2025 College Football: Week 8 Takeaways
Welcome to upset week! The #2, #5, and #7 teams in the country all fell, as did a couple of the top teams in the Group of 6. (1) Ohio State remains the surefire best team in the country week 8. They, (3) Indiana, and (4) Texas A&M are the only current top-10 teams without a loss. That trio will be 1-2-3 within hours, and it’s fitting given that they’ve been the most consistent outfits all season. We’re starting to figure out who will truly vie for the CFP field. The Big Ten and SEC will be well represented, while the Big XII could be a one-entrant league. Read on for my week 8 takeaways to see where everything stands!
(2) Miami Falls to Louisville in Mistake-Filled Friday Night Effort
It seems like every year, Miami has one of these trap games against an above-average ACC opponent. In 2024, it was Georgia Tech. This time around, enter Louisville. The 4-1 Cardinals only lost to Virginia in OT, and they possess one of the best defenses in the conference. Offensively, they’re a bit mercurial, but they showed up in this game. On the opening drive, Louisville seemed to drive down for a field goal, but on 4th and 2 at the Miami 4, holder David Chapeau ran a fake FG down to the 1. Louisville scored a TD on the next play, and this sort of aggressive strategy served the Cardinals well all game long.
Louisville added another TD before Miami scored one of their own, but shortly thereafter, 2025 Carson Beck shifted from 2023 Carson Beck to 2024 Carson Beck. The solid game manager with some splash plays became a reckless slinger of the football, throwing INTs on back-to-back drives. Beck would throw 4 INTs in total. He actually threw another one that got overturned on a phantom roughing the passer call, but he fired an official INT just a few plays later. The Hurricanes stayed in the game though because Louisville scored 0 points off the 4 Miami turnovers. Cardinals RB Isaac Brown also lost a critical fumble late.
Beck (25/35, 271 yards, 4 INTs) didn’t receive much help from his running game (2.6 YPC), which was a rarity for Miami. His WR duo, freshman sensation Malachi Toney (9/135; 2/14/1 rushing; 2-point conversion throwing) and CJ Daniels (7/74), tried to make a game of it and did indeed help pull the Canes within 3. Louisville’s offense was just more consistent. QB Miller Moss (23/37, 248 yards, 2 TDs) probably should’ve had a couple of passes picked, but he kept his stat line clean. Brown (15/113) was great aside from the fumble. WR Chris Bell (9/136/2) was uncoverable and looks like one of the country’s best receivers.
One last problem for the Hurricanes was penalties. They committed 9 accepted fouls for 67 yards. This has become a trend, and many of the infractions were dumb (false starts, unsportsmanlike conduct, etc.). HC Mario Cristobal needs to instill some discipline if he wants to win anything. In spite of everything, the Cardinals only led 24-21 in the final 4 minutes, and Miami had the ball. Beck blew a promising drive with INT #4, and the upset was complete. Miami shouldn’t fall too far in the rankings, but their margin for error just narrowed. Louisville should debut in the top 25 this week, and they’re officially threats in the AFC.
(17) Vanderbilt, (9) Georgia Win as Lower-Ranked Favorites
Imagine being a fan 10 years ago and seeing (17) Vanderbilt being favored over (10) LSU. Heck, imagine Vanderbilt being favored over ANY SEC team at that time. This week, it became a reality, with the Commodores 1.5-point favorites at home. Oddest of all? It didn’t feel weird. Even I thought that Vanderbilt was genuinely the better team. Vandy goes as QB Diego Pavia goes, and he had one of his classic dual-threat games (14/22, 160 yards, TD; 17/86/2 rushing). Starting midway through the second quarter, the Commodores did not trail again in this game, with their ball-control offense keeping LSU’s out of rhythm.
