Winners and Losers: College Football Week 8
(Photo by Heather Weikel | Black Shoe Diaries)
Winner: Extra Free Football
Since the NCAA founded overtime in 1996, only six games have gone to seven or more overtime periods, and it took college football five years to have one game with extra football this long.
But this Saturday, the longest of them all finally came to an end.
Illinois upset No. 7 Penn State in a truly wild game that ended after NINE (!!) overtimes, a new NCAA record.
The previous five extra-long games featured a 2001 Arkansas over Ole Miss, 2003 Arkansas over Kentucky, 2006 North Texas over FIU, 2017 Western Michigan over Buffalo, and the infamous 2018 Texas A&M over LSU game.
As the debut seven+ OT game for the Big Ten, it did not disappoint.
Regulation ended at a 10-10 game despite the Nittany Lions holding a 10-0 lead to start.
Both teams knocked field goals through in the first overtime and did the same in the second. Then, things got weird.
The new NCAA rule, largely inspired after the wild A&M game, made it so teams will engage in a two-point conversion shootout after the second overtime. Neither team could score after ten (!!) combined attempts, until both scored in the eighth overtime, then a Penn State miss followed by an Illini score to end things.
For Penn State, this -24.5 game should’ve been long-since over, but the loss ends their playoff bid and puts them on the ropes for even a New Years’ Six bowl game, as the Nittany Lions have yet to play Michigan, Michigan State, OR Ohio State,
Maybe next week PSU can win (or lose) a bit quicker.
(Photo by Bob Booth // Fort Worth Star-Telegram)
Loser: TCU’s Shot at a Bowl
TCU has had an odd history with the West Virginia Mountaineers.
The teams first faced off in 1984, with the Mountaineers easily winning 31-14. The two didn’t meet all the way until 2012 (the first year TCU was full members of the Big 12), and the Horned Frogs barely earned their revenge.
The series remained back and forth until 2015, where TCU won 40-10, still their largest win in the series. 2016 saw Dana Holgerson’s old squad earn one back, but College Gameday in Fort Worth spurred the Frogs for a 2017 win.
Then that was it.
TCU has gone 0-4 and lost by a margin of 120-50 since that win.
The worst of those losses may have been last year, when the Frogs needed a home win against the 4-7 Mountaineers to clinch a bowl game.
The Frogs lost 24-6.
Someone needs to be held accountable, and with TCU edging closer and closer to avoiding a bowl bid (again), this may come sooner rather than later.
(Photo by Charlie Neibergall // AP Photo)
Winner: Saturdays in Ames
Staying in the Big 12, if there are a few truths of college football, it’s: Notre Dame and Texas both find a way to underperform, Oregon always gets 10 wins but loses the most important game(s), and Iowa State rules in Ames.
The first two truths already happened, and the Cyclones finally delivered.
No. 8 Oklahoma State came into Iowa as the surprise underdogs, and while they did cover, the Pokes failed to get a key win in their march to Arlington.
Iowa State’s losses to Iowa and Baylor set them back from a top-10 preseason ranking, but this win leaps them back into the rankings.
For the Cowboys, their bid for an undefeated season fails, but Kansas next week should set the record straight. West Virginia, TCU and Texas Tech after this should also be easy wins before Bedlam in the final week.
Iowa State still has Texas and @ Oklahoma remaining, but their Big 12 title game odds are still in their hands.
(Photo by Ethan Hyman // The News & Observer)
Loser: Wolfpack (x2)
Both of the Wolfpack teams entered this season with loftier-than-normal expectations, as Nevada and NC State looked to make some decent runs.
The emergence of the Mountain West’s San Diego State and the ACC’s Wake Forest, both still undefeated, have shoved aside these two teams.
NC State fell to lowly Miami this week, albeit by one. But the Hurricanes were 2-4 and had lost back-to-back weeks to Virginia and North Carolina.
Nevada didn’t fare much better, losing to Fresno State in a major MWC game. Strong again impressed, throwing for 476 yards and four touchdowns, but the Wolfpack’s odds for a New Years’ Six game is likely over.
Given both undefeated Wake and SDSU have yet to play either Wolfpack, maybe all they need is a little full-moon luck.
(Photo by Marcio Jose Sanchez // AP Photo)
Winner: Travis Dye
The Oregon Ducks get over a huge conference hurdle, and Travis Dye can be thanked for that.
Junior running back Dye is an unusual back, opting more for short-yardage scores than long-winded sprints, and in a game like this one, his skills were utilized expertly.
Dye ran for four scores on four-straight carries (a new FBS record), providing every touchdown for the Ducks minus an Anthony Brown QB rushing score.
This game doubled Dye’s season’s touchdown totals and only netted him 35 yards on 14 carries. The back was mostly held in check over the first couple of games but truly broke out against Stony Brook and Arizona, scoring once and racking up almost 200 yards.
Dye’s star game was against Cal last week, running for 145 yards and a touchdown, averaging 7.6 yards per carry.
Oregon pulled out a 34-31 win over UCLA in the Rose Bowl, advancing to 6-1 and will go home next week to host Colorado.
(Photo by Jonathan Daniels // Getty Images)
Loser: The Pac-12 South (again)
Speaking of UCLA, the Pac-12 South is a sad, sad place.
While the Bruins faced a very tough home test, they were far from the worst offenders of Week 8, as every Pac-12 South team that played this week lost.
In going down the painful loss list, the second-least offending is USC falling to No. 13 Notre Dame. The Fighting Irish won fairly easily, 31-16, but it was at home, and they were favored by over a touchdown. Notre Dame was outgained, but an extra Trojan turnover on their last drive sealed up the win for the Irish.
Next up, Colorado and Cal met in Berkeley, both squads turning a sad 2-4 record. The Buffs were beaten sorely, falling 26-3, marking the THIRD time Colorado has scored in the single-digits this season. While Colorado wasn’t expected to make any major splashes this season, they still have to play @ Oregon, Oregon State, and @ UCLA in the next three weeks and must win at least two to gain a bowl bid. Not going to happen.
Hey, at least Arizona covered! The Wildcats are off to one of their worst seasons ever, losing yet again to fall to 0-7, this week on Friday night versus Washington. ‘Zona actually started out 13-0 at halftime and held a 16-7 lead going into the final frame. Yet, as usual, they fell again for the 19th-straight time.
Perhaps the most egregious loss was Utah’s at Oregon State, allowing 42 points (the first opponent they’ve allowed to score over 40) and snap a three-game winning streak. The Utes led 14-7 after the first and 24-14 at halftime, but gave up 21 in the third quarter and another touchdown in the fourth. This loss still has Utah at second in the conference but could have put them in first.
Arizona State, currently tied for first in the conference standings, was on a bye and avoided being on this list (for now).