"With four ranked-versus-ranked games on the Week 8 docket, we were guaranteed to see some good teams fall this weekend. We got more than we bargained for. No. 2 Miami lost as a 10.5-point home favorite to an unranked team. No. 7 Texas Tech (10.5-point favorite), No. 22 Memphis (21.5-point favorite) and No. 25 Nebraska (5.5-point favorite) all fell to unranked squads as well."
"And in the SEC, No. 4 Texas A&M barely survived 2-4 Arkansas, while No. 16 Missouri (against 3-3 Auburn) and No. 21 Texas (against 2-3 Kentucky) needed overtime to secure road wins. Parity has been the watchword in college football this year -- the elite teams don't seem quite as elite, and the sport's middle class seems closer to the top of the pack than usual. It rules, frankly. Week 8 certainly reinforced that notion. It was a breathless mess from start to finish."
"I prefer my elite teams to win games 63-0 and basically wear a giant "WE'RE ELITE" sign, but after last season's experience -- in which the Buckeyes lost late in the year to Michigan but shifted into fifth gear in four comfortable College Football Playoff wins -- no one better understands that the goal is to peak in December, not October."
Week 8 produced multiple major upsets, including No. 2 Miami losing at home as a 10.5-point favorite, and No. 7 Texas Tech, No. 22 Memphis and No. 25 Nebraska all falling to unranked opponents. SEC outcomes were fragile, with No. 4 Texas A&M narrowly beating Arkansas and No. 16 Missouri and No. 21 Texas needing overtime road wins. The season has featured notable parity, with elite teams less dominant and the middle tier closing the gap. Ohio State shows periodic dominance but often with restraint, appearing to prioritize peaking in December rather than asserting supremacy early.
Read at ESPN.com
Unable to calculate read time
Collection
[
|
...
]