College Football Roundtable: Week Eight

Week eight of the college football season is in the books, taking with it the national title hopes of the Miami Hurricanes. After a ridiculous overtime shootout loss to Clemson, it appears the Canes ACC hopes are out of reach. But don't feel too bad Coach Shannon, the Canes are stacked with young talent, and should be a force in the ACC for the next 2-4 years.

But the Canes aren't what we're here to discuss. After a stellar week of games, there's much to be analyzed, and once again we have our talented group of experts to give you the low-down. Josh Klein, Jonathan Fravel and Ian Peterson. Let's get to the questions.

1) What was the most impressive performance of the weekend?

Zachary Ball: I'm going to have to go with Pittsburgh's 31 point outburst in the first-half vs a decent South Florida defense. Expand that to Pittsburgh in general. The Panthers have won eight in a row for the first time since Dan Marino was at the helm. Dion Lewis is a lock as freshman of the year, and QB Bill Stull is definitely channelling a little Marino this season (16 TD 4 int).

Josh Klein: I’m going to have to go with Iowa’s last second drive against Michigan State this past weekend. Ricky Stanzi had not proven to be a clutch quarterback this season, but a huge come from behind victory on a slant pass with two seconds left in the game for the win proved differently. That may have been one of the most impressive game winning drives I’ve seen this season, even more impressive than USC’s winning drive against OSU. It seems fate is on the side of the Hawkeyes at least for now. Two very winnable games at home against Indiana and Northwestern and the Hawks should be 10-0 before the all important bout with the Buckeyes.

Ian Peterson: Gotta love Terrance Cody blocking that kick at the end of the game to give Alabama the win. I'm tabbing Alabama to win the SEC this year, and it will take performances like that to get into the title game, much less win it. They are going to need to figure out their offense though.

Jonathan Fravel: I would have to say the performance by the Tennessee Volunteers. They were two touchdown underdogs and with good reason. Down by nine with 3:29 to go on the game clock, they recovered the fumble, scored a touchdown, recovered a perfectly executed onsides kick, got into field goal position for a chance to upset the No. 1 (2) team in the country. Just fell short. In a span of three minutes, they moved the ball 74 yards on two possessions, used 15 plays and accumulated 22 percent of their total offensive production for the game. It was a nail biter and an exciting finish. It added to the lore of a great college rivalry, maybe the best rivalry in college football.

2) Who was the biggest disappointment of this past weekend?

Zachary Ball: Can't get any more disappointing than BYU's lack of offense against TCU. I thought the Horned Frogs would be able to keep Max Hall under some sort of control, but only one TD and 162 yards? Didn't see that coming.

Josh Klein: BYU’s lack of offense was disappointing but not as surprising as another game I watched this weekend. Even though Oklahoma’s defense is good, maybe even great, I thought Kansas would be able to move the ball well and score at least 20-30 points, but was held to only 13 points, 6 through three quarters. Todd Reesing may have had one of his worst home performances in his career, throwing three interceptions and finding almost no room to move down the field during the entire game. It was disappointing to once again see that the North is nowhere near the level of the South division.

You're currently logged into Facebook

Do you want to share your Bleacher Report activity on Facebook?