Saturday in Review: Week 8

The Rebels were far too much, especially on defense, for the
Aggies to handle. Justin Ford-USA TODAY Sports

There's no such thing as a dull week of college football. The upsets began on Thursday when UCLA crushed Cal in the Rose Bowl. Temple came back in the fourth quarter to down East Carolina, remaining perfect and undefeated. Appalachian State earned their sixth win handling Georgia Southern, becoming bowl eligible and the team-to-beat in the Sun Belt Conference.

Alabama needed a late touchdown to get past Tennessee. Tennessee missed three field goals in their five-point loss, but still took the lead with less than six minutes remaining. The Tide responded with a long, game-winning touchdown drive. Ole Miss had a plethora of missed opportunities and offensive dysfunction against Texas A&M, but it didn't matter as the Rebel defense totally dominated the Aggies. Ole Miss outgained A&M 471 to 192, so the Rebels certainly should have scored more than 23 points, but threw four interceptions.

The Arkansas Razorbacks outlasted the Auburn Tigers through four overtime periods, ultimately winning 54-46. In a less thrilling contest, Vanderbilt topped Missouri 10-3; the Commodores outgained the Tigers 304 to 188, but still needed a last minute stop to keep Mizzou out of the endzone and preserve the win.

The highly-ranked Utah Utes fell hard against unranked USC. The inspired Trojans left no doubts in their 42-24 triumph. Stanford's 17-point win over Washington left the Washington State Cougars as the only Pac-12 team without a loss of 10 points or more (the Cougars largest margin of defeat was seven points against FCS member Portland State).

Michigan State needed a fourth quarter surge to hold off Indiana. Nebraska lost a close one to Northwestern while Maryland did the same against Penn State. All five of Nebraska's losses have come by five points or less.

Baylor defeated Iowa State with relative ease, but lost their starting quarterback to a broken vertebra in the process. South Florida blasted SMU while UCF lost 59-10 to the Houston Cougars. The 49-point loss was the worst home defeat in program history (precipitating head coach George O'Leary to resign on Sunday).

The combination of Clemson's dominant victory and Florida
State's defeat leaves the Tigers the only undefeated team in
the ACC. Brett Davis-USA TODAY Sports

What was bad in Orlando was even worse in Miami. In front of hundreds of home spectators, the Miami Hurricanes suffered their worst defeat since their program began in 1927. Clemson blew away the Hurricanes, scoring 58 points while holding the Canes to naught. The Tigers ran for 416 rushing yards and 567 total offensive yards (Miami could only muster 146 total yards). The day after the loss, Miami dismissed head coach Al Golden. In a much more competitive game, Duke survived Virginia Tech through quadruple overtime. The Blue Devils improved to 3-0 in conference play and are in good position to compete for a division (and conference) championship.

Like Duke, Pitt is also 6-1 and undefeated in the ACC after getting by Syracuse. The Panthers needed a late field goal to clinch the victory. North Carolina also won their game against Virginia, making them the third ACC Coastal team to be 6-1 and undefeated in conference. These teams will not remain undefeated for long, as matchups with one-another loom.

The most stunning finale to a game this weekend came in Atlanta, where Georgia Tech earned a victory against Florida State. With just 54 seconds left, Georgia Tech tied the game at 16-16 with a field goal. But FSU got the ball back, and drove the ball to the Tech 38-yard-line. With just six seconds remaining, the Seminoles lined up for a 56-yard field goal attempt. The kick was low and blocked, a Yellow Jacket picked up the ball and returned it 78 yards for the game-winning touchdown. The improbable win ended Florida State's 28-game conference winning streak (the second longest in ACC history) and the Seminoles' undefeated season. The Jackets improved to 3-5, keeping their bowl hopes alive.

State of Florida:

• 21 Houston (7-0) over UCF (0-8), 45-14 59-10
• 6 Clemson (7-0) over Miami (4-3), 35-31 58-0
• South Florida (4-3) over SMU (1-6), 38-24 38-14
• FIU (4-4) over Old Dominion (3-4), 31-20 41-12
• Florida Atlantic (1-6) over UTEP (3-4), 27-24 27-17
• 9 Florida State (6-1) over Georgia Tech (3-5), 30-14 22-16
• 13 Florida (6-1), BYE

Southeastern Conference:

• Arkansas (3-4) over Auburn (4-3), 35-28 54-46 (OT)
• 8 Alabama (7-1) over Tennessee (3-4), 35-24 19-14
• Missouri (4-4) over Vanderbilt (3-4), 10-6 10-3
• 24 Mississippi (6-2) over 15 Texas A&M (5-2), 38-31 23-3
• 5 LSU (7-0) over Western Kentucky (6-2), 49-28 48-20
• Mississippi State (6-2) over Kentucky (4-3), 31-21 42-16
• Georgia (5-2), BYE
• South Carolina (3-4), BYE

Top 25:

• 1 Ohio State (8-0) over Rutgers (3-4), 38-20 49-7
• 2 Baylor (7-0) over Iowa State (2-5), 59-28 45-27
• 3 Utah (6-1) over USC (4-3), 24-17 42-24
• 7 Michigan State (8-0) over Indiana (4-4), 34-24 52-26
• 10 Stanford (6-1) over Washington (3-4), 35-20 31-14
• 14 Oklahoma State (7-0) over Kansas (0-7), 56-17 58-10
• 17 Oklahoma (6-1) over Texas Tech (5-3), 41-34 63-27
• 18 Memphis (7-0) over Tulsa (3-4), 38-17 66-42
• 19 Toledo (7-0) over Massachusetts (1-6), 45-24 51-35
• 20 California (5-2) over UCLA (5-2), 31-27 40-24
• East Carolina (4-4) over 22 Temple (7-0), 21-17 24-14
• 23 Duke (6-1) over Virginia Tech (3-5), 31-24 45-43 (OT)
• 25 Pittsburgh (6-1) over Syracuse (3-4), 35-21 23-20
• 4 TCU (7-0), BYE
• 11 Notre Dame (6-1), BYE
• 12 Iowa (7-0), BYE
• 15 Michigan (5-2), BYE

Week 8 Record: 19-6 (76%)

Season Record: 172-45 (79%)