College Football Week 8: 25 Winners and Losers From Saturday's Action
College football Week 8 has come and gone. Just like every Saturday, there were some exciting matches. And, for the third week in a row, life was bitter if you entered Saturday on top of the rankings.
So, here it is, my weekly breakdown of the winners and losers as I see it. As you will see, life can be fruitful or horrid in the realm of college pigskin.
25: Winner: Baylor University
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Baylor has had a decent year. But to crack the top 25, they had to get a meaningful win. They had their shot on Saturday against No. 22 ranked Kansas State.
Next on the docket for them is an even bigger test. They play at Texas. Which Longhorns team they will actually get is anyone's guess.
24: Loser: Mississippi State
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The Bulldogs started the season 1-2. They had two losses against two better teams, LSU and Auburn. They then fought themselves back to a top 25 standing only to lose all of that hard work by laying an egg against UAB.
23: Winner: The Ohio State Bounceback
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The only thing you can do when you lose the number one slot is to regroup and build back some momentum.
The Buckeyes rout of Purdue by 49 points shows that Ohio State is ready for the last half of the season push.
.jpg?w=256 "Ohio State Team Doctor")
22: Loser: Air Force Offense
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The one thing Air Force was supposed to be able to rely on was its running game. It was all but stagnant against the much better TCU defense on Saturday. The lone touchdown came from Tim Jefferson when the quarterback ran in a TD in the first quarter.
21: Winner: Ed Wesley (TCU)
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On the other side of the field, there was Ed Wesley. He ran all over Air Force's defense. At the end of the day, he would have accumulated over 200 yards and two touchdowns.
20: Winner/Loser: Zach Collaros (Cincinnati)
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It is never easy to lose a game. This is especially true when you gave it your all. Zach Collaros had arguably his best game of the season.
He threw for 463 yards and three touchdowns; in the end, even that would not be enough, as the Bearcats would lose to South Florida.
19: Winner: Alabama's Running Attack
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Alabama decimated the Volunteers this weekend. The biggest reason for that was the two-headed rushing machine of Trent Richardson and Mark Ingram. They combined for 200 yards and three touchdowns.
18: Loser: Tennessee's Program
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The season was not supposed to be like this. Once they were spurned by Lane Kiffin in the offseason, the program went downhill. This year was supposed to build on the momentum of last year's campaign.
They have gone from one of the best in the SEC to one of the worst. Their only wins this year are to barely football programs themselves, Tennessee-Martin and UAB.
17: Winner: Utah's Schedule
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Utah is a great football program. I am not knocking that. What I am saying is it has not yet been tested.
The undefeated Utes have not had the same tests that other elite programs have had. Next on their schedule is freshly-beaten Air Force.
They will not have a completely easy road, though. They play TCU after that.
16: Winner: Julio Jones (Alabama)
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Alabama's attack was not all on the ground. This week, Julio Jones had one of the most productive days of any wideout.
He caught 12 passes for 221 yards. The most glaring stat is that he averaged 18.4 yards per catch.
15: Winner: Andrew Luck (Stanford)
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Andrew Luck continued his Heisman chase on Saturday. The Cardinal won a game that really should have been a blowout. The Cardinal boasted a much better team than Washington State. Yet another example of the Pac-10's depth.
Luck would throw three touchdowns on nearly 200 yards passing.
14: Winner: Jay Finley (Baylor)
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Baylor won the biggest game of its season this weekend, and running back Jay Finley had one of the best of his.
His 250 yards carrying the ball and two touchdowns were vital to taking down Kansas State.
13: Winner: Western Michigan's Offense
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Western Michigan may be 3-4 and not really playing for much, but on Saturday, it showed that it has some weapons on offense.
Led by quarterback Alex Carder, they accumulated over 500 yards on the day. Carder threw for 372 yards and five touchdowns. He found wide receiver Juan Nunez six times for a remarkable 192 yards and three touchdowns.
12: Loser: Oklahoma State's Second Half
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Oklahoma State was undefeated coming into Saturday. It showed it was a formidable opponent to No. 16 Nebraska.
The Cowboys had their shot to get a victory in their biggest challenge to date. In the end, they lost it after halftime. They allowed too much production by Nebraska after the break. The Cornhuskers were able to mount four pivotal drives wherein they cashed in on two touchdowns and two field goals.
11: Winner: Washaun Ealey (Georgia)
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Georgia Bulldog running back Washaun Ealey had one of the more lucrative games on the day.
He ran for five touchdowns on 157 yards rushing. It was the main reason they made short work of Kentucky.
10: Loser: Kansas State's Season
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Much like Mississippi State, Kansas State was fighting its way back into the top 25 after an early season loss to Nebraska.
Baylor was supposed to be a warm-up game before they met the real deal in in Oklahoma State next week. They needed this victory when you consider their next three games are against ranked opponents.
9: Winner: Taylor Martinez
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Nebraska need a bounce-back win after a depressing loss at the hands of Texas last week.
Taylor Martinez made sure of this with his amazing production. Martinez found the end zone five times and threw for over 300 yards. He threw the ball 35 times and still had no picks.
8: Winner: Hawaii's Attack
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Hawaii is a volatile team. What it lacks in defense it clearly makes up for in offensive yardage. This week was no different.
Quarterback Bryant Moniz threw for close to 400 yards. Running back did his part as well. He ran for 172 yards and four touchdowns.
7: Winner: Cam Newton (Auburn)
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Cam Newton is amazing. He again showed why he is the best in college football player this week. He takes care of the ball on passing. His efficiency helped him complete 10-of-16 passes with 86 passing yards.
What makes him deadly though is his legs. He carried the ball for 217 yards and two touchdowns.
6: Loser: West Virginia
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Yet another bottom 25 team that came into Saturday half-heartedly.
The real bummer for West Virginia fans is that the Mountaineers are out of solid opponents to play. They may make it back into the top 25, but not by much.
5: Winner: Fans of College Football
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This was one of those weeks that makes you glad you watch College Football. There so many great matchups. One of the best was the Wisconsin-Iowa game.
We knew going in that it would be a close matchup. But sometimes, these games can disappoint. The lead changed hands eight times during the contest. It would end with a minute to go and a Wisconsin touchdown.
4: Loser: Texas Bipolar Disorder
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They love big wins in Texas, so last week's win against Nebraska was greeted energetically. What Longhorns fans would love though, is a measure of consistency.
Their loss to Iowa State on Saturday, coupled with their loss to UCLA earlier in the year, shows that this team can win the big game and lose the easy ones.
3: Winner: Michigan State Tenacity
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On the flip side, you have a team like Michigan State. Going into Saturday, they were heavy favorites. The game got away from them, but they showed what they could do with grit and effort.
In the end, they would sidestep the upset and beat Northwestern on a TD pass from Kirk Cousins.
2: Loser: The No. 1 Spot
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Another week, another No. 1 seed falls to a lesser opponent.
This week, it was Oklahoma's turn. This may drop it outside of the 10, but not for long. It still has games against Oklahoma State and Baylor. And as we all know, the top teams are bound to lose big games.
1: Winner: Oregon Offense
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I understand that Oregon was idle on Saturday. But staying in the top of the BCS with Auburn is a notable achievement, especially with what it did to UCLA on Thursday.
That game was ugly. There is no other way to describe the pummeling they game the Bruins. The Ducks picked up close to 600 yards on the day. The Bruins had no answer for LaMichael James and seemed to give up after a while. He had two touchdowns and over 120 yards rushing.
.jpg?w=480 "Ohio State Team Doctor")
