Week 8 was a defining moment for many teams across the country. With major rivalry games and pivotal ranked matchups on the slate, the postseason picture began to take clearer shape as contenders separated themselves from the pack.
The Holy War
I’m going to start this week’s blog post with my alma mater, Brigham Young University, and their biggest game of the year — against Utah. In this rendition of the Holy War, we got a ranked matchup between Utah and BYU for the first time since 2009, and a conference matchup in Provo for the first time since Utah joined the Pac-12 and BYU went independent in 2011. BYU had won the last two meetings, and you have to go all the way back to August 2019 to find the last time Utah came out on top.
Utah closed as a 5.5-point favorite on the road this year, and I’ll highlight the game before getting into my thoughts. The first quarter was scoreless, with each team possessing the ball twice — but underneath that, there was plenty going on.
BYU got the ball first and, after moving the chains once, stalled and was forced to punt. Utah then unleashed a 12-play drive, moving the ball at will. BYU’s defense struggled with assignments, leaving receiver Ryan Davis completely wide open for a 22-yard gain at one point. Utah’s only negative play was a false start on their first snap, which cost them just three yards because of how backed up they were near their own end zone.
Eventually, Utah faced a 4th-and-1 at the BYU 12. I understand what Utah coach Kyle Whittingham was thinking — they had forced a punt and were driving easily, so seven points would be huge — but in a rivalry where every point matters, going for it there was definitely a choice. Utah called a jet sweep to Daniel Bray, which had gone for 29 yards earlier in the drive. The only problem: BYU cornerback Mory Bamba sniffed it out immediately and shot across the field to make the tackle for loss, giving the ball back to the Cougars.
BYU then had their turn to drive. After a sack on quarterback Bear Bachmeier, they faced a long third down. A quarterback draw left BYU in a similar predicament to Utah’s — a 4th-and-short, this time near midfield. Running back LJ Martin slipped on the play, giving the ball back to Utah. It didn’t hurt BYU, though, as their defense forced a three-and-out and got the ball back as time wound down on the first quarter.
The start of the second quarter brought fireworks. BYU hit back-to-back passes to star receiver Chase Roberts totaling 43 yards, the latter a beautiful throw from Bachmeier for a touchdown that gave BYU a 7–0 lead. Utah responded with a drive to the BYU 28, where they lined up for a field goal — but BYU coach Kalani Sitake called a timeout just before the kick. After Utah’s practice kick missed, Whittingham sent his offense back out to go for it on 4th-and-7. Quarterback Devon Dampier’s pass fell incomplete, turning the ball over on downs again.
Utah’s defense forced a three-and-out, then finally drove for a touchdown, finding Ryan Davis wide open once again to tie it 7–7.
Utah’s defense forced yet another three-and-out and was about to get the ball back with just over two minutes left — and a chance for a two-for-one, as they were set to receive the second-half kickoff. Too bad Mana Carvalho muffed the punt.
BYU now had the ball 40 yards from the end zone with plenty of time. Things looked good as BYU converted a 4th-and-1 inside the 15-yard line with a minute left. Then all systems broke down. With no timeouts, they kept running the ball and, worse, didn’t seem to have secondary play calls ready. They wasted nearly 35 seconds on one two-yard run. Nonetheless, they managed to spike the ball with six seconds left, and Will Ferrin hit a 26-yard field goal to give BYU a 10–7 halftime lead. Bachmeier was visibly frustrated with the clock management — and rightfully so, it was abysmal.
The third quarter, on paper, looks eerily similar to the first: zero points. But diving deeper, Utah put together a 9-play, 66-yard drive that included a wild sequence — a Dampier pass to Dallin Bentley, who ran 25 yards before the ball was ripped out, only to fall directly into teammate Tobias Merriweather’s hands, who took it another 25. Once again, Utah found itself inside the BYU 10 on 4th-and-3. Dampier was stuffed on a quarterback keeper, turning it over on downs yet again. Noticing a trend?
A promising BYU drive stalled, and Utah got the ball back. This time, they didn’t bother inching downfield — Daniel Bray took a jet sweep 49 yards to the house to make it 14–10. BYU responded quickly with a 5-play, 81-yard drive capped by a 12-yard Parker Kingston run.
Now with just over 10 minutes to go and BYU leading 17–14, Utah needed something big. The only consistent play had been that jet sweep to Bray, but Utah shifted to a heavier passing look — and BYU was ready. Pressure forced errant throws, and on 2nd-and-13, Dampier lobbed a questionable jump ball that BYU’s Tanner Wall tracked perfectly and intercepted.
BYU capitalized, burning five minutes off the clock before Bachmeier ran through Utah defenders on a 22-yard touchdown scramble on 3rd-and-11 to make it 24–14.