LSU QB Garrett Nussmeier (19/28, 225 yards, 2 TDs) had good stats, and 24 points form a solid total. It wasn’t enough though, as the defense let the team down. Neither team turned the ball over, but Vanderbilt had a 13-minute time of possession advantage. They played the game on their terms, imposing their will on the supposedly more talented Tigers. That’s the main idea here: LSU, despite spending big to bring in elite players, remains less than the sum of its parts. The opposite is true for Vanderbilt. Their collective exceeds the components of the roster. Thus, you get an upset of the perennially underachieving Tigers.
The fact that (9) Georgia was a fairly heavy favorite over (5) Ole Miss at home made more sense. Georgia is dominant at home, and they have the track record to validate any confidence in them. That said, the Rebels were the undefeated team here, riding high between suddenly starring backup QB Trinidad Chambliss. The D-II transfer played extremely well in his first road SEC start, completing 19 of 32 passes for 263 yards and a TD while leading the team with 42 rushing yards and 2 scores on the ground. Unfortunately for Chambliss, the rest of the running game didn’t pull its weight, and the defense struggled mightily.
As well as Ole Miss played on offense, scoring TDs on their first 5 drives before finally punting in the 4th quarter, Georgia scored on EVERY possession (excluding kneel-downs). We’re not used to seeing the Bulldogs fail on defense, but the previously underwhelming offense saved the day. QB Gunner Stockton (26/31, 289 yards, 4 TDs; 10/59/1 rushing) had his best-ever performance. He went 12/12 in the second half to dig UGA out of a 9-point hole. The defense also saved face by pitching a 4th-quarter shutout. UGA went on a 17-0 run to steal a 43-35 win. Ole Miss is still really good, but Georgia remains a blue blood.
Sans Behren Morton, (7) Texas Tech Falls and Muddies Big XII Race
This one had the feeling of potential danger for the Red Raiders. Oft-injured starting QB Behren Morton sat out with a leg injury, forcing freshman Will Hammond into the starting role. Hammond was spectacular in relief of Morton a few weeks ago, but he needed time to settle in. The same story played out against Arizona State this week. Texas Tech essentially slept through the first three quarters, scoring just 7 points. Their defense kept the game close, but the Sun Devils began to wear them down. Remember: despite two early losses, this is still the defending Big XII champion. Beating ASU in their house isn’t easy at full strength.
To that point, QB Sam Leavitt (28/47, 319 yards, TD) had a productive if inefficient day. WR Jordyn Tyson (10/105/1) naturally led the charge, and he remains the favorite to be the first wideout taken in next April’s draft. The offensive line struggled, generating a poor rushing attack and allowing 4 sacks of Leavitt (2 from OLB David Bailey). Whatever befell TTU in the 3rd quarter vanished in the 4th, as the defense looked rejuvenated. Simultaneously, the offense emerged with it. Hammond (22/37, 167 yards, 2 TDs, INT; 15/47/1 rushing) led two TD drives, one of which came easily due to a 36-yard Coy Eakin punt return.
Just like that, Texas Tech had their first lead. Leavitt wasn’t done though. In just 1:26, he led his team 75 yards down the field in 10 plays, which RB Raleek Brown (19/69/1) finished with a 1-yard TD plunge. ASU won 26-22, handing TTU their first loss. That complicates things in the Big XII. Texas Tech was the only top-14 team in the conference, a distinction they could keep but barely. (15) BYU and (24) Cincinnati, the last two unbeaten teams in conference play, are seeing the seas part as the favorites hit speed bumps. Don’t discount Arizona State’s chances either. The Sun Devils are peaking at the right time, just like they did last year.
(13) Notre Dame Continues Their Resurgence Against (20) USC
Since dropping their first two games of the season to Miami and Texas A&M, both of whom will be ranked in the top 4 for at least a few more hours, Notre Dame has looked completely different. They’ve blown out their last 4 opponents in style. While they might not have been the highest-level foes, these are teams that ND should be beating. This week’s game against USC, a team having a renaissance in its own right, provided a bigger test. To all Irish fans, I can report that the team passed with flying colors. Following a shaky defensive start, Notre Dame’s stop unit clamped down. Their offense then followed suit in the second half.
