What We Learned in NCAA Football Week 8

While No. 2 Ohio State and No. 3 Tennessee had no issue remaining undefeated, a pair of top-10 teams did fall.

UCLA suffered its first loss, on the road against Oregon, while Ole Miss also was knocked from the unbeaten ranks on the road with LSU cruising to a 25-point win.

TCU rallied yet again to continue its surprising surge to the top of the Big 12 standings.

There are six undefeated teams left at the Football Bowl Subdivision level as three teams suffered their first losses.

Ohio State and Georgia are both priced at +180 in the odds to win the national title followed by Alabama  (+325) according to the college football playoff odds.

Let’s check the latest NCAAF picks, stats, injury reports, and NCAAF predictions. We’ve plenty of NCAAF expert picks for you to consider.

Bruins No Match for Ducks

Much of the attention heading into the huge Pac-12 showdown was focused on UCLA quarterback Dorian Thompson-Robinson. However, it was Oregon’s Bo Nix who stole the show.

During his time at Auburn, the Tigers had a 4-8 record against ranked teams when Nix was the starting quarterback.

It looked like more of the game when Nix and the Ducks were crushed by defending national champion Georgia in the season opener.

However, Nix rose to the challenge in the matchup of top-10 ranked teams when he threw for five touchdowns in Oregon’s 45-30 win over previously undefeated UCLA.

Another huge day for @BoNix10 🔥

One of only three Oregon QBs since at least 1996 to throw 5+ TDs multiple times in a season, joining Justin Herbert and Marcus Mariota. #GoDucks pic.twitter.com/wPocYgEs7T

— Oregon Football (@oregonfootball) October 23, 2022

Oregon matched a program record with its 23rd straight win at home and more importantly, the win gave Oregon sole possession of first place in the Pac-12.

Hawkeyes in a Giving Mood

Any hopes that Iowa had of hanging around with second-ranked Ohio State centered around the offense not turning the ball over.

So much for that.

Ohio State returned an interception and fumble for scores and the Buckeyes had four scoring drives of 40 yards or less in the 54-10 victory.

Iowa held Ohio State to 360 yards. However, the worst offensive team in the Big Ten was 1 of 13 on third downs and never really threatened the Buckeyes.

Four second-half touchdown passes by C.J. Stroud turned the ball into a blowout while Tanner McCalister had a pair of interceptions.

Orange Nearly Tame Tigers

The schedule wasn’t exactly a Who’s Who of opponents so there were plenty of skeptics when it came time for undefeated Syracuse to face ACC front-runner Clemson in Death Valley.

Syracuse had the ball on the Clemson 30 trailing by just six points late in the fourth quarter. However, the upset bid for the Orange ended when Garrett Schrader forced the ball into triple coverage against top receiver Oronde Gadsen. R.J. Mickens intercepted the pass as Clemson held on for the 27-21 win.

Quarterback D.J. Uiagalelei came into the game listed by the sportsbook as a dark-horse candidate for the Heisman Trophy. However, after he threw a pair of interceptions, Clemson coach Dabo Swinney turned to freshman Cade Klubnik.

Much of Klubnik’s duties included handing the ball off to running backs Will Shipley and Phil Mafah as they combined for 266 rushing yards and three TDs. It wasn’t easy as Syracuse proved to be worthy of its national ranking. Still, Clemson set the ACC record with its 38th straight win at home.

Something that could be of interest to those who bet online is that the Tigers failed to cover in 10 of the last 14 home games.

Defense Delivers for Crimson Tide

In perhaps the quirkiest stat of the weekend, Alabama has won its last six games when being held under 300 yards of offense.

It doesn’t happen often as Alabama had 64 games in a row with at least 300 yards gained. However, the final total on Saturday was 290 yards and that included 29 rushing yards.

While the offense struggled to get going, the defense held Mississippi State off the scoreboard until the final play of the game as the 30-6 victory helped Alabama avoid back-to-back losses.

Kool-Aid McKinstry and Eli Ricks each had four pass breakups as Mississippi State attempted 60 passes. Henry To’oto’o and DeMarco Hellams combined for 25 tackles.

Horned Frogs Rally Again

TCU has certainly earned its spot as the top team in the Big 12. The Horned Frogs rallied from a double-digit deficit for the second week in a row.

This time it was visiting Kansas State that pushed Texas Christian to the brink. A Deuce Vaughn 47-yard scoring run gave the Wildcats the 18-point lead.

Max Duggan started the comeback with a short touchdown pass with 20 seconds to play in the first half before leading three touchdown-scoring drives in the second half.

Two missed field goals and two interceptions on five drives in the second half ended any hopes of an upset for Kansas State.

Kendre Miller had 153 yards and a pair of touchdown runs for TCU.

Daniels Steals the Show

The showdown of two of the better running quarterbacks in the SEC proved to be no contest.

Louisiana State’s Jayden Daniels ran for 121 yards and three scores to go with a pair of touchdown passes while Jaxson Dart of Ole Miss managed only six rushing yards.

Daniels ran for two scores and threw for another in the second half as LSU scored the final 28 points to hand previously undefeated Ole Miss the 45-20 loss.

LSU limited the best running team in the SEC to just 116 yards on 31 carries with Mekhi Wingo leading the way with 1½ tackles for loss.

LSU is 5-2 against the college football odds over its last seven games.

Turnovers Doom Longhorns

Quinn Ewers was intercepted on the final two drives as Texas’ comeback bid fell short.

Jason Taylor had a pair of interceptions while Spencer Sanders passed for 391 yards in

Oklahoma State’s 41-34 win over Texas in a game featuring 107 passing attempts and 1,058 passing yards.

Oklahoma State is just a game out of first place in the Big 12 standings. However, the lone conference loss came against first place TCU.

Texas has now failed to cover against the college football betting lines in three of the last five games with the Longhorns favored in each of those matchups.

Clifford Spreads Things Around

Sean Clifford threw touchdown passes to four different players as Penn State had little

trouble dispatching Minnesota and remain within a game of Ohio State and Michigan in the Big Ten standings.

The Nittany Lions scored touchdowns on three straight possessions in the third quarter and that forced one of the nation’s best running teams to try to come back by having backup quarterback Athan Kaliakmanis throw the ball.

Tulane, Cincinnati Remain Perfect in AAC

The regular-season finale between Tulane and Cincinnati is looking more compelling by the week.

It wasn’t easy but the Green Wave and Bearcats remained the only two teams yet to lose in American Athletic Conference play.

Tulane led 35-0 at halftime before holding on for the 38-28 win over visiting Memphis.

The Tigers scored touchdowns on their first four drives in the second half but an interception with 18 seconds left prevented Memphis from making it a one-score game.

Cincinnati’s victory over SMU wasn’t secure until a failed two-point conversion with 1:57 seconds to play and a key third-down completion by Cincinnati quarterback Ben Bryant.

SMU lost star quarterback Tanner Mordecai during the game. Mordecai was just 15 of 25 for 105 yards with a TD pass and interception before leaving the game.

Bulls Charge Past Toledo

Toledo was in good shape to emerge as the last team perfect in Mid-American Conference play.

The Rockets led 27-10 heading into the fourth quarter of Saturday’s showdown of division leaders.

After each team had the ball twice in the fourth quarter, the yards on those drives were 116 for Buffalo and minus 11 for Toledo.

Toledo had three interceptions in the fourth quarter to end any chance of victory. A highlight for the Rockets was a 91-yard punt by Jonathan Batzke.