close
close

first Drop

Com TW NOw News 2024

    • College football week 8 winners and losers led by Alabama, Tennessee
    news

    College football week 8 winners and losers led by Alabama, Tennessee

    Vaseline Posted on

    October can’t end soon enough for Kalen DeBoer and No. 7 Alabama.

    There has been a loss for Vanderbilt. Last week’s narrow victory against South Carolina. And on Saturday, a 24-17 loss to No. 10 Tennessee that could end the Crimson Tide’s hopes of playing for the SEC championship and reaching the College Football Playoff.

    The Tide entered the month as one of the hottest teams in the Bowl Subdivision, fresh off a win against No. 4 Georgia that painted the early stages of the DeBoer era as a resounding success. But they enter November with at least two losses and perhaps more, quickly increasing the odds that this team will become the first team since 2010 to lose three games and the first since 2007 to lose four or more.

    This is a team and program suffering from an identity crisis: What kind of team is this?

    This is not the attacking juggernaut that emerged in September. The Tide managed just 64 rushing yards against Tennessee’s talented defensive front, while quarterback Jalen Milroe threw a pair of interceptions, including one in the final minutes that sealed the Volunteers’ victory.

    It’s worth thinking about how much worse things could be. Alabama nearly gave away a surefire victory against the Bulldogs before a game-saving touchdown pass from Milroe to Ryan Williams. The Tide were fortunate to escape the Gamecocks. Two losses could easily have been four – and four losses at this point might have been too many for DeBoer to survive.

    Alabama, Tennessee and Southern California lead Saturday’s winners and losers:

    Winners

    Indiana

    The question of whether No. 18 Indiana’s offense would struggle against one of the top-ranked defenses in the Power Four was answered during a 21-point barrage in the second quarter of the eventual 56-7 thrashing of No. 25 Nebraska by the Hoosiers. This qualifies as an eye-opener: Although challenged offensively, the Cornhuskers entered the weekend ranked first in the Big Ten and sixth nationally in yards allowed per play. Indiana racked up 280 passing yards, 215 rushing yards and averaged 7.9 yards per play while forcing five turnovers and holding Nebraska to 2.4 yards per carry. There are better teams standing in the way of a completely unexpected spot in the playoffs, but this win definitely cements the Hoosiers as a legitimate Big Ten contender.

    Notre Dame

    No. 11 Notre Dame passed a sneak test at a neutral site against Georgia Tech with flying colors, scoring a 31-7 victory behind physical ownership on both sides of the line and a solid all-around game from quarterback Riley Leonard. This makes it five straight wins for the Fighting Irish, including four against Power Four competition, and keeps the Irish on track to move past a previous loss to Northern Illinois and earn an at-large playoff bid. But tougher matches are coming, including matchups with Navy, the No. 24 Army and Southern California.

    Cincinnati

    After a horrible three-win debut under coach Scott Satterfield, the Bearcats made another big statement with a 24-14 victory against Arizona State. The game was won in the first half: Cincinnati fell behind 7-0 on the Sun Devils’ opening possession, but pulled within a 24-0 run heading into the break, with the big play being a 55-yard touchdown run by Evan Pryor. ir 17-7 at the beginning of the second quarter. Playing with backup quarterback Jeff Sims in place of an injured Sam Leavitt, Arizona State was held to 346 yards of offense.

    Cam Ward

    No. 6 Miami continues to win best — beating Louisville 52-45 was the Hurricanes’ third straight ACC win on one possession — and Ward continues to put up Heisman Trophy-worthy numbers. After throwing three interceptions in wins against Virginia Tech and California, the senior stayed clean against the Cardinals, hitting 21 of 32 throws for 319 yards and four touchdowns while adding 29 yards on the ground. The former Incarnate Word and Washington State transfer continues to lead the Power Four with 27 combined scores.

    Losers

    Michigan

    The No. 22 Wolverines’ already slim playoff hopes won’t survive a 21-7 loss to No. 21 Illinois, which sums up the fatal flaw for the defending national champions — an inept offense run by three quarterbacks shuffled with empty results. The third, Jack Tuttle, went 20 of 32 for 208 yards and an interception in dropping his second straight start. That squandered a strong performance from a defense that bounced back from a disappointment against Washington last time out, limiting the Illini to 267 yards. There has been such tremendous turnover since last season that the comparison is a bit unfair, but still: Michigan’s three losses in seven games under new coach Sherrone Moore matches the program’s combined total over the previous three seasons . Ultimately, you can tie this year’s decline to the refusal to land a starting-caliber quarterback, which is inexcusable.

    Southern California

    USC can’t do anything right. With Maryland leading 28-14 after a Miller Moss touchdown pass early in the fourth quarter, the Trojans allowed the Terrapins to close out on a 15-0 run, including the game-winning score with less than a minute left, and lost 29-28. After blowing overtime to No. 3 Penn State in last week’s 33-30 setback, this loss represents a huge setback that reinforces how inconsistent and unreliable the program has been under Lincoln Riley. Here’s a way to measure this season’s failure: USC is second from the bottom in the Big Ten standings at 1-4 in conference play, tied with UCLA and ahead of only Purdue.

    Oklahoma

    The results still show the large gap separating Oklahoma from the top half of the SEC, while raising some meaningful concerns about the state of Brent Venables’ program. After barely noticing Texas in last week’s rivalry loss, the Sooners were never competitive in a 35-9 loss at home to South Carolina. Now 4-3, OU will need at least one upset just to secure a bowl game. While a fifth win will come against Maine on Nov. 2, the Sooners’ remaining four games are against No. 15 Mississippi, No. 16 Missouri, No. 7 Alabama and No. 8 LSU, with only the Crimson Tide coming to Norman.

    Chestnut brown

    Like Bryan Harsin before him, Hugh Freeze went 6-7 and reached a lower-level bowl game in his freshman year. Like Harsin, Freeze’s second team will enter the regular season home game as a long shot to reach a bowl game. One difference: Harsin was fired before the end of his second year with the Tigers at 3-5. Another difference: Harsin’s second team even defeated Missouri. Once in control with a 17-3 lead about halfway through the third quarter, Auburn allowed Missouri to march 95 yards on 17 plays in the final minutes and lost 21-17 to fall to 2-5 and remain scoreless in the SEC. There are no positives, no silver lining, no moral victories, and no reason to have any confidence in the current state of the program.

    Vaseline
    View all posts

    You Might Also Like