We’re halfway through the season and we saw some blowouts and standouts. Here are my winners and losers:
Winners:
- Penn State Nittany Lions: Quarterback Trace McSorley threw for 282 yards and a touchdown. He also rushed for two touchdowns. Running back Saquon Barkley rushed for 108 yards and two touchdowns. The defense had seven sacks as the Lions dominated the Michigan Wolverines 42-13.
- Notre Dame Fighting Irish: Quarterback Brandon Wimbush threw for two touchdowns. He also rushed for 106 yards and two touchdowns. Running back Josh Adams rushed for 191 yards and three touchdowns. The defense had five sacks as the Irish defeated the USC Trojans easily 49-14.
- UCF Golden Knights: Quarterback McKenzie Milton threw for 233 yards and a touchdown. Running back Adrian Killins Jr. rushed for 122 yards and two touchdowns. The defense caught two interceptions as the Knights staved off the Navy Midshipmen 31-21 keeping their New Year’s Six bowl hopes alive.
- Boston College Eagles: Quarterback Anthony Brown threw for 275 yards and three touchdowns. The defense caught three interceptions including a pick six by linebacker John Lamot as the Eagles surprised the Virginia Cavaliers 41-10.
- Arizona Wildcats: Quarterback Khalil Tate threw for two touchdowns. He also rushed for 137 yards and a touchdown. The defense stopped a two-point conversion attempt as the Wildcats held off the California Golden Bears 45-44 in a 2OT thriller. At 3-1 in the Pac 12, the Cats could be a force to be reckoned with in the South division. If Tate isn’t in your Heisman list, he should be.
- Fresno State Bulldogs: Running back Josh Hokit rushed for three touchdowns, the first Bulldog to do that since 2009. The Bulldogs defeated the San Diego State Aztecs 27-3. The Bulldogs are 4-0 in Mountain West conference play so far.
Losers:
- USC Trojans: Turnovers, being 4 for 13 on third downs, and the defense giving up 377 rushing yards were the Trojans’ undoing in their loss to Notre Dame.
- Michigan Wolverines: The defense gave up a lot of points, but their offense couldn’t pick up the slack either in their loss to Penn State.
- Florida State Seminoles: The Noles couldn’t slow down Louisville quarterback Lamar Jackson in their overtime loss to the Cardinals 31-28. Many predicted that Noles would be a title contender, now they need to win out just to become bowl eligible.
- Utah Utes: Turnovers stalled drives in their loss to the Arizona State Sun Devils 30-10.
- Kansas Jayhawks: The Jayhawks only had 21 total yards (yes, you read that right) which is the lowest total in FBS in 20 years as they were mauled by the TCU Horned Frogs 43-0. All I can say for Jayhawks fans; basketball season is just around the corner.
Storylines Going Into Week Nine:
Oklahoma State faces West Virginia. Michigan State on upset alert at Northwestern. Penn State meets Ohio State. Georgia plays Florida in their annual clash in Jacksonville. TCU travels to Iowa State.
NC State plays Notre Dame. Washington hosts UCLA. Georgia Tech battles Clemson. Texas Tech faces Oklahoma. Washington State is on upset alert at Arizona. While USC will try to bounce back against Arizona State.