College Football 2023: Winners and Losers from Week 8
Plenty of great games abounded during Week 8 of the college football season, highlighted early by a renewal of the rivalry between Ohio State and Penn State.
The Buckeyes got the day started off by continuing to flex their muscle in a different way this season, and plenty of excitement followed. Alabama exacted a little Third Saturday in October revenge and smoked cigars after dispatching Tennessee, and Oklahoma survived a scare, but ultimately won.
USC lost its second straight, thanks to the grit and determination of former walk-on Utah quarterback Bryson Barnes, and Virginia added the stunner of the season with a 31-27 upset of previously unbeaten North Carolina. To finish off the night Pac-12 After Dark delivered and No. 5 Washington survived ASU's upset bid, 15-7.
Truly, at this time of year, surviving and advancing is all that matters as the grueling grind of the season has set in.
Some did, and others didn't. Let's take a look at the winners and losers.
Winner: Ohio State's Rugged Defense
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When you think about the recent past of Ohio State football, the images that come to mind are glitzy offenses led by the likes of quarterback CJ Stroud, who was on hand in Columbus during a Houston Texans bye week to watch the battle with Penn State.
That's not the identity of the 2023 version of Ohio State. And that's just fine.
The Buckeyes are winning anyway.
Faced with yet another major test on Saturday against the seventh-ranked Nittany Lions at home, No. 3 Ohio State dominated defensively in a 20-12 win. The Buckeyes made things difficult on PSU quarterback Drew Allar (18-of-43, 191 yards) and a sputtering passing game, making their opponent one-dimensional.
That dimension wasn't good, either. Penn State mustered just 63 rushing yards and had one third-down conversion (16 tries) the entire game.
"I thought our defense played unbelievable," Ohio State coach Ryan Day told FOX after the game. "Lights out. I thought our defense won the game today."
While Kyle McCord and OSU's offense brought their own grumbles from the capacity crowd at The Horseshoe, the Buckeyes did enough in a gritty win over their rivals in college football's marquee matchup of the day.
The hype and buzz never escalated, thanks to the defense of Jim Knowles, which never let Penn State really get going.
After a last-second road win over Notre Dame earlier in the year, this is now two major tests Ohio State has passed, and both were on the coattails of a complete defense that has lived up to its top-10 billing all year. This team is built for championship contention in a different way than recent memory.
Loser: UCF's Chance for its First Big 12 Win
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It was never going to be easy for the UCF Knights to go from a Group of Five power to the Big 12 in a year, but coach Gus Malzahn's team is very close.
Simply being "competitive" just doesn't cut it in big-time college football, though, and the Knights had a chance for a major statement on Saturday in a road game against sixth-ranked Oklahoma in Norman, but an uneven fourth quarter doomed them.
The Sooners were three-score favorites over UCF, but the teams were evenly matched for the first three quarters as the Knights carried a six-point lead into the final frame of an eventual 31-29 loss.
Oklahoma flexed its muscle with the type of fourth quarter that you need to compete for championships, scoring two touchdowns (a Dillon Gabriel pass to Drake Stoops, then a 30-yard scamper by Gavin Sawchuk) to take an eight-point lead.
Still, UCF woke up long enough to stage a rally, and they pulled within a chance to tie the game thanks to a nine-play, 75-yard drive that took 1:57 off the clock and pulled them within two with 1:16 left. But Malzahn got too cute on the two-point conversion.
Instead of just pounding it with the running game or getting athletic quarterback John Rhys Plumlee on the perimeter, Malzahn tried a double pass, which was snuffed out by Kendal Dolby.
An onside kick fell flat, and OU survived. Malzahn's first Big 12 win will have to wait, as the Knights fell to 3-4 and 0-4 in the conference.
Winner: Virginia Is for...Winners
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In a state best-known more for Hoos and Hokies, the top college football pigskin action this year is played on a lower level. There's nothing "mid-major" about the way Liberty and James Madison look so far.
Fewer than 100 miles separates the two programs in Harrisonburg (JMU) and Lynchburg (Liberty), and the Dukes and Flames are relatively new to the FBS level, but they are making a lot of noise. It's about time they were paid more attention nationally.
James Madison won't be going bowling this year because of an archaic NCAA rule that makes new FBS teams wait two years before qualifying for the postseason. In their second year in the Sun Belt, the Dukes are unbeaten after a 20-9 road win at Marshall on Thursday night.
For the second time this year, they held a team to negative rushing yards, but—oh by the way—thanks to the NCAA's joke of a bylaw, it doesn't recognize JMU's stats, either. Regardless, the Dukes are rolling.
