College Football Week 8: The 12 Biggest Winners and Losers
By (Correspondent) on October 22, 2011
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With Week 8 of the '11 college football season coming to a close on Saturday, it's time look at this weekend's biggest winners and losers.
Among them were a QB from Clemson, an RB from Oklahoma State and a struggling team from the Pac-12 conference.
Read on to see the rest of my biggest winners and losers from this week's slate of games.
Winner: Tajh Boyd, Clemson
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The Clemson QB had another great game in Week 8 of his offense.
The Hampton, Virginia native threw for 367 yards and five touchdowns through the air.
He also added a TD on the ground as well in his team's dominating performance against visiting North Carolina.
Loser: Kansas
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The Jayhawks have one of the worst defenses in the FBS.
They proved it once again Saturday as they gave up 466 total yards to Kansas State in a 59-21 whipping at home.
This was the second straight year that they have given up 50-plus point to the Wildcats, and KU coach Turner Gill's job is now in jeopardy after another horrid start to this season.
Winner: Case Keenum, Houston
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Heisman hopeful Case Keenum had another spectacular performance for the Cougars on Saturday.
The senior QB completed over 80 percent of his passes for 376 yards and an amazing six TDs as well.
He was the driving force of a 63-28 blowout win against Marshall for his team in Week 8.
Loser: UCLA
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Could it get any worse for the Bruins this week?
Not only did they get manhandled by 2-5 Arizona, but they also started a fight with UCLA players that led to several suspensions for both schools.
Add to that another losing start to the season for the Bruins, and suddenly coach Rick Neuheisel is sitting on a very hot seat in the program.
Winner: Joseph Randle, Oklahoma State
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Randle had a monster day against the Missouri Tigers on Saturday.
He had 138 rushing yards on just 14 carries, for a whopping 9.9 YPC average on the day.
When you factor in that he also scored three touchdowns and contributed 13 yards in the passing game, it had all the makings of a great day for the Cowboys' star back.
Loser: James Franklin, Missouri
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The Mizzou starting QB had a rough time in his team's Week 8 matchup against Oklahoma State.
The sophomore was unable to throw for over 200 yards, and also turned the ball over four times to the fourth-ranked Cowboys.
The fatal blow for the Tigers came when Franklin threw an arrant pass that led to his third interception late in the fourth quarter, essentially ending any comeback hopes by Missouri.
Winner: Alabama Defense
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The Tide defense was on a roll on Saturday.
They gave up just 155 yards of total offense to a struggling Tennessee team, and only allowed them to go 2-for-14 on third-down conversions as well.
In the end, the Volunteers offense was only able to manage two field goals in the game, and the 'Bama D had one of their better performances of the season.
Loser: West Virginia
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The Mountaineers' BCS hopes are seemingly gone after a big road loss to upstart Syracuse.
Quarterback Geno Smith threw two key interceptions in the contest, and his defense couldn't stop the Orange's ground attack or passing game.
If you're a West Virginia fan, you have to hope that this game isn't a sign of things to come for Dana Holgorsen's squad on the road this season.
Winner: Stanford Offense
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The poor Washington Huskies didn't know what hit them on Saturday night.
They got steamrolled by a much more talented Stanford team to the tune of 600-plus total yards and 65 points allowed.
More surprisingly, the Cardinal was able to get 446 yards on the ground, considering their great passing attack with Heisman candidate Andrew Luck.
Loser: Wisconsin
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The Badgers' loss to Michigan State on a last-second Hail Mary hurt them in more than one way.
Not only did it give them their first loss inside the conference, but it also really hurt their BCS title-game chances as they fell to 6-1 on the season.
They did play a great game, but in the end, they were on the short end of a desperation throw by the Spartans offense.
Winner: Texas Tech
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Texas Tech definitely pulled off the upset of the weekend.
The 5-2 Red Raiders went into Norman and knocked off the previously undefeated Sooners by three.
Junior QB Seth Doege was very instrumental in the win, as he threw for 425 yards and scored five touchdowns in the game.
Loser: Oklahoma
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It was a rough ending to their Week 8 game for the Oklahoma Sooners.
They gave up a big lead to underdog Texas Tech, only to come all the way back and fall by three points in the end.
Like several other teams on this list, it really puts a damper on OU's BCS-title game hopes and overall BCS game chances as well.
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