In desperation mode, Utah failed to convert a 4th-and-15. BYU took over inside the Utah 30 with a chance to deliver the knockout punch — but Sitake went for it on 4th-and-5, and a 25-yard fade fell incomplete, giving Utah one more chance. Utah scored, but after an awful onside kick attempt, BYU recovered and kneeled it out for the 24–21 win.
I’ll be the first to admit: I didn’t think BYU was going to win this game. After watching these two teams win in dramatically different ways last week, I was worried about Utah’s physicality overwhelming BYU. That wasn’t the case. This was the first time a team rushed for over 200 yards against Utah since last year’s Holy War.
On paper, the stats make it look close, but Utah’s penalties, two turnovers, and 1-for-5 mark on fourth down doomed them. The turning point in discipline came when Utah led 14–10 and two-way star Lander Barton lowered his head and hit Bachmeier directly in the facemask after the throw. It checked all the boxes for targeting — and in what might have been the fastest review I’ve ever seen, the officials agreed. While it’s a tough spot for Barton, your captain and defensive leader has to know better in a close fourth-quarter game.
Bachmeier took care of the football and made smart plays, taking just two sacks compared to Dampier’s three. He’ll need to keep that up as BYU — now sitting atop the Big 12 — heads on the road to face Iowa State and Texas Tech, with a bye week in between. The physicality they showed tonight is exactly what they’ll need to keep this stretch going.
Now let’s talk about Utah. This was not good. A team that prides itself on being built in the trenches just got beat at its own game. The defense, while solid early, crumbled late, allowing BYU to move the ball at will. There needs to be a serious look at Whittingham’s decision-making — particularly his fourth-down aggression. In a rivalry where field goals often decide outcomes, refusing to take the points was unacceptable.
Utah fans can complain that their season’s over, but let’s be honest — they might not be as dominant as they remember. Since joining the Power Five ranks in 2011, Utah has just one 10-win regular season — and no, it wasn’t in either of their Rose Bowl years. The idea that Utah could go 13–0 like they did twice in the Mountain West isn’t realistic and hasn’t been for a long time.
Whittingham’s injury report antics and his refusal to talk about BYU or Bachmeier during the week don’t help, either.
To make matters worse, naming Morgan Scalley as “head coach in waiting” might be the dumbest move possible. That’s basically saying nothing will change when Whittingham retires — just more of the same mediocrity. Utah rode the high of two 10–4 seasons that ended in Rose Bowl losses and dug themselves into a rut of stale leadership. In today’s rapidly changing college football landscape, that’s mind-boggling. Heck, Penn State fired James Franklin after three bad weeks, while Utah seems committed to the same staff no matter the results.
Utah now falls to 4–9 since joining the Big 12 — a far cry from the “running the conference” talk their fans were pushing.
Unbeaten No More
The weekend started with 11 unbeaten teams still left in the FBS. It ended with only six.
Miami Gardens (Friday Night):
Carson Beck showed why Georgia didn’t want him anymore. Four interceptions and no touchdowns let the Louisville Cardinals squeak out a 24–21 victory against the then–#2 Miami Hurricanes.
Louisville, now 5–1 with its only loss coming against Virginia, isn’t a bad team by any measure — but this was vintage Mario Cristobal Miami and Carson Beck at his worst. Glimmers of how he looked late last year for Georgia showed up again, probably why the Bulldogs decided they’d better roll with Gunnar Stockton instead. Nothing looked good out of his hand, and frankly, most of his interceptions weren’t even close.
We all knew there was no way a Cristobal-led Miami team was going to run the table. It was just a matter of how they would blow it — and Friday night wasn’t much of a surprise.
Athens, GA:
Speaking of Gunnar Stockton, Georgia hosted unbeaten Ole Miss in a clash of high-powered offenses. Ole Miss’s defense must have gotten the game time wrong, because they didn’t show up. Not shocking coming from a Lane Kiffin–led team, but no stops? Not a single one. Georgia scored every time it possessed the ball — except once.
What was that one, you ask? Three plays with 1:28 left on the clock, and they took three knees.
Now, I’ll add that Georgia’s defense wasn’t much better early on. Through three quarters, they also had zero stops. Ole Miss found itself up 35–26 after three, but once again Georgia’s ability to lock in defensively — and Ole Miss’s inability to finish — led to a lopsided 17–0 fourth quarter for the Bulldogs, ultimately sealing a home win.
Ole Miss is hurt from this loss but not knocked down. With a favorable SEC schedule remaining, winning out and earning a trip to Atlanta isn’t out of the picture yet. The same goes for Georgia, who now sits comfortably in the middle, holding the tiebreaker over the Rebels if needed.