Same goes for Liberty, which saw coach Hugh Freeze leave for Auburn. No matter. The Flames went out and paid Coastal Carolina coach Jamey Chadwell to come to Lynchburg, and behind a strong rushing attack and the arm of first-year starting quarterback Kaidon Salter, they're 7-0 after a shaky 42-35 win over Middle Tennessee way back on Tuesday.
Little names, big-time football. Quality pigskin is being played in the Commonwealth—just not by Virginia or Virginia Tech, though the Hoos made their own little mark on the sport Saturday, too.
.jpg?w=256 "Ohio State Team Doctor")
Loser: The Sam Pittman Era at Arkansas
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After putting up a fourth-quarter fight a week ago against Alabama, the hope for Arkansas fans was that the Razorbacks were beginning to show a flicker of a spark after a dreadful start.
Any of those potential building blocks from a close loss to the Crimson Tide came crashing down with an inexplicable 7-3 loss to a bad Mississippi State team playing backup quarterback Mike Wright.
A single touchdown was all the Bulldogs needed to upend the Hogs, whose own offense looked discombobulated and, simply put, disinterested. Quarterback KJ Jefferson and Co. have been on life support all year, but Saturday was an all-time low point of the Sam Pittman era.
The Hogs were 5-of-17 on third downs and mustered just 200 total yards. They also had two turnovers and lost despite holding Mississippi State to 205 yards and 1-of-10 on third downs.
It felt like the beginning of the end for fourth-year coach Pittman, whose team fell to 2-6 and now has virtually no hope of going to a bowl game.
After nine wins two seasons ago, the Hogs won seven last year but were gutted by the transfer portal. Offensive coordinator Kendal Briles left for TCU, and running back Rocket Sanders has been banged-up all year. The result is an awful offense that simply cannot move the football.
Arkansas is a proud program that really hasn't gotten it right since the disastrous end to the Bobby Petrino era. Coach after coach has tried and failed. After Saturday's loss to the Bulldogs, it looks like they may be looking for Pittman's replacement sooner rather than later.
Winner: Air Force Chances at the Commander-in-Chief's Trophy
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The Army-Navy game at the end of the year is a traditional gem and always gets most of the publicity when it comes to service academy football.
But the best program right now belongs to the Air Force Falcons.
After winning the Commander-in-Chief's Trophy last year, they have a leg (wing?) up in that race again this year after Saturday's gritty 17-6 win over Navy in a rock fight you'd expect from two of the toughest teams in the country.
The No. 22-ranked Falcons won in a non-traditional way, though.
Quarterback Zac Larrier completed four of his five passes for 151 yards, including a 94-yard touchdown strike to Dane Kinamon early in the second quarter for the game's first score. From there, the Falcons built a 17-point advantage and never looked back.
The defense was stout, as it's been all year, allowing just 10 first downs, 124 total yards and the Midshipmen to go just 3-of-17 on third-down conversions.
More importantly, Troy Calhoun's team remains undefeated, moving to 7-0 on the season. Even though they aren't flashy, the Falcons are firmly atop the Mountain West Conference standings and have the defense for staying power.
A win against Army (which is experiencing a down year) on November 4 would secure the Falcons' Commander-in-Chief's Trophy for the season, and they would increase their all-time lead over Navy and Army with 22 total to Navy's 16 and Army's nine.
Loser: Tennessee's Second-Half Collapse
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Tennessee has floated for a year after last season's Dixieland Delightful upset of Alabama in Neyland Stadium, and after the Vols built a 20-7 halftime lead, it looked like one of the streakiest series in the country could see the start of another one.
But then Alabama woke up in every facet of the game, roaring back from the deficit to score 27 unanswered second-half points in a 34-20 comeback win.
"It's always great to beat Tennessee," Nick Saban told CBS after the game, also mentioning the tradition of smoking a postgame cigar after a win, "I'll chew on one for a while," even though he doesn't like smoking them.
A Jase McClellan 29-yard scamper followed by a Jalen Milroe-to-Isaiah Bond 46-yard scoring strike started the second half off for the Tide, and they never looked back. Then, still leading by three in the third quarter, Vols coach Josh Heupel inexplicably went for it on 4th-and-1 from his own 47 and failed to make it.
Alabama took it down, scored a touchdown, added a scoop-and-score and dominated.
Maligned Milroe found his stride. McClellan led a rejuvenated running game that had just 16 yards on the ground at the break but followed it up with 68 in the third quarter in a 17-0 frame. The defense smothered Tennessee quarterback Joe Milton after his best half of the year, too.
Tennessee just collapsed—on both sides of the ball and on the sideline. Heupel coached like the Vols were losing when they were ahead, and Tennessee played like it didn't expect to win in Tuscaloosa.
