College Football All-Week 8 Team

Though wins and losses, bowl eligibility, BCS rankings and poll placement are all at the heart of the game we know and love, we should never lose sight of the fact that college football is fueled by individual athletes.

Yes, institutionally sanctioned gridiron play is a team sport, but what is a team but a careful amalgamation of speedy, talented, strong, skillful athletes that come together to create an on-field force that makes us alternatively cheer and jeer?

The following slideshow pays tribute to the individuals whose performances drove the storylines that are now in the books as Week 8 of the 2012 college football season.

If the entire campaign had started last Tuesday night when North Texas bested Louisiana-Lafayette and ended with San Diego State’s OT win over Nevada early Sunday morning, these would be the 2012 consensus All-Americans.

But since we are dealing with a 12-game regular season plus conference title games, a bowl season and a BCS showcase showdown, we’ll limit the accolades handed out here to the college football All-Week 8 Team.

Either way, these guys all deserve a big round of applause.

QB: Matt Barkley, USC

Though Texas Tech’s Seth Doege (30-for-42 for 318 yds, 7 TDs, 0 INT) definitely deserves some All-Week 8 love, his numbers came via four quarters plus three overtime periods.

Yes, Doege lit it up vs. TCU, but so did Matt Barkley—only the USC Trojan did it in regulation.

Barkley was 19-for-20 (that’s a sizzling 95 percent) in USC’s win over Colorado, and though his 298 yards might not turn too many heads, six touchdowns and zero picks in three periods of play (backups were inserted early in the fourth quarter) is hard to argue.

RB: Kasey Carrier, New Mexico

The stats that junior RB Kasey Carrier put up in New Mexico’s Week 8 loss to Air Force are difficult to wrap your head around.

Indeed, in a sports world stuffed with stats, Carrier’s numerical rushing output in Week 8 was nothing short of staggering.

Carrier carried the ball a workhorse-worthy 39 times and racked up a mind-blowing 338 yards and three touchdowns.

Though Saturday’s feat was obviously the high water mark for Carrier, he’s also had three other 2012 performances that prove that this guy is no one-hit wonder.

Carrier ran for 129 yards and one score at New Mexico State in Week 4, went nuts vs. Texas State in Week 6 with 191 yards and four scores and then hung up 161 yards and two touchdowns in the win at Hawaii last week.

RB: Kenneth Dixon, Louisiana Tech

Though freshman RB Kenneth Dixon didn’t rush for 300 yards in Week 8’s win over Idaho, he did pass the 200-yard plateau and also visited the end zone a whopping six times.

Dixon had already enjoyed three 100-plus-yard rushing games this season, but his performance on Saturday foreshadows a career that could be ultra productive.

Dixon ran the ball a mere 17 times against Idaho and walked home with 232 yards and six touchdowns.

WR: Tyler Lockett, Kansas State

In a Kansas State offense that hasn’t necessarily lit it up through the air in 2012, sophomore wideout Tyler Lockett exploded in Saturday’s win over West Virginia, nearly matching his entire output for the season in one game.

Lockett led the country in receiving yards in Week 8. He had nine catches for 194 yards and two scores.

WR: Tavarres King, Georgia

Though Georgia fans might want to remember to forget the Bulldogs' narrow Week 8 win over Kentucky, they shouldn’t overlook senior wideout Tavarres King, who sizzled his way to some All-Week love.

King nabbed nine catches for 188 yards and two scores, ultimately propelling himself to the No. 2 national receiver spot for the week and his team to a 6-1 mark on the season.

This is no small contribution to an offensive unit that won the game with the pass (427 yards) in spite of a sputtering ground attack (77 yards).

TE: Garrett Hoskins, Eastern Michigan

One of the key “stories behind the story” of EMU’s first win of 2012 is senior Garrett Hoskins, who managed to crank out enough yardage to become the No. 6 most productive receiver in Week 8—as a tight end.

Hoskins caught seven passes for 158 yards and one score in the Eagles’ landmark 48-38 win over Army, marking the third time he’s eclipsed the 100-yard mark in 2012.

C: Khaled Holmes, USC

Though there is lots of credit to go around for USC’s 50-6 win over Colorado, don’t forget the guys in the trenches who made things happen while everyone else was watching guys with balls in their hands.

