College Football Week 8: Grades for Every Top 25 Matchup

Week 8 of the college football season saw some key conference games that will certainly help decide the fate of many of the top teams in the nation. 

21 of the Top 25 teams in the country took to the field today for some key conference matchups. 

A few of the top teams in the country showed why they deserve their ranking. 

Here is a grade for each of the Top 25 teams in the country on their game today. 

Oklahoma St.

Many prognosticators thought Oklahoma St. was in for an upset special against the Missouri Tigers. 

A road game against a Missouri team that played Oklahoma tough and hung close with Kansas St. seemed like a perfect upset pick. 

Oklahoma St. showed whey they are one of the best teams in the country en route to an impressive 45-24 win.

Quarterback and Heisman darkhorse Brandon Weeden passed for 338 yards and three touchdowns. Running back Joseph Randle had a big game and helped balance out the attack with 138 yards and three touchdowns on 14 carries.

Star receiver Justin Blackmon was held out of the second half after taking a blow to the head.  

Overall grade: A

Clemson

If there was any doubts about whether or not Clemson is for real, those were answered with a dominating victory against North Carolina. 

Clemson and quarterback Tajh Boyd passed the ball all over the North Carolina defense on their way to a 59-38 win. 

Boyd tossed five touchdowns. He was 27 of 46 for 367 yards and Clemson rolled over the Tar Heels.

Even though they hardly had a rushing attack, finishing with 77 yards, it did not matter for this high-flying offense.  

Overall grade: A-

Kansas St.

Like the previous two teams on the list, Kansas St. can put some points on the board and they did so in a 59-21 victory over in-state rival Kansas. 

The Wildcats put up 24 points in the second quarter alone. That by itself was enough for the victory.

Quarterback Collin Klein was 12 of 19 passing for 195 yards and a touchdown. He also carried the ball 13 times for 92 yards and four touchdowns.  

Kansas St. is proving they are for real to those who may still be doubters.

Overall grade: A 

Arkansas

Arkansas struggled mightily on the road against a 2-5 Ole Miss team and had to rally from 17-points down to come back for a 29-24 win. 

This may have been the worst game Arkansas played all season with the exception of the blowout loss to Alabama.

Running back Dennis Johnson did have a big game however, carrying the ball 15 times for 160 yards and a touchdown.  

The Razorbacks did not play as well as the previous teams on the list. 

Overall grade: D

Virginia Tech

Virginia Tech struggled mightily in the first half and trailed the 1-6 Boston College Eagles 7-6, before turning it on in the second half and pulling away to a comfortable 30-14 victory. 

Running back David Wilson rushed for 134 yards and a touchdown on only 17 carries and quarterback Logan Thomas passed for 268 yards and a touchdown.

After a hot start, Frank Beamer and his squad are slowly beginning to cool off as of late.  

Overall grade: B-

Nebraska

Nebraska rebounded after a bye week from a struggle against Ohio St. and beat Minnesota impressively 41-14 on the road. 

The Cornhuskers dominated throughout and had a 34-0 lead at halftime before cruising to victory. 

Quarterback Taylor Martinez passed for 162 yards and rushed for 52 yards. 

Overall grade: B+

Illinois

Illinois followed up an embarrassing loss to Ohio St. with an even more embarrassing loss on the road to Purdue. 

The Fighting Illini were dominated for the first three quarters and came up short 21-14 after rallying for 14 points in the fourth quarter.

Quarterback Nathan Scheelhaase passed for 217 yards on 22 of 35 in the losing effort. 

If Illinois thought they were for real, that may not be the case as a lose to Purdue would indicate.

Overall grade: D- 

Georgia Tech

Georgia Tech seems to be following the same path as Illinois, only their loss was a little less disappointing. 

The Yellow Jackets fell on the road to Miami 24-7 and suffered their second consecutive defeat, one that will likely drop them out of the Top 25 and also deeply hurts their chances of winning an ACC title. 

Georgia Tech struggled all day on offense and were dominated from start to finish on both sides of the ball.

Quarterback Tevin Washington was 6 of 12 with an interception in the losing effort.  

Overall grade: D

Texas A&M

Texas A&M may be the best two-loss team in the nation. 

They also showed they might have one of the top dual-threat rushing attacks in the country. 

Cyrus Gray rushed for 125 yards on 21 carries and fellow running back Christine Michael carried the ball 19 times for 142 yards and a touchdown. 

The Aggies rolled past Iowa St. 33-17 and have a big three game stretch against Missouri, Oklahoma and Kansas St. the next three weeks. 

Overall grade: B-

Oregon

Even playing without LaMichael James and Darron Thomas, this game was more of a blowout than many people expected.

Oregon laid it on the Buffalo 45-2. The Ducks led 35-0 at halftime after a 29 point first quarter and never looked back.

