College Football Week 8 discussion
 

Five matchups between Top 25 teams this weekend:

Notre Dame at Florida State
Texas A&M at Alabama
Kansas State at Oklahoma
Oklahoma State at TCU
Stanford at Arizona State

A&M/'Bama has lost a lot of early luster, but should be a hell of a game and interesting to see who wins. This could easily be a 4 loss season for 'Bama and I'm not sure where blame lays although in multiple directions might be the answer.

Go with the safe choice and choose Kiffin. :D

Washington travels to Eugene to try to break a 10-game losing streak to the hated Ducks (UW still leads the all-time series 58-43-5 though).

On the positive side, Oregon's defense looks rather vulnerable this year and the Washington defense is showing signs they could be very, very good with two All-American candidates along the line in DE Hau'oli Kikaha and NT Danny Shelton (and another in LB Shaq Thompson) and have been extremely opportunistic in generating and securing turnovers (and converting them to touchdowns).

On the negative side, Oregon looks like a different team with LT Jake Fisher back from injury, and Marcus Mariota is extremely hard to beat when healthy.

Clemson at Boston College should be an interesting ACC matchup.

Clemson just lost freshman phenom QB Deshaun Watson for a few weeks with a broken finger on his throwing hand. With their backup QB, they were able to squeak past Louisville with a special teams TD and a defensive TD to win 23-17.

This matchup really comes down to can BC run on Clemson? If they can, I think BC has a good shot at winning. If not, it will be a long day for the Eagles.

Clemson's offense is ok with their backup QB... he made a couple of drives, but also threw more than 1 near pick. I expect this game to be in the 20's scoring-wise unless Clemson figures out how to run their offense with a pure pocket passer running it.

3 point dog to Georgia? Will the streak end finally?

Going to Columbus to watch RU get destroyed by tOSU.

To be fair.
Back up QB took zero snaps last week in practice as he sprained his non-throwing shoulder in the game the week before against NCSU.

That said this game scares me a tad. Clemson's D plays on emotion. The second half against UNC they were totally flat and let UNC almost climb back into the game. BC is a hard place to get up for a game..its crazy quiet there.

My HOPE is the offense features a few Wildcat plays utilizing freshman RB and HS option QB Adam Choice (younger brother of Tashard Choice for the GT crowd)

The same company that had a lot of Gurley autographed items has been found to have a large number of Winston autographed items.

They had a ton of Clowney stuff last year.

So, what's everyone think of Jimbo Fisher's reaction to all of this? Can he really continue to have plausible deniability?

Why was Winston stealing crab legs if he was making money from autographs?

Iowa travels to Maryland. This is the last tough test on the road. A big game for sure.

Well, I've never been overly sold on Simms.

I've stated it many times over the last couple of years, I really cannot stand Jimbo. He just seems scummy to me and always has. Before this fiasco, it was just an opinion with little to go off of. Now at least I have something to feel better about my impression of him.

He's going to continue the plausible deniability until he gets backed into a corner and has nowhere else to go. We've all seen how good the backup QB is right now. If Winston gets suspended, Florida State won't even make the playoff. Nothing will happen to Winston unless he does something else stupid. With this kid,it seems like that is only a matter of time.

Come on Bob...you can do better

Hugh Freeze Addresses Photo of Robert Nkemdiche Holding Bong | Bleacher Report

So, pretty much his parents got paid for him to go there... because wasn't it going around that they were the ones that steered him to Ole Miss after he was all but committed to Clemson?

And then after that, he's had all these problems? So it wasn't for him to go to Ole Miss so that the university would take care of him... unless by "take care" you mean $$$$.

I don't recall the dad being so much a part of that, was mostly about his mom as I recall.

Right, it was his mom.

Mom got PAAAAAAID, and PAID well.

The Schuessler family (whom Bob lived with in HS) said their biggest fear was him spending too much time back around his brother. Seems to be coming to fruition.

I know ESPN is totally covered up this week with the throw Winston under the bus campaign, and for that I commend them.

But its about time they looked at this story as well as the Nkemdiche one.
Court record: Search of Alabama football player's room turns up 112 grams of marijuana and $4,600 | AL.com

Rarely have I seen a fan's argument that a coach should be fired be written so articulately.

