2024 College Football: Week 8 Takeaways
As we get later into the season, you may notice that we’re talking a lot about the SEC and Big Ten. That’s going to remain a trend well into the future, as realignment has loaded those two conferences. Therefore, their interconference games will keep providing us juicy matchups as they did this week. After all, 8 of the top 9 teams in this week’s rankings belong to one of these two conferences, with (6) Miami as the lone exception. Don’t be alarmed though; I’m still going to do my best to squeeze in the other conferences whenever I can. For example, see the very first of our week 8 takeaways…
The Big XII is the Most Wide-Open Power 4 Conference
In two of the Power 4 conferences, we have a pretty clear idea of what’s going on. The SEC has the typical elites, (1) Texas and (5) Georgia, even if every team in the conference has at least one loss. Over in the Big Ten, (2) Oregon and (4) Ohio State are the definite teams to beat (I’m not a buyer on (3) Penn State). The ACC has only three legitimate contenders: (6) Miami, (10) Clemson, and (21) SMU. The Big XII is completely muddled. You can make an argument for a plethora of the teams in this conference to win it. Let’s run through several of them here and see what they bring to the table.
Our top team in the ranking is (9) Iowa State. They had themselves quite the test at home against UCF this week, but they won to move to 7-0 despite not playing all that well. The Cyclones have an excellent defense. Don’t be fooled by their 35 points allowed against UCF; the offense was responsible for a lot of that, and the defense earned 2 INTs and 5 TFLs. QB Rocco Becht is steady in most cases, but this offense usually doesn’t completely erupt. ISU plays solid, complementary football that has them firmly entrenched in the top 10 right now. They’re not perfect, but they can beat just about anybody.
Next up is (13) BYU, who might be playing the best among these teams right now. They too had a major scare this week against Oklahoma State, but that team can be dangerous, and QB Jake Retzlaff led an epic comeback. Their early slugfest victory against SMU looks better by the week, and a 38-9 home win against Kansas State looks downright excellent. BYU is now 7-0 with a good resume. Some people are claiming that this could be a “team of destiny”. I’m not sure about that sort of description, but they’re certainly a good team that can make the CFP.
Among the teams with losses, (17) Kansas State is the biggest threat. QB Avery Johnson is figuring things out, and aside from the BYU loss, this team has been pretty great. Texas Tech fell this week in a bit of an outlier game against Baylor. Their defense worries me, but the offense can win shootouts. Colorado, at 3-1 in conference play, is always a threat with their two Heisman candidates, QB Shedeur Sanders and two-way star Travis Hunter. A close loss last week to KSU notwithstanding, the Buffaloes are playing more consistent football as of late and have a manageable schedule coming up.
Cincinnati beat Arizona State this week, but both are conference contenders. The Sun Devils played without QB Sam Leavitt, so they were in a tough spot. The Bearcats are quietly playing well, with their two losses coming by a combined 4 points. If anyone is a dark horse in the Big XII, it’s them. Some teams that we expected to compete, including Kansas, Utah, Oklahoma State, and Arizona, really didn’t show up. All of them have one win or less in conference play and 3 or more losses overall. Still, the fact that 6 other teams all have a chance to claim the title shows how wild the rest of the conference schedule is going to be.
(11) Tennessee Outlasts (7) Alabama in Penalty-Ridden Affair
The SEC gave us some heavyweight matchups this week, and our first was a very tight battle. Right away, we discovered that we were in for a defensive struggle, with neither team showing much on offense. Tennessee in particular did nothing right offensively in the first half, losing a fumble, tossing two INTs, and missing two FGs. I can forgive the two missed kicks as they were from 50+ yards out, but the turnovers should’ve doomed the Volunteers. QB Nico Iamaleava (14/27, 194 yards, TD, INT; 9/44 rushing) tossed one pick, but backup Gaston Moore threw the other on the one play that Iamaleava missed with a brief injury.
Luckily for Tennessee, their defense definitely came to play. Alabama scored 0 points off the three takeaways, only managing 7 first-half points off of one of the missed FGs. They too missed a long field goal, and QB Jalen Milroe threw an INT. Being this shaky against South Carolina last week was survivable, but Tennessee is a much better team. After halftime, the Volunteers’ offense came to life. Iamaleava found a bit of a rhythm with the help of WRs Bru McCoy (6/80) and Dont’e Thornton Jr (3/70). The real offensive engine though was RB Dylan Sampson (26/139/2), who carried (pun intended) Tennessee in this game.
Alabama eventually took a 17-14 lead in the 4th quarter, but their offense went in the tank while Tennessee’s added 10 points. On their last 4 drives, the Crimson Tide went 3 and out, 3 and out again, 4 and out (turnover on downs), and INT. Alabama ran for just 2.2 yards per carry, and Milroe (25/45, 239 yards, TD, 2 INTs) continued to struggle as a passer. I’m not understanding the first-round grades on him. Neither team looks like a serious championship threat, but the Volunteers are in better shape. Alabama has 2 losses already and will play (8) LSU later. Tennessee has one loss but must get through Georgia. Speaking of which…
(5) Georgia Reasserts Dominance in Win at (1) Texas
In our clear-cut game of the week on paper, Georgia came in as a rare underdog. That makes sense, as Texas has looked like the best team in college football. Whatever motivational tricks HC Kirby Smart used on his Bulldogs, they worked, as UGA immediately made Texas suffer. Georgia provided the defense we’re used to, completely shutting Texas out in the first half. That’s doubly impressive because Bulldogs QB Carson Beck (23/41, 175 yards, 3 INTs) threw two first-half picks and was generally terrible. After those turnovers, the defense forced the Longhorns into a 3 and out and a fumble.