Kenjon Barner filled in for LaMichael James with 10 carries for 115 yards and two touchdowns.

Backup quarterback Bryan Bennett passed 156 yards and two touchdowns on 11 of 20. 

Overall grade: A- 

LSU

LSU might have played their best game of the season considering the circumstances. 

The Tigers were without some key components who were suspended due to a failed drug test, but that did not seem to matter as they pummeled Auburn 45-10. 

They forced two turnovers on defense and held Auburn in check. 

Two big touchdown catches by receiver Reuben Randle helped break it open in the second quarter for the Tigers. 

Overall grade: A+

Auburn

The Tigers ran into a buzz saw that was LSU and were dominated in all facets of the game, losing 45-10.

LSU just might be the most talented team in the country and Auburn had no answer. 

Sophomore quarterback Clint Moseley did his best to keep his team in the game for most of the first half, but the rushing attack of Michael Dyer and Onterio McCalebb was held in check for most of the game. 

Overall grade: D-

Boise St.

Boise St. could never pull away from a 3-4 Air Force team at home, but did what they needed to do to win 37-26.

The win gave quarterback Kellen Moore 45 for his career and tied him with Colt McCoy for the most all-time.

Moore finished the game with 281 yards going 23 of 29 with three touchdowns and one interception. 

Running back Doug Martin finished with 125 yards on 21 carries and a touchdown. 

Overall grade: B-

Houston

Houston quarterback Case Keenum passed former Hawaii quarterback Timmy Chang for most total yards on offense in the history of college football at any level. 

He also tied his career high with six touchdown passes in a 63-21 route of Marshall. 

Keenum finished the game with 376 yards on 24 of 28 passing. Houston had three receivers over 90 yards and five over 50 yards to win in impressive fashion. 

Overall grade: A-

Penn St.

Kickoff: 7 PM

Opponent: Northwestern

Alabama

Alabama started off real slow in the first half and the score was tied 6-6 at half. 

The Crimson Tide exploded in the third quarter with three touchdowns in less than eight minutes. They went on to a 37-6 rout of the Tennessee Volunteers. 

Alabama was led by quarterback AJ McCarron who finished the day with 284 yards and a touchdown on 17 of 26 passing. 

Star running back Trent Richardson had a subpar game with only 77 yards on 17 carries. 

It was clearly a tale of two halves for the Crimson Tide. 

Overall grade: B-

Stanford

Stanford played perhaps their best game of the season in a dominating win over Washington.

Andrew Luck completed 16 of 21 passes for 169 yards and two touchdowns.

Running back Stepfan Taylor led the way for the Cardinal, finishing with 138 yards and a touchdown on only 10 carries.

Stanford benefited from three huge Washington turnovers, including a 62-yard pick six with under a minute remaining in the first half that gave Stanford a 38-14 lead at the break.

They poured it on in the second-half, winning 65-21. 

Overall grade: A 

Washington

The Huskies were dominated from start to finish by a far superior Cardinal team. 

While they totaled 430 yards and did move the ball, three turnovers were crucial and giving up 615 yards says something about the defense of Washington as well.

Giving up 446 yards on the ground is embarrassing and led to the 65-21 defeat.  

It may have been a little premature to put the Huskies in the Top 25 and more than likely they will have trouble getting back there the rest of the season. 

Overall grade: D+

Wisconsin

Wisconsin played their first true road game of the season in a tough environment in East Lansing, Michigan and were clearly not up to the task.

After jumping out in front 14-0, Wisconsin fell behind 31-17 before two fourth quarter touchdowns tied it at 31 with just over a minute remaining.

Michigan St. pulled off the victory on a Hail Mary in one of the greatest endings in the history of college football.

The Spartans defense did just enough to contain the vaunted Wisconsin offense in a 37-31 thriller.

Overall grade: C 

Michigan St.

Michigan St. proved once again why they are one of the top teams in the country knocking off undefeated and No. 6 Wisconsin 37-31 on a controversial Hail Mary with no time remaining. 

They have now defeated Ohio St, Michigan and Wisconsin in consecutive weeks and appear headed for the Big 10 conference championship.

Quarterback Kirk Cousins led the way for the Spartans, completing 22 of 31 passes for 290 yards and three touchdowns. 

Receiver B.J. Cunningham had a big day with 102 yards and a touchdown on six catches. 

Overall grade: A+

Oklahoma

Of all the upsets and surprises of the day, perhaps the biggest of them all was the final game of the night.

Texas Tech broke an Oklahoma 39-game home winning streak and knocked off the Sooners 41-38. 

The Red Raiders marched up and down the field the entire game and were in control of this one throughout.

They had over 600 yards of total offense and quarterback Seth Doege completed 32 of 51 passes for 425 yards and four touchdowns.

Landry Jones was equally impressive, tossing five touchdowns on 29 of 54 passing with 403 yards.

Overall grade: D