CFB: Week 8 Preview
Week 7 was arguably the most unforgettable week of the season, as four (!) top-15 teams fell to unranked conference opponents on the road: No. 2 Clemson and No. 8 Washington State slipped up on Friday night against Syracuse and California, respectively, and the following day, No. 5 Washington looked sluggish against Arizona State and No. 11 Auburn blew a 17-0 lead at LSU. And it didn't stop there, as other thrillers included No. 21 Michigan dodging Indiana's bullet in overtime, No. 12 Oklahoma outlasting Texas' upset bid, and No. 10 Miami staving off Georgia Tech on a game-winning field goal.
Week 8 has just a pair of ranked-vs.-ranked matchups, in No. 10 USC traveling to No. 15 Notre Dame for their annual rival game and No. 18 Michigan looking to spoil No. 3 Penn State's undefeated campaign. Other notable matchups include No. 19 Central Florida at Navy, No. 24 Kentucky at Mississippi State, and Colorado at No. 13 Washington State. Our CFB Staff will preview the upcoming set of games with rankings, picks, and more!
*Maximum of 100 Points.*
Top-25 Rankings:
1. Alabama (7-0, 4-0) - 100 Pts.
2. Georgia (7-0, 4-0) - 96 Pts.
3. Penn State (6-0, 3-0) - 95 Pts.
4. TCU (6-0, 3-0) - 91 Pts.
5. Wisconsin (6-0, 3-0) - 87 Pts.
6. Ohio State (6-1, 3-0) - 86 Pts.
7. Clemson (6-1, 3-1) - 82 Pts.
8. Miami (5-0, 3-0) - 76 Pts.
9. Oklahoma (5-1, 2-1) - 75 Pts.
10. USC (6-1, 3-1) - 74 Pts.
11. Washington (6-1, 3-1) - 71 Pts.
12. Oklahoma State (5-1, 2-1) - 70 Pts.
13. Washington State (6-1, 3-1) - 62 Pts.
14. Virginia Tech (5-1, 2-1) - 61 Pts.
15. Notre Dame (5-1, 2-0) - 59 Pts.
16. South Florida (6-0, 3-0) - 55 Pts.
17. NC State (6-1, 4-0) - 53 Pts.
18. Michigan (5-1, 2-1) - 52 Pts.
19. Central Florida (5-0, 3-0) - 47 Pts.
20. Michigan State (5-1, 3-0) - 46 Pts.
21. Auburn (5-2, 3-1) - 42 Pts.
22. Stanford (5-2, 4-1) - 36 Pts.
23. San Diego State (6-1, 3-1) - 14 Pts.
24. Kentucky (5-1, 2-1) - 12 Pts.
25. Texas A&M (5-2, 3-1) - 10 Pts.
Just Missed the Cut:
26. Toledo (5-1, 2-0) - 8 Pts.
27. LSU (5-2, 2-1) - 8 Pts.
28. Iowa State (4-2, 2-1) - 7 Pts.
29. Wake Forest (4-2, 2-1) - 6 Pts.
30. California (4-3, 1-3) - 2 Pts.
Trending Upward: Ohio State (+3) was one of the biggest benefactors to all of the shake up this past weekend. Because of losses to Clemson, Washington, Washington State, and Auburn, the Buckeyes are now ahead of each of those teams. Ohio State's offense has been churning since a Week 2 loss against Oklahoma at home. Prior to that loss, the offense looked sluggish. J.T. Barrett seemed stuck in the pocket, the receivers couldn't adjust to the ball, and J.K. Dobbins was having to carry the team. Now Barrett looks comfortable again, as he is rolling out and running more designed runs, similarly to the 2014 championship team. Granted, they've looked great against below-.500 teams (UNLV, Rutgers, Maryland, and Nebraska), but it seems their confidence is back up. And it's a perfect time for the Buckeyes to be playing their best ball because after the bye week this Saturday, Penn State will be coming to town on October 28, with the Big 10 (and more) potentially on the line. Other teams that moved up a little bit were Georgia (+3) after their win over Missouri, USC (+3) after slipping past Utah, and TCU (+2) after a road win against Kansas State, who a lot of people picked K-State to win.