Tempe, AZ:
Texas Tech rolled into Tempe ready to start backup QB Will Hammond against an Arizona State team still reeling after last week’s beatdown from Utah.
The Sun Devils did have starting quarterback Sam Leavitt back in the lineup — in a game featuring two quarterbacks who are members of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. Are we sure this wasn’t the Holy War?
Arizona State bounced back and fended off a late rally from the Red Raiders, which included a Hail Mary falling harmlessly to the turf as the clock expired. Both teams now sit at 3–1 in Big 12 play — and in a conference where chaos always reigns, that’s not a bad place to be.
Birmingham, AL:
Memphis waltzed into Birmingham hoping to retain the Bronze Rack of Ribs in the Battle of the Bones against UAB. Keep in mind, UAB doesn’t even have a head coach after firing Trent Dilfer six days prior.
Memphis, ranked and favored by 23.5 points, might have taken this one for granted. The Blazers, however, came to play — and hopefully got some real racks of ribs to enjoy after their rivalry win. Memphis should now plummet in the CFP conversation, as this is a truly bad loss.
Boise, ID:
Finally, UNLV traveled to Boise State hoping to keep its unbeaten season alive on the Smurf Turf. Hard to believe the Rebels were even in this position after their Week 0 scare against Idaho State. I wrote earlier about how long Dan Mullen would last in Vegas — and he proved me wrong.
But apparently, state universities from Idaho are his kryptonite, because Boise State put up 56 on the Rebels and sent them packing with their first loss. Boise now reclaims the lead in the Mountain West.
Upsets and G5 Contenders
South Florida continued its dominance with a convincing win over FAU. Meanwhile, Tulane narrowly escaped with a last-second touchdown pass to beat Army. Both teams remain undefeated in American Athletic Conference play, and since they avoid each other in the regular season, there’s a real chance we’re headed for a highly anticipated conference championship matchup — one that could even have playoff implications.
Navy is probably yelling at me not to overlook them, and don’t worry — unlike the AP Poll, I won’t. The Midshipmen are also undefeated; they just had a bye week.
Boise State looks to be out of luck, with no major games left to strengthen their case. That huge Week 1 loss to USF now looms large, likely being the difference between a second playoff trip and missing out.
Oregon State earned its first win of the year with a dominant second half to beat Lafayette 45–13. Hopefully they can keep it rolling, but it might be too little, too late to make a serious playoff push.
Other Top 25 Teams
Other top-ranked teams not mentioned above took care of business against unranked opponents — for the most part. Texas A&M survived a three-point scare from a head(coach)less Arkansas, while Missouri needed overtime to slip past Auburn. Not sure if the Auburn boosters still see Hugh Freeze as 6–1 after this one; the verdict is still out on whether the refs cost them their third SEC game.
Texas also needed overtime to beat Kentucky — a good win for the Longhorns… oh wait, it’s not quite basketball season yet, so disregard my praise for them.
Nebraska’s stay in the Top 25 didn’t last long, as they were husked Friday night in Minneapolis. The Gophers chewed them up and spit them out to the tune of a 24–6 beatdown.
Notre Dame beat USC 34-24 in what could be the last playing for Jeweled Shillelagh. Don't ask me what a shillelagh is, but something tells me that if this rivalry isn't played again, that thing is going to end up in an episode of Storage Wars.
Game of the Week: Stanford 20, Florida State 13
In a game that kicked off at 10:30 p.m. for Seminole fans, I can’t imagine many stayed up to watch — maybe just a few diehards waiting to see the fate of Mike Norvell after what they could only assume would be another loss.
But there was so much more to enjoy about this game before that point. Stanford, 3–8 in ACC play over the past two years, hosted a Florida State team that was 1–10 in that same span. Yes, the same Florida State that beat Alabama back in Week 1.
Vegas believed the Seminoles would bounce back easily, installing them as 17.5-point favorites.
Stanford started strong, scoring first and building a 13–3 lead before Florida State quarterback Tommy Castellanos found the end zone right before halftime to make it 13–10. A barrage of second-half punts — with a Stanford touchdown mixed in — pushed the Cardinal lead to 20–10 before Florida State added a field goal to make it a one-possession game in the fourth quarter.
The Cardinal offense completely stalled from there, gaining only one first down the entire fourth quarter. Florida State, meanwhile, had their chances — going for it on fourth down twice and failing both times — yet somehow still found themselves with the ball and just over a minute remaining, needing one drive to send the game to overtime.
Then came the drama. A 53-yard pass as time was winding down put the Seminoles on the Stanford 9-yard line with two seconds left. They rushed to the line, snapped it quickly, and threw to the end zone — where Stanford interfered.
One untimed down. Two yards to tie the game.