Saban is a master in revenge games, and he made sure there wasn't a repeat of last year's Rocky Top revival with a terrific second half in which the Tide did everything right and Tennessee fell apart.
Winner: Rutgers Going Bowling!
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During Greg Schiano's first tenure at Rutgers from 2001-11, the Scarlet Knights played in six bowl games. They've played in just four since and dipped to one of the biggest laughingstock programs in the FBS before re-hiring the coach that led them in their heyday.
The turnaround he's authored in four years hasn't really shown in the win-loss column, as the team hasn't had a winning record yet. But this year's rendition is different.
With dual-threat quarterback Gavin Wimsatt leading the way with three rushing scores—despite throwing for just 39 yards on Saturday—the Scarlet Knights beat Indiana 31-14 to get bowl-eligible and move to 6-2 on the season.
Their only losses so far are to Michigan and Wisconsin, and while a bye week will be nice for the program, a gauntlet of No. 3 Ohio State, No. 24 Iowa, No. 7 Penn State and Maryland close the year.
Winning one out of four of those games would probably mean a major upset, but Schiano's team is certainly capable. Defense and running are cornerstones, and Rutgers isn't the easy out it once was.
The win over the Hoosiers sent IU coach Tom Allen closer to the unemployment line in yet another tough season, but the big story is Rutgers equaling its best start since 2012 and tying a school record for conference wins.
Saturday was a big deal.
Loser: Big Ten West
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Year in and year out, it's the same ol' story: the Big Ten East flexes its muscles with the triumvirate of Michigan, Ohio State and Penn State while the West is exposed.
It's normally been a comedy of errors on that side of the ledger the past few years, as the West representative in the Big Ten championship game is often the team that loses the fewest amount of embarrassing games.
In a twisted way, it's great fun for college football fans across the country to watch good, old-fashioned bad football disguised as rock fights.
That's exactly what we have again this year, too. Despite its usual offensive ineptitude, Iowa was in clear control of that division heading into Saturday's showdown with Minnesota. After a 12-10 (yes, you read that right) win by the Golden Gophers, though, everything is up-in-the-air again.
As long as Brian Ferentz leads the offense in Iowa City, the Hawkeyes are going to struggle mightily, and they did against Minnesota with just eight first downs and 127 offensive yards.
But with Wisconsin now without quarterback Tanner Mordecai and running back Chez Mellusi for the rest of the year following injuries, nobody from that side stands out.
The Badgers are the only team in the division with a single loss, but that will likely change when they take on Ohio State on October 28.
The Big Ten West, yet again, is there for the taking. But it's more like a game of hot potato than football at this point.
Winner: Texas Takes Advantage of a Gift Spot
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After hated rival Oklahoma had to sweat out a home win over UCF earlier Saturday, Texas took the field as a heavy favorite against another new Big 12 team: the Houston Cougars.
Somebody forgot to tell coach Dana Holgorsen's team it was the underdog.
Even though the Longhorns built a 21-point advantage, the Cougars came storming back to actually tie the game. After back-and-forth scores, Texas quarterback Quinn Ewers, who had been playing masterfully, left the game with an apparent shoulder injury late in the third quarter.
Backup Maalik Murphy led the Horns on a go-ahead touchdown drive late to pull ahead by seven, but Houston again came back with a 10-play, 65-yard drive. That's when the shenanigans ensued.
Facing 3rd-and-1 at the Texas 10-yard-line, Cougars running back Stacy Sneed drove through the left side of the line, and it looked like he absolutely got the first down. Officials marked him short, however, setting up 4th-and-inches.
Holgorsen then called a questionable short pass to the right that was deflected, and Houston turned the ball over on downs as the coach grimaced in frustration on the sideline.
Poor calls are part of football, but that spot is going to be talked about for a long time. Still, Texas made the most of it and came up with a massive fourth-down stop to seal to escape with the win.
At this point of the season, any win is big, but that one was a gift the Longhorns opened and accepted.
Winner: Bryson Barnes' Guts and Glory
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Earlier this season, Utah quarterback Bryson Barnes didn't even have a scholarship.
But on Saturday night, he extended his undefeated record as a starter for the Utes and put his team on his back with the biggest play of the night in a sterling, come-from-behind 34-32 win over USC.
A last-second Cole Becker field goal won the game for Utah, but it was Barnes' unbelievable scramble when the play broke down that put the Utes in a position to win the game and stay strong in the Pac-12 race with just one loss, despite star quarterback Cam Rising not playing yet this year.
On 2nd-and-15 from the USC 45 and 16 seconds left, Barnes saw an opening on the right side of the field, turned on the jets and rushed 26 yards past Trojans defenders. He also had the intelligence to get out of bounds.
