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College football Week 8 winners and losers led by Alabama, Tennessee

ByVanessa

Oct 20, 2024 #Alabama, #Alabama Crimson Tide(t .) )Kalen DeBoer, #alabama-crimson-tide-football, #American, #American Football, #Arizona, #Arizona State Sun Devils Football, #Big, #Big Ten Conference, #Brent, #Brent Venables, #Bulldogs, #California, #Carolina, #College, #College Sports, #Conference, #crimson, #Dame, #DeBoer, #Devils, #Fighting, #Football, #Gamecocks, #Georgia, #Georgia Bulldogs Football, #Georgia Institute of Technology, #Hokies, #illini, #Illinois, #Illinois Fighting Illini Football, #Institute, #Irish, #Kalen, #Lincoln, #Lincoln Riley, #Lions, #Louisiana, #Louisiana State Tigers Football, #NCAA, #NCAA Southeastern Conference, #Neutral, #News, #Nittany, #Notre, #Notre Dame Fighting Irish Football, #of, #Overall Neutral, #Penn, #Penn State Nittany Lions Football, #Riley, #Satterfield, #Scott, #Scott Satterfield, #South, #South Carolina Gamecocks Football, #Southeastern, #Southern, #Southern California Trojans Football, #Sport, #Sports News, #State, #Sun, #Tech, #Technology, #Ten, #tide, #Tigers, #Total, #Trojans, #University, #Vanderbilt, #Vanderbilt University, #Venables, #Virginia, #Virginia Tech Hokies Football
College football Week 8 winners and losers led by Alabama, Tennessee

October can't end soon enough for Kalen DeBoer and No. 7 Alabama.

There was a loss for Vanderbilt. Last week's narrow win against South Carolina. And on Saturday there was a 24-17 loss to No. 10 Tennessee that could end the Crimson Tide's hopes of playing for the SEC Championship and reaching the College Football Playoff.

The Tide entered the month as one of the hottest teams in the Bowl Subdivision after earning a win over No. 4 Georgia that marked the early stages of the DeBoer era as a stunning success. But they will enter November with at least two losses and perhaps more, rapidly increasing the odds that this team will be the first team in the program since 2010 to lose three games and the first since 2007 to lose four or more games loses.

This is a team and a program suffering from an identity crisis: What kind of team is this?

This is not the offensive juggernaut that emerged in September. The Tide managed just 64 rushing yards against Tennessee's talented defense, while quarterback Jalen Milroe threw two interceptions, including one in the final minutes that sealed the Volunteers' win.

It's worth considering how much worse things could be. Alabama almost gave away a surefire win against the Bulldogs before a game-saving touchdown pass from Milroe to Ryan Williams. The Tide were almost lucky to escape the Gamecocks. Two losses could easily have turned into four — and four losses might have been too many for DeBoer to survive at that point.

Alabama, Tennessee and Southern California lead Saturday's winners and losers:

winner

Indiana

The question of whether No. 18 Indiana's offense would struggle against one of the Power Four's top-ranked defenses was answered during a 21-point barrage in the second quarter as the Hoosiers ultimately defeated No. 25 Nebraska 56-7. This is an eye-opener: Despite being challenged offensively, the Cornhuskers entered the weekend ranked first in the Big Ten and sixth nationally in yards allowed per game. Indiana posted 280 passing yards, 215 rushing yards and averaged 7.9 yards per play while forcing five turnovers and holding Nebraska to 2.4 yards per carry. There are better teams standing in the way of a completely unexpected playoff spot, but this win clearly establishes the Hoosiers as a legitimate Big Ten contender.

Notre Dame

No. 11 Notre Dame aced a tricky neutral-site test against Georgia Tech, posting a 31-7 win behind physical possessions on both sides of the line and solid all-around play from quarterback Riley Leonard. This gives the Fighting Irish five straight wins, including four against Power Four competition, and keeps the Irish on track to overcome an earlier loss to Northern Illinois and clinch a playoff spot. But there are even tougher games coming up, including matchups with Navy, No. 24 Army and Southern California.

Cincinnati

After a terrible three-win debut under coach Scott Satterfield, the Bearcats made another nice statement with a 24-14 win over Arizona State. The game was won in the first half: Cincinnati fell behind 7-0 on the Sun Devils' first possession, but went on a 24-0 run before halftime, with Evan Pryor scoring the winning play with a 55-yard A touchdown run made it 17-7 early in the second quarter. Arizona State played with backup quarterback Jeff Sims in place of the injured Sam Leavitt and was limited to 346 yards of offense.

Cam Ward

No. 6 Miami continues to win narrowly — the 52-45 win over Louisville was the Hurricanes' third straight ACC win by one possession — and Ward continues to put up Heisman Trophy-worthy numbers. After throwing three interceptions in wins against Virginia Tech and California, the senior went flawless against the Cardinals, rushing for 319 yards and four touchdowns on 21 of 32 throws while adding 29 yards on the ground. The former Incarnate Word and Washington State transfer continues to lead the Power Four with 27 combined points.

loser

Michigan

The No. 22 Wolverines' already slim playoff hopes will not survive a 21-7 loss to No. 21 Illinois, which encapsulates the reigning national champions' fatal flaw – an inept offense that runs empty-handed through three quarterbacks sneaked. Third man Jack Tuttle completed 20 of 32 yards for 208 yards and an interception, dropping his second straight start. That wiped out a strong performance from a defense that bounced back from a loss to Washington last game to limit the Illini to 267 yards. There has been such tremendous turnover since last season that the comparison is a bit unfair, but still: Michigan's three losses in seven games under new coach Sherrone Moore equals the program's total over the last three seasons. Ultimately, you can tie this year's decline to the refusal to sign a starting-caliber quarterback, which is inexcusable.

Southern California

USC can't do anything right. After a touchdown pass from Miller Moss early in the fourth quarter, the Trojans led Maryland 28-14, allowed the Terrapins to close with a 15-0 run, including the game-winning point, and lost 29 with less than a minute left: 28. After leading No. 3 Penn State in a 33-30 overtime setback last week, this loss represents a huge setback that underscores how inconsistent and unreliable the program has been under Lincoln Riley. Here's one way to measure this season's failure: USC sits second from bottom in the Big Ten standings at 1-4 in conference play, tied with UCLA and ahead of only Purdue.

Oklahoma

The results continue to highlight the wide gulf between Oklahoma and the top half of the SEC while raising significant concerns about the health of Brent Venables' program. After barely keeping up with Texas in last week's rivalry loss, the Sooners were never competitive in a 35-9 home loss to South Carolina. At 4-3, OU needs to pull off at least one upset just to secure a bowl game. While the fifth win comes against Maine on Nov. 2, the Sooners' remaining four games are against No. 15 Mississippi, No. 16 Missouri, No. 7 Alabama and No. 8 LSU, with only the Crimson Tide coming to Norman .

Auburn

Like Bryan Harsin before him, Hugh Freeze went 6-7 and reached a minor league bowl game in his first year. Like Harsin, Freeze's second team will be entering the home stretch of the regular season to reach a bowl game. One difference: Harsin was fired before the end of his sophomore year with the Tigers at 3-5. Another difference: Harsin's second team actually beat Missouri. With Auburn in control by a 17-3 lead about midway through the third quarter, it allowed Missouri to march 95 yards on 17 plays in the final minutes, losing 21-17, falling to 2-5 and hanging on winless in the SEC. There are no positives, no silver linings, no moral victories and no reason to believe in the current state of the program.

By Vanessa

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