Anchoring the Trojans O-line is senior center Khaled Holmes, who led the way to USC’s 458-yard offensive explosion in Week 8.

Keep in mind that this performance included seven touchdown passes and zero sacks.

OG: Chance Warmack, Alabama

When you’re filling out an “all-anything” card for offensive linemen, it's almost impossible not to mention at least of couple of guys from Alabama.

Senior guard Chance Warmack was a huge part of the reason the Crimson Tide quietly thumped Tennessee on the road in Knoxville by a dominating 44-13 mark.

Alabama rushed for 233 yards on Saturday night, and the unmentioned part of Tide signal-caller A.J. McCarron’s 17-for-22, 306-yard, four-TD, zero-pick performance is the fact that he wasn’t sacked a single time.

OG: Anthony Steen, Alabama

Double-dipping into the Crimson Tide O-Line for All-Week honors, we scoop up Anthony Steen, one of the other guys who worked in front of the scenes to make Alabama’s offense go in Saturday night’s win at Tennessee.

Steen is a junior who plays right guard to Chance Warmack’s stylings on the other side of the formidable center Barrett Jones.

Though it seems almost frivolous to honor two Tide linemen with an All-Week 8 distinction, it would be borderline negligent not to tip the hat twice to the trench men from Tuscaloosa.

OT: Oscar Johnson, Louisiana Tech

Hailing from the offensive unit that managed 39 first downs, 408 rushing yards and zero sacks in Week 8, tackle Oscar Johnson is one of Louisiana Tech’s secret weapons in 2012.

Johnson, a senior from Crystal Springs, Miss., switched from left guard to left tackle for 2012. That adjustment seems to have gone swimmingly.

OT: Brian Winters, Kent State

In a bit of a wild-card pick to finish filling out our All-Week 8 O-Line, we honor senior left tackle Brian Winters, who has been key in the Golden Flashes' unprecedented 2012 campaign.

Winters was part of a unit that powered Kent State’s offense to 384 total yards and zero sacks during Saturday’s win over Western Michigan.

And this was no ordinary, run-of-the-mill conference win; no sir, this was Kent State’s magical sixth win of the season, propelling the Golden Flashes to bowl eligibility for the first time since 1972.

If you’re wondering if Winters is a mere gold-hued flash in the pan, NFLDraftScout.com projects that he’ll go No. 9 among offensive tackles in the 2013 draft.

K: Jaden Oberkrom, TCU

The best kicking performance of the weekend came in TCU’s triple-overtime loss to Texas Tech, via the able foot of freshman PK Jaden Oberkrom, who was a sizzling 6-for-6 on field-goal attempts in Week 8.

Oberkrom made three successful kicks from the 30-yard range, three from the 40-yard range (one from 42 yards sent the game into overtime) and then was 5-for-5 on extra point tries.

Overall, Oberkrom ponied up 23 of the Horned Frogs' 53 points, a total that fell a mere three points short of a win.

All-Purpose Player: Tavon Austin, West Virginia

Even though the Mountaineers continued their epic offensive stall from Week 7 into Week 8, senior wideout Tavon Austin still managed to put on a dazzling return display.

Yes, Austin caught only six passes for 34 yards and one score in Saturday’s ugly 55-14 loss to K-State, but he still deserves some love for his 199 kickoff return yards that included a 100-yard dash for a touchdown in the second quarter.

DE: Damontre Moore, Texas A&M

Despite the fact that the Aggies fell to LSU in Week 8, junior defensive end Damontre Moore was once again the heart and soul of an A&M defense that came oh so close to pay dirt.

Overall, Moore managed 10 tackles (eight solo), one pass deflection and one sack in Saturday’s 24-19 loss.

The single sack amps Moore’s total in 2012 to 9.5, making him the national leader thus far this season.

DT: Terrence Stephens, Stanford

Another rather quiet contributor to a big-time performance in Week 8, senior nose tackle Terrence Stephens shored up a Cardinal D that held Cal to three total rushing yards in Saturday’s 21-3 win.

All this becomes even more exciting when you throw in the fact that the Golden Bears came into the weekend averaging 171 rushing yards per game.

DT: Jay Bromley, Syracuse

Yet another guy from the trenches who deserves some All-Week loving, junior Jay Bromley led the way for an Orange defense that held UConn to negative rushing yards in Week 8.