Les Miles', LSU players' reaction to injury touches a Florida fan | NOLA.com

And the Newton precedent makes that perfectly fine. As long as the athlete can pretend they knew nothing about payments to parents, everything's fine.

IU is down to their third QB for MSU. This should be good. True freshman Zander Diamont gets the start.

Sounds like a bond villain

University of Michigan board, president will not rush to judgment on athletic director - ESPN

Always a fun time when a "long and hard look at the state of the program" gets tossed around.

Is a member of the Ford family on the Michigan board?

Opening the door for Jim Harbaugh.

Hey man, they just beat Penn State! I think Hoke's gettin' this thing turned around! Way too early to give up on him.

Just saw a stat (so unverified) for the PAC-12 that the home team is 4-15 in conference this year. Not to mention that every PAC-12 team has lost at home..

Look, I don't care at this point if FSU wants to allow Winston to play if he murders someone. They don't seem to care and Fisher continues making idiotic statements just about every single time he opens his trap.

I would ask FSU to just stop lying to us about "investigating" things though. This morning, sources from the autograph vendor are saying FSU have not called them to talk about it or even ask the question about him getting paid for autographs. If you aren't going to even ask the question, you are not running an investigation. It's ok. I think the rule is asinine too. Just be honest about it and stop lying to the world, k thnks

The investigation will start shortly after the season ends or FSU loses, whichever comes first.

Watching the Baylor/West Virginia game. This has to go on the top 20 worst starts you can have to a football game list.

Baylor kicks off
West Virginia catches it at the goal line and returns it
To the 9 yard line before getting tackled by 6 Baylor players
First snap is a bomb thrown into double coverage which the Wes Virgina player acrually catchs
5 feet out of bounds
Next play is a one yard run with another 5 Bears in on the tackle.
3rd and long, drop back, sack, fumble. Baylor recovers
Baylor runs one play, TD, but flag on the play, offside on WVU


14:00 left in Q 1, 7-0 Baylor

CJ Brown has over 100 yards of total offense already. But Iowa leads 14-10.
Maryland driving though.

Kevin White draws more PI calls than any receiver I've ever seen.

That sure looked like a fumble at the 1, but I'm not complaining. 17 unanswered!

Can you review whether a pass is caught behind the line of scrimmage?

Baylor/West Virginia, call is ineligible man down field, overturned after review. Mike Pereira was adamant at first it wasn't reviewable, then admits he has no idea what the college rulebook says.

Josh Lambert from 54 with plenty of room to spare.

Iowa just knocked CJ Brown out.

I don't see a specific mention of that in the college rulebook (may have missed it though). What specifically isn't reviewable would be whether or not the lineman was downfield on that play.

Big 12 rules allow any play that isn't specifically listed as not rewiewable in the NCAA rulebook to be reviewed if the replay official deems it an "egregious error".

5 minutes into the 3rd quarter. Iowa's WRs dont have a catch and just a couple balls thrown their way.
Time to change QBs. maybe?

The flags against Baylor in the WVU game is starting to border on the absurd. If I were WVU, I would simply drop back and launch bombs on every play. If the call is 25/75, they'll get the PI call on Baylor. Just had a play where the Baylor player plays the thing perfectly, bats the ball away at the highest point. Flag.

I don't care who wins the game, this is beyond bad.

Cool.

PS in the continuing ESPN self-promotion department, #14 leads #11 by a TD and an unranked team leads #4 by a TD, both in the 3rd quarter... Guess which one is the lead story on ESPN.com under the title Upset Alert?

Poor call by Briles. Should've gone for that 4th & 8 IMO.

Never thought I'd type these words, but great job by Tony Gibson with the defensive game plan this week.

Maryland with a surprising win, outside of getting drubbed by OSU they've had a pretty solid season

Yeah, I didn't think they'd be all that strong in the B1G - but they're doing ok so far. Maybe Edsall isn't so bad after all.

A&M/Bama - so is the narrative after this game "WOW ALABAMA IS BACK!", or "hmm, guess A&M really isn't very good, are they?"

A&M's season is imploding.

And I don't think I've ever seen a case of the yips for a kicker as bad as they were for the OU guy today. Missed two chip shots and had a point after blocked.

I'd go with this one.

UCLA is scheming themselves out of the PAC-12 race.

