After last weekend it’s still hard to believe Penn State actually pulled the ripcord on James Franklin and I’m frankly (get it) stunned Wisconsin hasn’t done the same to Luke Fickell. I don’t know if I’ve ever seen such a precipitous fall than the one that just took place in Happy Valley. A preseason #2 national title contender loaded with talent went from pushing then-#3 Oregon to the brink in overtime to falling to two of the conference’s punching bags in the time it takes to microwave a bag of popcorn.
The closest analogy I can think of is the fall of the 2024 Florida State Seminoles from their 2023 team but that took place over the course of months and Mike Norvell is still the coach in Tallahassee. For now.
I’m also frankly (okay, I’ll stop now) stunned that he went before Fickell. Franklin’s fall at Penn State was the cumulative result of years of disappointment and failure to live up to that program’s expectations. Three straight losses was simply the last straw after going 4-21 against top ten competition. In Madison, Fickell took the winning formula put together by Alvarez, Bielema, and Chryst, and promptly threw it in the trash along with the Badgers’ reputation. Since he took over in 2023, Wisconsin is 15-17 with an 0-10 record against ranked foes. They sacrificed their identity in pursuit of the shiny new offense that was promised, only to now find themselves dead last in PPG in the conference. So, I’m assuming this means rather than fire him, Wisconsin will just put in an average points per game clause in his next contract.
By the time you read this Fickell may be gone. I hope not, because the wholesale destruction of Badger football is just so delicious to watch.
You know what else is delicious to watch? Week 8 of college football. Schedule graphics courtesy of Projection Sports.
Thursday, October 16 and Friday, October 17
#25 Nebraska at Minnesota on Friday night is a great start to the weekend. You can see in the above image the Cornhuskers have the conference’s fourth best scoring offense, good for 11th best in the country. You could argue they were lucky to escape Maryland last weekend after tossing three interceptions, and the Gophers are a good team capable of tripping up a newly ranked team at home.
Saturday, October 18
Saturday starts off strong with #10 LSU at #17 Vanderbilt. Still not used to seeing that number next to the Commodores name. What a time to be alive. The Fox Big Noon Game features the Huskies of Washington visiting Michigan, newly dropped from the national rankings but still dangerous, and #14 Oklahoma will try to rebound from their Red River loss at South Carolina. Amid those headliners we’ve got plenty of solid games like West Virginia at UCF, Baylor at TCU, and #12 Georgia Tech at Duke.
The Big Ten’s top programs kick off in the afternoon. Poor Wisconsin’s murderers row of a schedule continues when they host #1 Ohio State at 2:30 on CBS and Michigan State visits #3 Indiana. It’s amazing to see the Hoosiers’ star continuing to burn so brightly as they’ve reached the highest ranking in school history. Outside the B1G, the biggest draw is no doubt #5 Ole Miss at #9 Georgia on ABC so there is plenty of high power matches midway through the day.
And of course we have Penn State visiting Iowa at 6:00 on Peacock. Iowa may not have the opportunity to end the Franklin era anymore, which no doubt Kirk Ferentz would’ve loved to do, but they still have the chance to earn a big win at home under the lights. Amazing how the script of this game has flipped in just a few weeks to the point where Iowa is now a slight favorite.
Outside of Penn State-Iowa, the big name draws are #11 Tennessee at #6 Alabama on ABC and #20 USC at #13 Notre Dame. Both are big time storied rivalries and it’s going to be very hard to focus on just one at a time. Even the Big XII gets in on the action with the Holy War of #23 Utah at #15 BYU on Fox at 7:00. The evening slate is packed with great content and that’s before mentioning other games like #8 Oregon at Rutgers, #16 Missouri at Auburn, and Pittsburgh at Syracuse.
Week 8 is jam packed with exciting games. Which are you most looking forward to?
