College football is unpredictable and delightful, which is why we live for what happens on Saturdays. And Week 8 absolutely delivered, with the No. 2 team in the nation falling on the road to UCF — which was far from the only field storm of the weekend!
Each Sunday, I’ll publish my biggest takeaways from the college football weekend. I’ll highlight the most interesting storylines, track College Football Playoff contenders and specifically shout out individual and team performances that deserve the spotlight.
1. Chaos reigns once again in college football.
Stop me if you’ve heard this before, but the No. 2 team in the country just lost to an unranked opponent. Just a week after beating Notre Dame to secure one of the best wins in all of college football, BYU lost to UCF in double overtime. This happened a week after five of the top seven teams in the AP poll lost, which happened a week after then-No. 1 Texas lost to an unranked opponent. It’s just one of those seasons.
Saturday’s results guaranteed that this will be the sixth time in the past 50 seasons with three or fewer unbeaten Football Bowl Subdivision teams through the end of October. It’s also the first time in AP Top 25 history that three top-15 Big 12 teams lost on the same day.
2. The Big 12 is just suuuuuch a grind. Losses prove that! That’s how we explain upsets, right?
… or is that only when it happens in the SEC? Asking for a friend!
3. Luke Fickell has won his way off the hot seat.
Back in early September, I looked at the Wisconsin schedule, went week by week and sketched out a scenario where the Badgers would win eight games. I might have low-balled ‘em! After a massive win over USC — and a celebratory field storm — it’s time to raise the ceiling for what’s possible this season for Wisconsin. A road trip to Iowa City will be challenging, but Wisconsin should be favored in every other remaining regular-season game. Are we looking at 10-2 Badgers? Worst case, 9-3? What a world!
Luke Fickell came into the season on the hottest of seats. Through three full seasons, he was 17-21 overall (and 10-17 in Big Ten play). He’d beaten just one ranked opponent (and Washington was No. 23 in the AP poll when it happened). But now, things look quite different. Wisconsin is 5-2 with its only losses coming to teams currently ranked in the top 10. The Badgers have one of the nation’s best and stingiest defenses, and they held USC to -17 rushing yards on Saturday night. Wisconsin also has a punishing rushing attack, and the team truly plays complementary football.
In short: The Badgers play like Luke Fickell wants his team to play. They have stayed healthy at quarterback. They are deeper on the defensive side of the ball than they’ve been at any prior point in Fickell’s tenure. And the patience that led to Fickell returning for a fourth season has paid off.
4. Lincoln Riley must go back to square one.
That’s as bad a loss as he’s had in his time at USC. The Trojans were supposed to be more physical, supposed to be tougher. They were supposed to have proven they could win on the road in the Big Ten. All of that came crashing down in the loss to Wisconsin at Camp Randall on Saturday night. The offense — Lincoln Riley’s calling card — tallied just seven points, the lowest scoring output in any college football game he’s overseen as the head coach. The Trojans finished with negative rushing yardage. They lost to a quarterback who finished the game with 58 passing yards.
And Ohio State comes to the Coliseum next …
5. Texas Tech is not nearly as good a football team as it was last year.
The Red Raiders may very well still get to Dallas to play in the Big 12 championship game (because they don’t play either BYU or Utah in the regular season). But there’s not a lot to like with how Texas Tech is playing right now. The Red Raiders gave up more points (37) in their loss to Cincinnati on Saturday than they have in any game since 2024. Their offense ranks in the bottom half of the Big 12 in most major categories. It’s clear why the Texas Tech brass worked so hard to try to get former Bearcat Brendan Sorsby eligible; the offense is limited by Will Hammond’s arm. But the defense is also far from dominant, like it was last year. Losing Jacob Rodriguez and David Bailey is a big deal, it seems!
Some of the deficiencies that were exposed and exploited by Cincinnati were masked in recent weeks by pick-sixes. Texas Tech leads FBS with five pick-sixes this season, and those scores have helped make certain wins look more lopsided than they actually were. This does not look like the best team in a very competitive Big 12 — at least, right now.
6. Sam Leavitt seems to be figuring things out as a passer.
Don’t look now, but LSU’s offense is looking like the offense we expected to see with Lane Kiffin in charge. Over the past two games, quarterback Sam Leavitt has completed 76 percent of his passes for 676 yards, seven touchdowns and zero interceptions.
7. Kentucky sits alone atop the SEC standings (!) with a 5-1 record in league play.
Yes, really. Will Stein is on the shortlist for all the National Coach of the Year awards for a reason.