Need to also hold onto the ball

I've always thought Edsall was a solid coach. Perfect for a UConn/BC where he'll win 8-9 games and go to a mediocre bowl almost every year. He should have Maryland in good position the next couple years for the next coach and hopefully decides to move on right around when they dig out of their financial hole.

A&M is just missing the locker room leadership of Johnny Manziel.

K-State arguably loses a game due to their kicker choking, and now gets handed a gift due to one.

I'm loving the Big 12 (and Texas HS football teams) embracing their identity as the perfect weather place for aerial innovation, but jesus, does anyone play D here??? :)

I think that's what it should be, but with Baylor going down and FSU/ND pending, I figure it's time to start the 'Bama hype machine back up.

Well, the first couple years things didn't look so good AND a few thought he was a bit of an asshole (if not a raging one) -- but then I guess losing exacerbates that a bit. The past season and a half has been a decent rebound.

BTHO for A&M means "bent the hell over" today

Eh, if they beat Auburn & Mississippi State en route to running the table, I don't have a problem with them being in the final four discussion.

What a craptacular half by Arkansas, considering how they looked in the opening drive. They've been so bad that not even Mike Bobo can eff things up.

Cue the Benny Hill music at Arkansas

West Virginia finishing well could also be huge for them. Having a "good" OOC win could help during the inevitable arguments against a team that couldn't win its division (assuming Ole Miss doesn't drop 2+ games, although I guess 3-way tie at 7-1 with the Mississippi's is still on the table - what's the SEC tiebreaker? AP poll rank or whoever hasn't been there in the longest time?)

Embarrassing show by RU, but I really hope they at least can injure a starter or two for OSU running it up.

Georgia doesn't play bama, a&m, or the mississippis this year. my lord, the sec is less a conference and more a loose configuration of schools who now and then play one another.

Fixed.

True. Though whatever team(s) out of Bama, Auburn, and the Mississippis that finish with 0/1 wins basically will be. Their rankings collectively floating toward the top just helps each others' chances. (The trick is to have as many of those avoid 2 losses as possible...)

Kickoffs should be an endangered play.

USC crushing Colorado 28-0 at the end of the 1st quarter.

What's the difference between a Bear and a Bruin?

A shade of blue and about 500 miles

I'm sure if that does turn out to be a serious neck injury his family will appreciate the 75 slo-mo replays you showed, ESPN

Are you for real?!? Just because your poor little team is getting beat does not mean that one should advocate purposely injuring another player. What a despicable attitude.

Time for the VOLS to shock some folks

UCLA probably was gifted a INT, but Cal was going deep with 51 seconds left and in FG range, down by 2

That's why you are Cal. What a shitty call and decision to throw it

I don't think that was an INT for UCLA. But serves Cal right for calling such a play when they needed short-medium yardages to get into FG range.

typed too slow - what Bug and bhlloy said.

Cal won a game 2 weeks ago when the kicker missed a 19 yarder. Oklahoma lost today (partly) because their kicker missed a chip shot. UMass lost to Vandy because they missed a 22 yarder. I didn't see the specific play/throe yet, but I don't mind going for the end zone with college kickers.

Everett Golson is such a weird quarterback - I can't tell if he's good, if he could be really good, or if this is all he'll ever be. His mobility unquestionably sucks in defenders and makes Kelly's offense work... But he has some of the worst pocket awareness and handoffs/zone reads I've ever seen. He locks on to his first read way too much, and rarely seems to want to roll out... But when he does he throws possibly the best ball of any QB while on the run (look at that game-winning throw vs Stanford or the 2nd TD to Robinson tonight.). Don't get me wrong, I'll take him over Tommy Rees in a heartbeat, and 18-1 as a starter speaks for itself, but sometimes I wonder if we wouldn't be a better team with Malik Zaire in there.

Texas did a good job the past couple of weeks of holding the offenses of Baylor and OU in check. But so far in the first half Iowa State has been able to move the ball really well. It is 28 all at halftime.

as a lifelong Rutgers fan ( my Dad went there)I agree.

Mizzou has one of the strangest stat lines I have ever seen for a game.

Just came here to post the same thing. Through not quite three quarters, it's a bizarre looking box score.