Florida State dialed up an inside shovel pass, and Gavin Sawchuk dove for the end zone… only to be ruled down at the half-yard line. Video review upheld the call — and just like that, Florida State lost. Again. Yet Mike Norvell seems to still be there for now.
The final dramatics and that faint glimmer of hope the Seminoles showed made this game the College Footblog Game of the Week.
Stat Line of the Week
Montie Quinn (Curry College DIII): 20 CAR 522 YDS 7 TD
I couldn’t tell you where Curry College is or who they beat — but who cares? 522 yards and seven touchdowns! That’s downright insane. Five of his touchdowns were over 50 yards, and two of those were over 80!
You know what’s even crazier? He didn’t even play the final ten minutes of the game. He broke the NCAA rushing record of 465 yards, also set in Division III back in 2013. We’re looking at an incredible stat line that easily could have hit 600 yards.
Oh and by the way Curry College is in Milton Massachusetts.Will’s Corner
BYU 24, Utah 21
No rest for BYU as they travel to Iowa State next week in another highly anticipated matchup.
Tennessee 20, Alabama 37
The 14-point swing on the possible Tennessee touchdown that turned into a 100-yard pick-six as the first-half clock expired was the difference. Hard to argue with Alabama right now — they look like a wagon. Tennessee gets a week to regroup with a bye coming up.
Washington State 20, Virginia 22
I don’t even know where to start with this one. For the second straight week, the Cougs had a lead in the second half against a ranked team on the road. And for the second straight week, they added a loss to the record.
This one hurts particularly bad. Poor second-half offense and worse tackling let Virginia tie the game with just over two and a half minutes left. I’m not saying we would have driven the field to win, but I expected more than a miscommunication on the kickoff that pinned us at the 1-yard line — and then two plays later, not being able to get the ball out of the end zone. A game-losing safety. That’s what it’s come to at this point. I have no words.
AP Poll Reaction
Vanderbilt and Georgia Tech jump inside Top 10.
LSU falls to #20.
Louisville, Illinois, Arizona State, and Michigan enter the Top 25, replacing USC, Memphis, Utah, and Nebraska
South Florida highest G5 at #18.
Indiana got 6 first place votes.
Heisman 5
1. Diego Pavia – Vanderbilt
Vanderbilt beat LSU this weekend, and it didn’t even crack the top five craziest things to happen. When I think CFB MVP, I think Pavia. I didn’t buy into the hype at the start of the year, but there’s no denying it now. Without him, Vanderbilt wouldn’t be anywhere close to where they are. He gives off major Johnny Manziel vibes — maybe just a little more disciplined off the field.
2. Haynes King – Georgia Tech
Similar to Pavia, Georgia Tech wouldn’t be where they are without the rumble-tumble magic of Haynes King. The Yellow Jackets sit at 7–0, and King already has 10 rushing touchdowns.
3. Ty Simpson – Alabama
After a dreadful start to the season, Simpson has completely turned it around and become the leader the Crimson Tide needed under center. His stats have been solid, but it’s his leadership and poise under pressure that give him the edge.
4. Fernando Mendoza – Indiana
Indiana is having its best season ever, and much of that credit goes to Mendoza. Transferring in from Cal, he’s put up impressive numbers and deserves to stay in the conversation as long as the Hoosiers keep winning.
5. Jeremiyah Love – Notre Dame
Love has come to life over the past few weeks, highlighted by a 200+ yard effort against USC. A slow start to the season shouldn’t overshadow what he’s doing now — or what Notre Dame still has the potential to achieve down the stretch.
CFB News
Florida beat Mississippi State thanks to a last-minute interception by defensive lineman Michai Boireau. As a celebration for their big win, they fired Billy Napier.
With the news of Jay Norvell being fired from Colorado State, the total number of fired coaches this season climbs to nine — and there are still two months to go!
College GameDay announced they’ll be heading to Nashville for the top-15 matchup between Missouri and Vanderbilt. In a down week of matchups, they once again chose the SEC over the obvious storyline: #1 FCS vs. #2 FCS.
Big Noon Kickoff is heading to Indiana for UCLA vs. Indiana. Who would’ve thought that would be their destination? But with UCLA firing Foster and rattling off four straight wins, here we are.
Games to Watch – Week 8
15. Missouri @ 10. Vanderbilt – Oct 25, 3:30 PM ET (ABC)
3. Texas A&M @ 20. LSU – Oct 25, 7:30 PM ET (ABC)
1. North Dakota State @ 2. South Dakota State – Oct 25, 8 PM ET (ESPNU)
Guest Guesser Update
My mom and I had three differences in our colleges picks this week. She won all three and I don't want to talk about it. Things aren't looking good for me.
I’d love to hear from readers, too. Think my takes are dumb? Want my opinion on something I missed? Email me at thecollegefootblog@gmail.com.