The play came despite strong USC coverage in a must-stop situation, but they didn't account for Barnes, who continues to star in opportune moments.
"That was a gut check," Utah coach Kyle Whittingham told the television crew after the game. "Bryson Barnes is an absolute warrior."
Barnes threw for 235 yards, three touchdowns and had just one interception on the night, and he added 10 rushes for 57 yards and another score on the ground. His heroics negated true freshman Zachariah Branch's heroics, after he nearly took a punt to the house to set up USC's go-ahead touchdown.
Instead, Barnes' big play (and big night, in general) gave the 14th-ranked Utes their sixth win and handed USC its second successive loss.
Loser: Duke's Mojo Without Its Leader
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When the Duke Blue Devils lost a heartbreaker against Notre Dame a few weeks ago, they lost star quarterback Riley Leonard to a high ankle sprain at the tail-end of the loss, adding injury to insult.
Saturday night, Duke's leader gritted it out and tried to play through a high ankle sprain that had yet to truly heal. The Blue Devils responded by playing Florida State close throughout the duration of the time Leonard was on the field.
Leonard was far from his all-star self, but just his presence inspired Duke for the three quarters he was on the field. When he re-aggravated the injury, the Blue Devils actually had a three-point lead over the 'Noles.
When Leonard left, FSU got right.
Duke couldn't muster any offense without its dual-threat quarterback, and the momentum visibly shifted to the garnet and gold. Florida State scored three unanswered touchdowns to seize control and remained undefeated in an ACC that is looking more and more like it belongs to the Seminoles.
Leonard had completed just 7-of-16 passes for 69 yards and an interception and had one carry for 13 yards, but once redshirt freshman backup Henry Belin IV entered, any threat for a Blue Devils offensive eruption went out the door.
Jordan Travis took over in the fourth quarter to keep FSU's record spotless, and the 'Noles continued to prove they're the class of the conference. Duke, on the other hand, has been a revelation under coach Mike Elko, but the Blue Devils desperately need Leonard to make things tick.
That was painfully obvious.
Winner: Chris Klieman's Two-Quarterback System
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It's easy to forget about Kansas State.
With all the hype surrounding Texas and Oklahoma in their Big 12 swan song, the Wildcats are sitting back there at 3-1 in the conference following Saturday's 41-3 annihilation of TCU. But don't sleep on the Wildcats just yet.
The stagnant offense from the early season is no more. Coach Chris Klieman has found a bit of an X-factor in true freshman quarterback Avery Johnson, who is living up to his blue-chip profile early on.
A week ago, he completed eight of his nine passes and added five rushing touchdowns, sharing time with upperclassman starter Will Howard, who is more of a traditional dropback passer. Against the Horned Frogs, Klieman continued to utilize the two-quarterback system to perfection.
Howard was the more effective passer with 154 yards and three scores, but Johnson is a weapon for which the Horned Frogs had no answer. Though he had 90 passing yards, he added 73 on the ground and is a difference-maker with the ball in his hands.
With Texas still on the schedule, there are going to be opportunities to rectify an early-season loss to Oklahoma State. The Longhorns and Sooners are far from perfect atop the league.
Klieman is a great coach who has found ways to win time and time again no matter where he's been, and he has discovered a wrinkle that makes the defending conference champs dangerous again. It's worth watching.
Loser: Clemson's ACC Hopes
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Clemson's glory days are over, at least for now.
It's been years since the Tigers were national title contenders, and coach Dabo Swinney's stubborn lack of transfer portal usage reeks of the transition of the sport passing him by. Still, his offseason move to flex and go get TCU offensive coordinator Garrett Riley was promising on paper.
Unfortunately for Tigers fans, it's been the same ol' stagnant offense.
On Saturday night, Swinney's Tigers let Miami coach Mario Cristobal off the hook for his second pathetic end-of-game clock management in three contests. They also blew a 17-7 fourth-quarter lead to ultimately fall 28-20 in overtime.
With the game tied and more than a minute left in regulation from nearly midfield, Cristobal elected to run the clock out and head to overtime rather than take any chances with backup freshman quarterback Emory Williams under center.
This drew boos from the faithful in Coral Gables and seemed puzzling at best considering Miami had gone 6-of-7 in third-down conversions in the fourth quarter on its way to a methodical comeback.
Still, after the teams traded field goals in the first overtime, the 'Canes ran down Clemson's throats and added the two-point conversion to make it a must-score situation for the Tigers.
Facing fourth down, a bizarre sprint-out left by Cade Klubnik saw him get dragged down at the line of scrimmage to end the game.
The Tigers looked far from a conference contender.
.jpg?w=480 "Ohio State Team Doctor")