USC QB Jayden Maiava (22/42, 328 yards, 2 TDs, 2 INTs), a dark horse Heisman candidate, made some plays, but he and the Trojans made far too many errors. First and worst, they turned the ball over 3 times. Defensively, they had no gap integrity whatsoever, and RB Jeremiyah Love (24/228/1; 5/37 receiving) had a career evening. Fellow RB Jadarian Price (13/87/1), who I insist is the better player, feasted as well. Notre Dame wasn’t immune to errors either. They committed 8 accepted penalties for 96 yards, and they had kicking issues. However, any time they made an error, USC responded by making a bigger one.
I’ll give you a couple of examples. USC took a 24-21 lead in the third quarter, their first advantage since the first frame, only to allow Price to return a kick 100 yards for a TD due to awful tackling. Later, the Irish missed a field goal, but the Trojans gave the ball right back. WR Makai Lemon (4/76) fumbled on a trick play where he was passing in a misguided effort. Notre Dame threw for only 136 yards, but their defense and running game led them to 34 points. All 3 USC turnovers came during the final 20 minutes, allowing the Irish to win by 10 in a game that felt more lopsided than that by the end.
I’ll say that the Trojans are in a better spot than they were last year. They’ve become a more complete team, and they belong in the Big Ten’s second tier. Notre Dame is just a level above them. I’m still not ready to put them in the top 8, but if they played either of their first two matchups again, I think they could win. At their current pace, they should finish comfortably in the top 12, and they have no conference championship game to risk playing in (they’re independent). Last year’s runners-up might not be better than they were relative to the rest of the country, but I can make the argument that they’re superior to their 2024 selves.
Group of 6’s Playoff Race Falls into Chaos as (22) Memphis, UNLV Lose
Under the 12-team CFP format, it’s basically assured that one Group of 6 team will participate. A pair of unbeaten teams that seemed to have the inside track for that spot both stumbled this week. (22) Memphis had no idea what would hit them. Their opponent, UAB, just fired HC Trent Dilfer this week, so they were led by an interim coach in Alex Mortensen. On top of that, Blazers QB Jalen Kitna was out with an injury. Everything portended an easy day for the Tigers. UAB’s backup QB, Ryder Burton (20/27, 251 yards, 3 TDs, INT) proved to be an upgrade, and WR Iverson Hooks (11/172/3) was an absolute monster.
I don’t want to accuse a team of taking an opponent for granted, but Memphis seemed to do just that. They didn’t do anything particularly well and seemed to expect their talent to carry the day. It almost did, as the Tigers got the ball back down 31-24 with 1:45 left to go. Once they got to the UAB 1, they self-destructed. Two false starts from the 1 (two plays apart) and a delay of game on 4th-and-goal at the 6 cost them the game. The Tigers’ 10-game win streak got snapped, and it was UAB’s first win over Memphis since 2011. Our former (slight) AAC favorites lost their edge in the conference, and they’ll exit the top 25.
In UNLV’s case, the entire Mountain West conference is in trouble. Their game against Boise State played like an old-fashioned shootout in the first half (BSU led 28-24 at the break), but the third quarter changed everything. The Broncos took a 21-0 advantage in the third frame, blowing the game open. QB Maddux Madsen (14/23, 253 yards, 4 TDs, INT) and RB Dylan Riley (15/201/1) could not be stopped. Neither defense really excelled, but Boise State left with a comfortable 56-31 win. This was UNLV’s first loss and the first for new HC Dan Mullen. A loss to BSU eliminated them from CFP contention last year and may do so again.
Because the committee is biased against the Group of 6, their guaranteed spot for the highest-ranked champion among their conferences is likely the only bid they can claim. Thus, only 1 team has to emerge from what is now a mess. Based on the rankings, (19) South Florida is the top contender for now. In the AAC, Navy remains unbeaten, and Tulane has 0 conference losses. Boise State paces the Mountain West, and although they only lost to two currently ranked teams, one of those was a week-1 blowout loss to USF. The AAC champion is still the likely playoff entrant. We just have no clue who that’ll be anymore.