One week after moving three unbeaten teams into the top nine of the US LBM Coaches Poll on the back of No. 3 Brigham Young’s win against No 8 Notre Dame, the Big 12 returned to form with a Week 8 flop involving its two top contenders.
For starters, BYU went from the highs of maybe the most memorable win in program history to the letdown of a 39-31 double-overtime loss at Central Florida.
To even get to that point, BYU had to make a goal line stand and then block a field goal during a wacky end to regulation. Otherwise, the Cougars were outplayed by an opponent that was 1-3 against Power Four competition.
The next two weeks, against Arizona State and No. 9 Utah, will determine whether BYU is the title contender of last Saturday or a team more likely
to compete for an at-large College Football Playoff berth.
But BYU is still more of a sure thing than No. 5 Texas Tech, which lost 37-24 to Cincinnati after climbing the poll on the back of an easy schedule.
After looking the part in last week’s blowout of Arizona State, the Red Raiders gave up 21 points in the second quarter and never got within a single possession after halftime. And the final score isn’t really reflective of the Bearcats’ level of game control: Tech scored on a pick-six and then tacked on a meaningless touchdown with a minute to go.
At least the Utes did their part, beating No. 16 Houston 21-13 behind over 350 yards of total offense from quarterback Devon Dampier. But it's still a big blow to the Big 12 in getting two teams in the field unless Utah can run the table and lose in the conference title game.
The Big 12’s loss will be the SEC’s gain. More so than the Big Ten, the SEC has the depth of legitimate playoff teams to potentially earn a three-loss team an at-large bid. That becomes a greater possibility if that three-loss team is being compared to a two-loss runner-up from the Big 12.
Texas, Tennessee and Michigan join the Big 12 and SEC in this week’s biggest winners and losers:
Winners
Texas
It wasn’t hard to picture the fallout from another loss at home, even to a team as good as No. 7 Ole Miss. The No. 18 Longhorns avoided a nightmarish third loss after taking a 24-3 halftime lead and holding on for dear life, eventually coming up with a final defensive stand and a 34-27 win. The Rebels’ comeback began after scoring a defensive touchdown off an Arch Manning fumble on the fourth play of the second half. That was part of another one of those unpredictable days for Manning, who had three total touchdowns to go with three turnovers. The Longhorns also had 14 penalties for 134 yards and continued to struggle on special teams, so this was far from the type of complete performance that would have people buying back into UT. But imagine the alternative, right?
Virginia Tech
The Hokies have exceeded expectations with a 6-2 start under coach James Franklin that now has its marquee moment in a thrilling 20-16 win at Clemson. That was sealed on Ethan Grunkemeyer’s 5-yard touchdown pass on 4th-and-1 with 1:44 to play, a daring gamble by Franklin given that a field goal would’ve tied the game and how his defense had played in the fourth quarter. Crucially, Tech didn’t turn the ball over for just the second time this season.
LSU
No. 21 LSU came out swinging in a crucial road game at Auburn, dropping 31 points in the first half and cruising to a 38-17 win. Sam Leavitt threw for 387 yards and three scores and the Tigers had 552 yards as a team, with about two-thirds of total coming in the first half. LSU is dangerous when in sync, but what team will show up on a given Saturday? After all the hype and hoopla of August and early September, a loss to Auburn ahead of meeting No. 13 Alabama would’ve been absolutely calamitous for Lane Kiffin.
Kentucky
No. 12 Kentucky moved to 7-1 and made it look pretty easy in a 34-17 win against Vanderbilt, spotting the Commodores 10 points off the bat before turning things in the bridge between the second and third quarters. Beginning with nine minutes to go in the first half and ending 4:25 into the second, the Wildcats went on touchdown drives of 75, 79 and 75 yards to push them in front 21-10. Kentucky didn’t turn the ball over and four players run for at least 23 yards while Kenny Minchey completed 19 of 26 attempts for 203 yards.
Losers
Tennessee
No. 11 Tennessee has built a method for winning despite less-than-optimal quarterback play. But that approach under coach Josh Heupel couldn’t overcome the fatal mistakes down the stretch of a 31-24 loss at South Carolina, including a failed fourth-down sneak with 3:35 to go and then a fumble with 33 seconds left that set up the Gamecocks’ game-winning field goal as time expired. Here’s something to imagine: This Tennessee team but with LaNorris Sellers at quarterback. Sellers threw for 210 yards and ran for 96 more as South Carolina continued to turn its season around after hitting the brink earlier this month.
Michigan
The offense stayed quiet after handing the keys to Tommy Carr, who failed to lead the Wolverines into the end zone in a 13-6 overtime loss to No. 6 Indiana. The defense got the job done but Carr turned the ball over twice, the running game had just 57 yards on 42 carries and the Wolverines managed just six points out of four trips into the red zone in the second half and overtime. While Carr might be an upgrade over Bryce Underwood, the real issue is a scheme that doesn’t seem to fit Michigan’s personnel.
Southern California
No. 15 USC lost 24-7 at Wisconsin, to the surprise of virtually no one. A night road game against a Big Ten team is the perfect three-ingredient recipe for a USC loss, and this was no exception: After a sluggish first quarter, the Badgers embarked on three long drives sandwiched around a pair of USC missed field goals and basically squeezed the air out of the Trojans, old-school style. They still have No. 2 Ohio State, Indiana and No. 10 UCLA to come, so this won’t be the Trojans’ last loss.
Top 25 teams
While not to up to the madness of last Saturday, which saw five teams in the top eight of the US LBM Coaches Poll lose, this weekend’s action featured losses by seven teams in the top 18: BYU, Texas Tech, Ole Miss, Tennessee, No. 14 Iowa, USC and Houston. Basically, this week’s Top 25 will have Miami at No. 1, then Ohio State, then an absolute mess. There haven’t been three or fewer unbeaten teams at this point in October since 1977, according to CBS.
This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Big 12 flop, Texas fight lead college football winners and losers from Week 8