Texas’ side of things was rather interesting. QB Quinn Ewers (25/43, 211 yards, 2 TDs, INT, 2 fumbles) was completely overwhelmed. The Longhorns’ vaunted offensive line had no answers for Georgia’s defensive front. OLB Jalon Walker (3 sacks) and DL Mykel Williams (2 sacks) were terrors, and the Bulldogs took down the Texas QBs 7 times total. Notice how I pluralized “QBs”. Things got so bad in the first half that Arch Manning (3/6, 19 yards, FUM; 21-yard rush) played two series. HC Steve Sarkisian said he just wanted to calm Ewers down, but it seemed like a desperation move.
Unsurprisingly, Manning fared no better, as even his athleticism wasn’t enough against Georgia’s swarming defense. Ewers returned in the 3rd quarter and led a 15-point blitz to cut the deficit to 23-15. One TD almost didn’t happen. Beck’s 3rd INT was returned by CB Jahdae Barron to the Georgia 9, but a horrid PI call took it off the board. The fans were understandably displeased, but they took the inappropriate step of chucking bottles and cans onto the field. Hilariously, after the delay caused by the debris, the officials took the PI off the board “after discussion”. I fear that they inadvertently rewarded the fans’ poor behavior.
Texas converted the INT into the aforementioned TD but never scored again. They missed on several 4th-down attempts and went 2/14 on 3rd downs. Georgia circumvented Beck by running their offense through RB Trevor Etienne, who took 19 carries for 87 yards and 3 TDs. He single-handedly outscored the Longhorns in a 30-15 win. Texas has some soul-searching to do; they’re a great team, but they simply wilted under the pressure applied by Georgia. As great as the Bulldogs’ defensive resurgence was, they too have work ahead. Beck is totally unreliable right now, and the defense can only drag the passing attack so far.
Oklahoma is a Disaster Under Brent Venables
We talked about this mess last week, but it devolved even further 7 days later, so I had to dedicate an entire takeaway to the situation in Norman. HC Brent Venables stubbornly stuck with freshman QB Michael Hawkins Jr this week against South Carolina and paid dearly for it. Hawkins’ very first throw was picked off, setting SC up for an easy score. On the next drive, he took a strip sack, and Gamecocks DT Tonka Hemingway recovered the fumble and scored. Hawkins followed that up by throwing a pick six to S Nick Emmanwori, spotting SC a 21-0 lead without the Gamecocks even attempting one pass.
Three consecutive turnovers finally forced Venables’ hand, and he reinserted former starter Jackson Arnold into the game. It was noble of Arnold to even play; this game burnt his redshirt, and I would not have allowed that if I had been treated as he was. Arnold not only played but took a beating for his team. This offensive line is as bad as I’ve ever seen from Oklahoma. Hawkins and Arnold took a combined 9 sacks, and most of these came on instant pressure. It took a bit for Arnold to settle in, but he went a respectable 18/36 for 225 yards and a TD. However, the Sooners were blown out 35-9.
Venables is a defensive guy, and as expected, the Sooners have gotten better on that side of the ball. Unfortunately, the offense has gotten worse by a much greater amount. A team that used to compete in shootouts every week is now scoring more points for their opponents than for themselves (Hawkins’ pick six and fumble six combined for 14 points). Arnold should be viewed as a sure bet to leave after the season, and no QB answer is on the horizon. As overrated as some fans thought former HC Lincoln Riley was, Venables is a clear downgrade. The season is slipping away, and Venables’ tenure probably should as well.
(16) Indiana, (22) Illinois Impressing in Big Ten
All the talk in the Big Ten centers around the top 3 teams: (2) Oregon, (3) Penn State, and (4) Oregon. Two other teams need to become a part of the conversation. (16) Indiana and (22) Illinois are playing some inspired football and have just one loss between them. To me, Indiana has been the more impressive team. New HC Curt Cignetti came over from James Madison and did a fantastic job remaking this roster. He focused on bringing in experienced transfers with strong production at their former schools, including a few of his Dukes. The result is a 7-0 team that has won every single game by double digits.
The Hoosiers have been a consistent bunch, but the one thing you could quibble about is their strength of schedule. A home date with 5-1 Nebraska, whose only loss was to Illinois in OT, put that argument to bed. Nebraska came into the game allowing 0 rushing TDs. They exited with 5 after Indiana piled up 215 rushing yards to go with those scores. Transfer QB Kurtis Rourke has been spectacular; he shined in this contest with a 17/21 line with 189 yards, a TD, and an INT on a half-ending Hail Mary. Defensively, Indiana played their best game, holding Nebraska to 7 points in a 56-7 blowout that proved the Hoosiers’ legitimacy.
Although I consider Indiana the better team, Illinois is a quality outfit as well. They have a loss to Penn State and admittedly got lucky against Nebraska (who collapsed in OT) and Purdue. Side note to the Boilermakers: don’t go for 2 after a TD when you’re down 1! I really hate that. Still, they had a ranked matchup this week against (24) Michigan that allowed them to prove their offensive might. The Wolverines weren’t even competitive. Starting their 3rd QB of the year in Jack Tuttle (ironically a former Indiana player), Michigan could only muster 7 measly points and committed three turnovers. Bret Bielema has a great defense.
The Illini did not overly impress through the air, but Michigan has a strong secondary. They did, however, assert their will on the ground, taking 38 carries for 187 yards and a score. Critically, Illinois never allowed Michigan to hold a lead and earned a comfortable 21-7 victory. This is Illinois’ third ranked win of the season, so they can definitely compete with the big boys. Next week’s game at Oregon will probably tell the tale of this team, but the Illini belong in the top 25 regardless. They’re a good group that seems to be just a piece or two away from making a lot of noise.