Agree with you 100%. This is where things are going to get very interesting and everything we KNOW will likely become muddled. Notre Dame looks impressive tonight. The product they put up is wildly inconsistent. They could easily lose @ Arizona St or @USC. Oregon is rolling again but you have Stanford.

Any team with 1 loss has a shot to catch fire now and start to make a push. There can only be 2 perfect teams. (sorry Marshall) I think it is likely the SEC is getting two teams in no matter how everything else plays out. That leaves a lot of potential 1 loss teams up for debate.

Think about it, Big 12, Big 1G and PAC 12 could all have a champ with one loss. I think 2 of those teams would miss out on the playoff.

Yeah.. it's been an odd game for sure. Both teams defenses have shown up and Mizzou's ST (well Marcus Murphy). Both offenses look horrid due to the defenses I guess.

To help those not in the mix:

Mizzou is up 42-7 despite having 117 total yards. The starting QB is 6/18 for 20 yards. (1.1 yards per pass attempt) The starting RB has 38 yards on 12 carries.

Here is their scoring drives:

96 yard kick return TD
5 yard TD run - 4 play 19 yard drive
25 yard FG, 18 play, 55 yard drive in 8:30
34 yard FG 4 play, -11 yard drive (that is negative 11, I didn't misplace the -)
82 yard punt return TD
21 yard fumbe return td
46 yard INT return TD


I wonder if any other team in football history has 1 punt return TD, 1 KO return TD, 1 fumble recovery TD and 1 pic 6 in the same game.

Shocking numbers.

You mean the offenses look horrid due to horrific QB play. Sorry, good defenses don't hold starting QB's to 70 yards on 38 attempts. This is not the '85 Bears vs. the '00 Ravens defenses out there.

Hey, some MLB scouts think (Red Sox late round flyer) Jeff Driskel is the best baseball prospect at UF despite not playing in 3 years... Maybe he'll actually try pitching for us now...

(He's not the only CFB player the Red Sox have picked recently... Took a flyer on Shaq Thompson and he had quite literally the worst stat line ever - 0-39 with 37 strikeouts in the GCL. Also drafted Senquez Golson and offered him close to $1 million. When he turned us down on the last day we offered half that money to our backup plan - some small kid named Mookie Betts. Guess it worked out for us.)

Mauk vs Driskell ... most hopeless QB matchup in D1 history perhaps?

Ok, I've heard quite enough of this (modest!) century song.

Reassuring to know that Fall Out Boy still, basically, sucks.

Winston is just on fire this half. Truly amazing.

Cmon Notre Dame. It's the one time in my life I will cheer for you. Make it happen.

Still better than ABC's insistence on using Maroon 5 as their final pregame band!

What a great game this has been. Both still young, flawed teams, but I think this is as good an October game I've seen since the Bush Push game. Hopefully it ends more favorably!

Did Reggie Ball ever face Tevin Washington in a spring game ;)

Kick the FG or go for it... Our 2nd half defensive strategy has been hope for a dumb FSU penalty that kills their drive.

And that last 3rd down was a perfect example of Golson's poor awareness... once he backs up from the initial pressure, if he rolls to his left I guarantee he has all day and yards of open space to get the first down. Instead he keeps floating to the near sideline and traps himself into a dumb throw.

No Kirk - it's not "a different ND mindset", it's because FSU was dumb and ran 3 times instead of trusting Jameis. Every single time they've ran in the 2nd half I've started cheering.

WHAT?!

EA Sports ending to the Texas-Iowa State game. Texas took the lead 45-38 with 1:19 to go in the game. Iowa State ran 8 plays in 50 seconds and tied the game with 28 seconds left. Texas got two long pass plays to get the ball to the 3 and kicked the game winning FG with 3 seconds left.

No matter then outcome, only decent game I've seen all day really.
GT-UNC being close doesn't really count all that much as "decent" afaic.

That 4th and 18 completion was crazy. When he threw that pass, I was certain it was going nowhere. I couldn't believe there was actually an open ND receiver.

Holy crap, an offensive interference on a pick... what a dumb play by that WR...

Especially since it looked like the defender was gonna be late anyways.

I swear, Fisher has the most punchable face I have ever seen. Winston comes a close second.

He didn't even try to act like he was running a route

All is right with the world when ND loses.