"Week 8 Recap”
Written by Wendi
Anyone want their entry fee back yet? After the brutal carnage on Saturday, does it make you want to quit? If your answer is yes, you’re alone. But isn’t this what makes college football great?
After an emotional upset win against Georgia last week, Auburn hosted LSU and struggled to establish any offensive momentum and was completely dominated 38-17. Auburn had a total of 271 yards compared to LSU’s 552. But that is the life in the SEC lately. Score a huge upset against a top ranked team and then fall flat the next week.
Tennessee traveled to South Carolina after their big win against Alabama last week and let’s just say that Tennessee did not win. The Gamecocks shocked Tennessee with a walk off field goal to win 27-24. South Carolina jumped to an early 14-0 lead, but the Vols were able to take the lead in the 4th quarter. South Carolina then staged a 10-point rally over the final four minutes which included a strip sack which set South Carolina up for the game winner. Tennessee had 3 touchdowns called back for questionable penalties with some people pointing out that the referee has a bias against the Vols since he played QB at Alabama. That may be something to keep an eye for in the future.
West Virginia survived a furious final drive to edge TCU 24-20 forcing a crucial red zone fumble in the final minute to spoil TCU’s homecoming game. Despite TCU statistically dominating the game, outgaining the Mountaineers 484 yards to 265 and controlling the clock for over 37 minutes, three lost turnovers ultimately cost TCU the game.
Kansas rallied past Baylor 25-24 which snapped a 14-game losing streak against the Bears to secure its first Big 12 win of the season. And with that, Baylor fired their head coach. The Jayhawks exploded for 15 points in the fourth quarter to stage the comeback victory. As Baylor marched down the field for a potential tying field goal, TCU was able to get a hand on it to block the field goal attempt which sealed the emotional victory for Kansas.
In the first ever meeting between Oklahoma and Mississippi State, the Sooners won 23-15. The Bulldogs attempted to start their injured starting QB Taylor but had to leave the game early after reaggravating his foot injury. Without Taylor, their offense has been abysmal for the second straight week. After beating Texas, it appears as if Oklahoma has found their offense. Can they keep winning?
Boston College dominated on the ground to defeat Georgia Tech on the road 49-27. The Eagles had 399 rushing yards which was more yardage than Georgia Tech had on offense. After the Yellowjackets jumped to a 10-0 lead, their offense stalled and a couple of key interceptions stifled any second half comeback.
Arizona State used a dominant fourth quarter and a spectacular multi-touchdown performance on the ground to defeat Kansas State 28-17. The Sun Devils had to endure a messy situation under center by utilizing three separate quarterbacks to secure the win. Meanwhile, Kansas State was without their starting quarterback which could have played a role in the Wildcats’ loss.
Virginia Tech relied on a late-game touchdown pass and a ferocious defensive front to defeat Clemson 20-16. Trailing in the final minutes, the Hokies engineered a clutch drive scoring with under two minutes left in the game. Clemson was able to move the ball downfield but could not convert late on 3rd down. Will this be Dabo’s last season with the Tigers?
Texas snapped their two-game losing streak after holding off an Ole Miss second half rally, escaping with a 34-27 win in Austin. After recent criticism, Arch Manning really needed a big win. However, his three turnover performance may not be enough to win over the Longhorn fans just yet. Texas will host Mississippi State this Halloween while Ole Miss will host a disappointed Auburn team.
Wisconsin put together a dominant performance to upset USC 24-7. The Badgers’ defense completely neutralized one of the Big Ten’s most potent offenses. Their defense had 5 sacks and forced 2 turnovers. Neither offense was great, but Wisconsin’s defense was the star. I have a feeling Lincoln Riley is really on the hot seat after this loss. This game was the fewest points scored by any of his teams that he has coached.
What chaos will this spooky Saturday cause?
On to Pick’ems...
Well, well, well. Look who crawled out of the cellar. I guess mentioning Chris and Evelyn being in cahoots last week, made one of them switch up their picks. Chris decided to break out of the bottom 3 and forge a path of his own…for now. And no, I don’t really think they copy each other’s picks.
Mike, Kim and Evelyn found themselves waking up like a zombie with each of them scoring 8 or less points. How does that happen?
By the looks of David’s chart, only Sam, Noah, Chris, Adam, and myself moved up in the rankings. Hard to believe that only five people scored 20+ points. Still waiting on Cindy, Teddy and David to have their glory moment. But as of right now, they can’t get out of their own way.
But since it’s Halloween week, maybe my best strategy is to buy a bag of candy, slap each team’s name on a piece, toss them all into a bowl and let a sugar-fueled drawing determine this week’s picks. It can’t get no worse than this past week, right?
I’m sure Evelyn, Kim, and Mike may say "hold my beer,” but if there is any silver lining to a football weekend this catastrophic, it’s that a new week brings a new slate of games. We can bury our hauntingly bad picks in the cemetery of October football graveyard and hope our strategies can actually find signs of life this Halloween weekend.
Most points for the week: Sam somehow managed 30 points and $10. Lucky.
Least points for the week: In a record-breaking week, Evelyn ONLY won two games totaling 4 points. How is that even possible?
Best pick of the week: Was there even one?
Worst pick of the week: Whoever didn’t pick LSU or Oklahoma would be my best guess. Yikes!
Letters to the Editor:
What is behind the big-time upsets in college football the past two weeks?
The NIL era has made the playing field more even. Either that, or there is not a real dominate team this year.
Why do Mike’s picks suck?
He doesn’t want to make David look too bad. Anyone’s guess really.
Here are the rankings after Week 8:
1. Sean – 321 points
2. Noah – 309 points
3. Rick – 306 points
4. Kim – 299 points
5. Jacob – 296 points
6. Sam – 296 points
7. Wendi – 289 points
8. David – 285 points
9. Adam – 279 points
10. Marc – 278 points
11. Cindy - 273 points
12. Teddy - 272 points
13. Chris - 260 points
14. Christian - 259 points
15. Mike – 252 points
16. Evelyn – 214 points
There is a 107-point difference between 1st and last place
