College Football: Biggest Winners and Losers from Week 8

Another week, another fascinating week of college football in the books. It was a week with the contenders flexing their muscle, and the pretenders dashing their hopes of a playoff berth. Here are Dimers’ three winners and three losers from Week 8 of College Football.

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Winners

Ryan Day’s Adaptability

The top game heading into Week 8 of College Football was Penn State at Ohio State. Ryan Day is largely known for his offensive prowess as a coach. In his tenure so far, the Buckeyes have been stronger on that side of the ball. That hasn’t been the case this season or on Saturday against the Nittany Lions.

Ohio State’s defense held Penn State to 1.9 yards per carry and 240 total yards. Penn State was 1-for-16 on third downs. That’s called a dominant defensive display which is something that we’re not used to seeing with a Day coached team.

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Washington, Again

If you stayed up late on Saturday night, you may have seen Washington survive one-win Arizona State. I know Washington’s offense looked awful but playoff caliber teams find a way to squeak out wins. That’s exactly what Washington did. 

The Huskies offense was bad. Michael Penix Jr had three turnovers and Washington didn’t have an offensive touchdown all night. But when the team isn’t clicking on all cylinders, you still have to find a way to win. The Huskies survived and advanced.

Second Half Saban

Tennessee had Alabama’s number in the first half. The Volunteers were moving the ball on offense and were leading 20-7 at the half.

I’m not sure what Nick Saban said in the locker room but Alabama flipped a switch. The Crimson Tide had two offensive touchdowns and one fumble return touchdown to win the game 34-20. Alabama got its revenge on Tennessee after last year’s loss. Don’t count out Alabama yet.

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Losers

Michigan Scandal

Does Michigan look like one of the most complete teams in the country? Yes, however, that might be tainted with the ongoing NCAA investigation into in-person scouting and sign stealing. That is on top of the recruiting violations that Jim Harbaugh was punished for earlier this year.

Michigan is good enough to win without knowing what play is coming. They didn’t need to do this against Rutgers or Nebraska. If there is evidence out there, the NCAA will likely come down hard on the Michigan program. Michigan just can’t keep the NCAA off its lawn.

North Carolina's Playoff Hopes

One of the most out of left field results from Week 8 was Virginia beating undefeated North Carolina in Chapel Hill as 24-point underdogs. The Cavaliers had not won a game against an FBS opponent heading into Week 8. That changed on Saturday night.

What’s even more amazing about the upset is that Virginia lost the turnover battle and total yardage battle. North Carolina did not give Virginia extra possessions. The Cavaliers straight up won the game in the trenches. With that loss, the Tar Heels College Football Playoff hopes are now slim.

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Lincoln Riley

Earlier, I mentioned Ryan Day’s ability to adapt and it’s paying off for Ohio State. Lincoln Riley has not adapted much in his college career. Riley-led teams have always had a ceiling because of the defense. Those defensive struggles continued on Saturday.

USC allowed 482 total yards and 34 points to Utah’s third string quarterback in the Trojans 34-32 home loss. The defense under Alex Grinch has not shown improvement since last season.