Trending Downward: This was a perfect week for this section, because there were so many upsets. Five teams have slid at least five spots, beginning with Auburn (-10), who fell the hardest following a loss at LSU, who is just a couple of weeks off of a loss to Troy. Ugh. This is not a good look for Gus Malzahn's team. Jarrett Stidham only had six passing yards the entire second half, and after leading 17-0, Auburn let it slip away. Now with two losses, their CFP hopes are done. The Tigers are still in line for a New Year's Six bowl, if they can finish 9-3 or 10-2. A couple of tough games remaining are at Texas A&M and against Georgia and Alabama. Clemson (-5) lost to Syracuse on the road, right before their bye as Kelly Bryant went down with a possible concussion. Washington (-6) and Washington State (-5) lost to Arizona State and California, respectively, and their Pac-12 titles take a minor hit but are still within reach. And San Diego State (-5) was ran over at home by Boise State, which results in a monumental hit to their CFP and New Year's Six dreams, probably ending both.
Charles Post:
Iowa State @ Texas Tech
Syracuse @ No. 8 Miami
No. 19 Central Florida @ Navy
No. 24 Kentucky @ Mississippi State
No. 10 USC @ No. 15 Notre Dame
No. 18 Michigan @ No. 3 Penn State
Wyoming @ Boise State
Fresno State @ No. 23 San Diego State
Arizona @ California
Colorado @ No. 13 Washington State
Week 7 Record: 9-1.
Overall Record: 57-13.
Chase Zayac:
Iowa State @ Texas Tech
Syracuse @ No. 8 Miami
No. 19 Central Florida @ Navy
No. 24 Kentucky @ Mississippi State
No. 10 USC @ No. 15 Notre Dame
No. 18 Michigan @ No. 3 Penn State
Wyoming @ Boise State
Fresno State @ No. 23 San Diego State
Arizona @ California
Colorado @ No. 13 Washington State
Week 7 Record: 7-3.
Overall Record: 54-16.
Chinedum Wejinya:
Iowa State @ Texas Tech
Syracuse @ No. 8 Miami
No. 19 Central Florida @ Navy
No. 24 Kentucky @ Mississippi State
No. 10 USC @ No. 15 Notre Dame
No. 18 Michigan @ No. 3 Penn State
Wyoming @ Boise State
Fresno State @ No. 23 San Diego State
Arizona @ California
Colorado @ No. 13 Washington State
Week 7 Record: 9-1.
Overall Record: 54-16.
Elimination Game of the Week: Now that we are more than half way through the 2017-18 college football season, we are starting to see "Elimination Games." This is when a pair of one-loss or undefeated teams meet up, and the loser is virtually eliminated from College Football Playoff contention. The first one of the season takes place at No. 15 Notre Dame (5-1, 2-0), as they host rival, No. 10 USC (6-1, 3-1). Both teams are coming in with one loss, the Fighting Irish's to No. 2 Georgia and the Trojans' to No. 13 Washington State. It's a must-win for both schools if they want to get to the CFP for the first time. USC is led by QB Sam Darnold, while Notre Dame RB Josh Adams has been a workhorse. All three of us picked the Trojans win this one.
1. What three teams benefit the most from having four top-15 upsets last week and why?
Post: I think TCU, Ohio State, and USC benefited the most from all of the chaos we saw last weekend. The Horned Frogs were likely going to get left out if there were four Power Five undefeated teams ahead of them, and now that Clemson and Washington have taken a loss, TCU is in a great spot. Ohio State is now the highest ranked one-loss team so that bodes well for them since every year we've had at least three of the four playoff teams have a loss. And USC because the Trojans were looking like the third best team in the Pac-12 and now that both Washington schools have a blemish, it's all back to square one and USC has a shot again.
Zayac: The teams that benefit the most from the four top-10 teams losing are No. 2 Georgia, No. 3 Penn State, and No. 4 TCU. All have cemented themselves into the College Football Playoff picture now, even if they so lose a game later in the season.