That’s right, Bromley and company held the Huskies to fewer than zero yards rushing (six fewer, to be precise) on their way to a 40-10 Friday night smackdown.

DE: Stephon Tuitt, Notre Dame

By now, we are all well aware of that fact that Notre Dame’s defense has led the Irish to a stunning 7-0 start in 2012, a run that could realistically (all NBC dreams of grandeur aside) end in Miami at the BCS title game.

One of the many guys getting it done for Notre Dame defensively is sophomore defensive end Stephon Tuitt, who registered five tackles and 1.5 sacks in the Irish’s 17-14 triumph over pesky BYU on Saturday.

Tuitt’s 1.5 sacks give the young defender from Monroe, Ga., eight total sacks on the season, earning him a tie for the fifth-most QB takedowns in the FBS.

LB: Taylor Reed, SMU

The only linebacker to nab two picks in Week 8, SMU senior linebacker Taylor Reed not only came up with a pair of interceptions, he ran one of them back for a score.

Though seven points may not have made the difference in the Mustangs' 72-42 beatdown of Houston on Saturday, as my father-in-law likes to say, points is points.

Indeed.

LB: Michael Mauti, Penn State

A big part of Penn State’s 38-14 drubbing of Iowa in Iowa City was the play of a Nittany Lion defense that held the Hawkeyes to 14 first downs and 209 total yards of offense.

Looking further into the stats, we find the name of senior LB Michael Mauti, who did it all, to the tune of seven tackles, one sack and one pick.

LB: Dan Molls, Toledo

If you’ve been wondering who the number one tackler in college football is, look no further than Toledo senior linebacker Dan Molls, who has a whopping 102 tackles through eight games.

Molls continued to turn on the juice in Week 8’s upset shocker over Cincinnati, when he contributed 13 tackles and one pass deflection to the Rockets’ 29-23 win over the No. 21-ranked Bearcats.

CB: Javon Harris, Oklahoma

Just because your team wins 52-7 doesn’t mean that your two picks, one pass deflection and four tackles aren’t huge.

That’s exactly what happened to senior cornerback Javon Harris, who played lights-out in the Sooners' triumph over Kansas in Week 8.

Harris’s two interceptions bring his total for 2012 to four, which ties him at No. 4 nationally in picks. 

CB: Ross Cockrell, Duke

Junior cornerback Ross Cockrell may not have added to his four total sacks in Saturday’s historic win over North Carolina, but he did bring five tackles and one deflection to the table.

Yes, Cockrell was one of the key defensive players that propelled Duke to a 33-30 victory, a 6-2 record and the Blue Devils' first bowl-eligible product since 1988.

S: Jonathan Meeks, Clemson

Though Clemson fans have plenty to be concerned about when thinking about their No. 63-ranked scoring defense, senior safety Jonathan Meeks gave reason for defensive celebration in Week 8.

Yes, Meeks flat-out shined in Saturday’s 38-17 win over Virginia Tech, with three tackles, one pass deflection and two picks.

And his 74-yard pick-six was more than mere icing on the cake.

S: Phillip Thomas, Fresno State

In case you were wondering, one of the underlying stories of Fresno State’s 5-3 start in 2012 is a defense that has managed to hold its opponents to 21 points per game.

One of the huge individual components of this favorable stat is senior safety Phillip Thomas, who leads the FBS in picks with seven.

Week 8 was yet another fruitful week for Thomas, who racked up four tackles, two pass deflections and one pick-six in Fresno State’s 42-14 walloping of Wyoming.

P: Kyle Christy, Florida

Really, there is more than meets the eye when you take a closer look at Florida’s 44-11 tromp over South Carolina in Week 8.

Yes, this was a Gator win fueled by a mere 183 yards of total offense (94 passing yards and 89 rushing yards), a poor showing that was counterbalanced by four Gamecock turnovers.

One of the hidden heroes on Saturday was punter Kyle Christy, who led the nation in Week 8 with 54.3 yards per punt, giving the offensively impotent Gators an important advantage in terms of field position.

If you’re wondering how effective the sophomore punter is and how much he means to Florida’s bottom-line 7-0 record, Christy leads the nation this season in average yards per punt with 47.94.

Wow.