yards on the ground as a team. If there was any life, they likely win the game. The Wolverines will be tasked with not only figuring out the quarterback situation next season, but finding playmakers and offensive linemen to support whoever gets to line up under center.
A lot of teams have suffered letdown games this season. Specifically, teams in the SEC have won big games, then lost the next week. Tennessee beat Alabama and then lost to South Carolina. Georgia defeated Alabama then lost to Auburn. These things have happened across the country, as BYU defeated Notre Dame, but then this week lost at UCF.
BYU looked like a completely different team this week. After playing loose and using plenty of trick plays against Notre Dame, that same effort was not there for the Cougars this week. The loss to UCF will shake up the rankings and now leaves BYU without a huge lifeline of being undefeated before they go through the rest of the Big 12 schedule.
While Utah defeated Houston to stay undefeated, plenty of other chaos has happened in the Big 12. BYU lost to UCF. Cincinnati upset Texas Tech. Arizona still has just one loss on the season and in conference. Oklahoma State has just one loss in conference after defeating Colorado. Even with Houston losing to Utah and Texas Tech, their schedule gets easier down the stretch.
There is still a lot of football left to be played and Utah should feel good about being a step above the rest of the conference at this point. The teams that have one conference loss: BYU, Texas Tech, Arizona and Oklahoma State are still very much alive. Even teams with two losses can cause some chaos, as Cincinnati already threw a wrench into things for Texas Tech this season. However it shakes out, the race for the Big 12 will be a fun one to watch.
Lincoln Riley was on the hot seat coming into this season. USC won 11 games in his first season, but have failed to get near that level since. After a nine-win season last year, more was expected out of the Trojans this season. After losing to an Oregon team, that lost Dante Moore during the game, the Trojans have now lost on the road to Wisconsin, dropping them to a 6-2 record this season.
There is still hope for Riley and the Trojans to turn things around this season, but for now he is going to have to dig his way out of things. The bad news is that the schedule won’t be easy for him. In Week 9, the Trojans host Ohio State, who should be a tough matchup despite having starting quarterback Julian Sayin injured for this game. They also play Indiana and UCLA this season, which means that a trip to the CFP is unlikely. If Riley can do the improbable, he likely keeps his job, but if not he may be looking for a new one.
In a game of group of six teams that had hopes of making the CFP, North Dakota State traveled to New Mexico in Week 8. The Lobos were able to hold off the Bison, winning 21-16. New Mexico’s elite defense showed up, holding NDSU to 16 points and forcing two turnovers. With the win, New Mexico is still in play to make the CFP should they win out.
The job Jason Eck has done with the Lobos is one of the better in the country over the last two seasons. This week, there were some coaching changes made at Maryland and NC State. As the carousel gets started, Eck has put him in a great spot to get a bigger job, whether it is one of the jobs currently open or even bigger ones that are available later on.
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