Wejinya: The teams that benefited from Clemson, Washington, Washington State, and Auburn losing begin with Ohio State. It allows them to be able to get themselves back in the playoffs, and it also helped USC because this means they will have a better chance to win the Pac-12, and theother team it helped TCU because if they win the rest of their game they will be in thePlayoffs.
2. If No. 1 Alabama and No. 2 Georgia run the table, finishing 12-0 prior to their meeting in the SEC Championship Game - Would the loser still have a chance to reach the College Football Playoff or would they be eliminated?
Post: Yeah, I think they would have a good chance. If both teams win out during the regular season, they'd each have wins over Auburn, Mississippi State, Tennessee, and Vanderbilt, and another big time non-conference win with Alabama beating Florida State and Georgia defeating Notre Dame. The loser, which I think would be Georgia, would still have a pretty good resume, since it'd have a handful of ranked victories and their only loss would be to a 13-0 Alabama team. That's better than Ohio State's resume from last year and they got in.
Zayac: If Alabama and Georgia both reach the title game undefeated, the only team to have a shot at the playoff if they lose, is Alabama. The committee will be in favor of them, especially considering out of the four championships they have had since 2009, just one was undefeated.
Wejinya: I don’t think so because of the way the playoffs were made. It was to help lesser conferences have a chance at winning the national title, so it would be hard for them to allow two teams from the same conference, the SEC, to go into the four-team playoff.
3. If any of the two 'Group of Five' teams (No. 16 South Florida and No. 19 Central Florida) end the season undefeated at 13-0 - Is it possible that they could get a chance to reach the CFP, and of the two, who would have the best chance to do so?
Post: I think it's possible for either South Florida or Central Florida, but they would absolutely have to be undefeated to make it. There is no room for error for either of these teams, like there is for Power Five programs. If the Bulls run the table, they'd have victories over Illinois, Cincinnati, Houston, and Central Florida. If the Knights do, they'd have defeated Maryland, Memphis, Navy, and South Florida. Which means each team would have a Big Ten win and would be undefeated in the American. It's not probable, but it's possible for a Group of Five team to reach the CFP, and if I had to pick one, I'd take the the Bulls because Quinton Flowers is a difference maker. A New Year's Six bowl is more likely, though.
Zayac: The team that has the best chance of going undefeated out of No. 16 South Florida and No. 19 Central Florida would be the South Florida Bulls. QB Quinton Flowers is playing unbelievable right now and they are the stronger team.
Wejinya: I think if either South Florida or Central Florida go 13-0, there will be a strong consideration for one of them to go in to the College Football Playoff. I think South Florida has the best change to go 13-0, even though they play Central Florida on the road in the final game of the year.
*Maximum of 20 Points.*
Heisman Standings:
1. Bryce Love (Stanford RB) - 18 Pts.
2. Baker Mayfield (Oklahoma QB) - 10 Pts.
3. Saquon Barkley (Penn State RB) - 9 Pts.
4. Lamar Jackson (Louisville QB) - 9 Pts.
5. Mason Rudolph (Oklahoma State QB) - 6 Pts.
Movement: Bryce Love (+0) remained at the top spot after going for 147 yards and two touchdowns, and not playing at all in the fourth quarter because Stanford was blowing out rival, Oregon. At this point in the season, it's his award to lose. Baker Mayfield (+1) climbed a spot, switching places with Saquon Barkley (-1) as he took down Texas with 300+ yards and the game-winning touchdown. Meanwhile, Barkley's Penn State team was idle, but he'll have a chance against a great Michigan defense this week to really prove his worth. Lamar Jackson (+2) is back in the standings, despite his team losing to Boston College. It's tough to watch Louisville struggle so much but Jackson is obviously one of the best players in the country and the statistics show just that. Mason Rudolph (+2) also joins Jackson as a newcomer, after throwing for 469 yards and three touchdowns against Baylor. J.T. Barrett (-1) and Jalen Hurts (-3) slip out of the rankings for the time being.
College Football Playoff Picks:
Photo Credit: Houston Chronicle & Sports Illustrated.
