1. Five or more ranked teams lose to unranked opponents
There were a couple of big upsets Saturday night, but it was not enough to salvage this prediction. Two top-ten, undefeated teams went down, as Georgia Tech upset Florida State and USC obliterated Utah. But other than those two, the only other ranked team to fall to an unranked foe was Cal, who was taken down by UCLA on Thursday night.
2. Baylor tops season-high score with 71 points or more against Iowa State
The Bears were on track for another high-scoring performance, up 35 - 7 at halftime. But rain and improved performance by the Cyclones' defense in the second half put a damper on this prediction, as Baylor finished with what was actually their lowest offensive output of the year, but still won 45 - 27. However, the bigger news coming out of Waco is that Baylor's starting quarterback, Seth Russell, sustained a broken bone in his neck towards the end of the game, and will miss the remainder of the season. True freshman Jarrett Stidham will take over for Russell as the Bears enter the meat of their schedule.
3. Ohio State punts two or fewer times against Rutgers
The Buckeyes only punted once against the Scarlet Knights, as the offense efficiently moved the ball all night. The defense and special teams also turned in stellar performances, as Ohio State put together their most complete game of the season so far, easily handling Rutgers, 49 - 7. Another notable stat was that OSU avoided any penalties, which has been a problem area for much of the season. The lone error was an early fumble by J.T. Barrett. But make no mistake, J.T. is the guy going forward.
4. Michigan State suffers letdown loss to Indiana at home
Don't let the final score fool you, this was a close game, but Sparty eventually prevailed at home. The Hoosiers were only down 5 points late in the game, but 3 touchdowns in the last five minutes sealed this one for Michigan State, who won 52 - 26, and spoiled this prediction as a result.
5. Brady Hoke explains he would've tried to score more points, make less mistakes against Spartans, if still coach at Michigan
He might not have said it publicly, but we all know he was at least thinking it.
Week 8 record: 1 - 4
Overall record: 10 - 30
Other headlines from week 8:
Miami fires Al Golden
Another head coach got the boot this week, as the Hurricanes dumped Golden after suffering their worst loss in school history. Clemson demoralized Miami, 58 - 0, but anyone keeping an eye on this situation knew Golden's time was drawing near, regardless of the outcome of this game. And to think, some people put Clemson on upset alert.
4OT thrillers in ACC, SEC
It's quite rare for games to go to past double-overtime, and yet, we had two games this week go to four OT periods. Duke survived against Virginia Tech 45 - 43 and Arkansas took down Auburn 54 - 46, with both games going to 4OT. At that point, it's about depth, especially on defense, and just who can make one more play to finally stop the other guy.
Kick-six, part two
Most college football fans remember the famous ending to the 2013 Iron Bowl, in which Auburn returned an Alabama field goal attempt to score the game-winning touchdown as time expired. We were again reminded of it after the crazy ending to the Michigan-Michigan State game a week earlier. And this week we have a near carbon-copy of the Kick-six, as Georgia Tech returned a blocked Florida State field goal to end the game and stun the Seminoles, handing them their first loss of the season. "What a time to be alive!"
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