By: David Folz
Week eight of the college football season has come and gone and while at the top it was blowouts, most every other game was very exciting and classic finishes were the motto of the day. We also will likely see two surprise bowl teams this year as we welcome Kent State and Duke to the six win club. With that here is our review of week eight.
The Big Ten Championship will be ugly: That is because only two teams (Wisconsin and Penn State) won convincingly. The Badgers rolled by 25 and the Nittany Lions by 24. With Ohio State and Penn State ineligible for postseason play, the Leaders Division’s two best teams are not going to make the Big Ten Championship and it seems like Michigan or Nebraska are the teams to beat in the Legends Division. The best hope for the conference is next year, when Ohio State gets off its sanctions.
If BYU had won…: The Cougars would most likely be in the top 10 and in the BCS this year, because they would have beaten Utah, Boise State, Oregon State and Notre Dame. All but one of those games was on the road and all are important games towards having voters come your way. This week was Notre Dame, a 17-14 loss that would have sent massive shockwaves in the land of college football but now BYU is just a 4-4 team who will battle for a mid-rank bowl game at best.
College football’s second big darling? Try Texas Tech: The Red Raiders won in triple overtime to TCU 56-53. That makes Texas Tech 6-1 and ranked at 15 this year. More to know: The defense only gives up 287 yards on average per game, Seth Doege has a TD to interception ratio of four to one, eight receivers have caught Doege’s 28 touchdowns, and they have multiple guys who need attention if you are a defense. They play Kansas State this weekend and if they win this game, you can make the Red Raiders a favorite to win the Big 12 and get to the BCS.
This year’s disappointment? Auburn: And this one is not even close, because the Tigers should be 0-7. Yes, you read that right, they should be 0-7, but an overtime win over Louisiana-Monroe put them 1-6. Yes, you can read those lines over because Auburn, the national champion two years ago is about to have a losing season. The best I see the Tigers going is 3-9 and Gene Chizik has a TON of explaining to do after this year was supposed to be a good year.
Football on a Tuesday?: Sadly this is one of the only ways a couple teams from lower conferences can showcase their programs now. Whether it’s a Sun Belt Conference matchup or a team from the MAC, it becomes a big struggle to get on ESPN or noticeable networks. It is for not just to showcase teams, but recruiting and so on. The problem is these conferences do not have the marketability of an SEC or major conference (though Auburn’s and Arkansas’ results remained to be desired) and it does generate the revenue, so this is one of the only premier ways to generate attention and money.
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