The eighth week of the season provided some nightmarish performances as undefeated teams fell by the wayside on what was a slow-boil day of football chaos – quiet in the afternoon, and frantic come sundown. Here are a few teams and players who didn’t do themselves any favours on the gridiron this weekend:
Miami
The Hurricanes, as proud a program as there is in America, were blasted 58-0 by Clemson on Saturday afternoon. It’s the worst loss in program history, and if the seat their coach Al Golden occupies isn’t absolutely red flaming hot this week, I give up. It’s a shame what’s happened to this traditional superpower, particularly when you consider that Golden was widely expected to bring the Hurricanes back to national prominence. If he sees out the season, I’ll be very surprised. In every way, shape and form, this game was ugly.
Texas A&M
The Aggies, who possess one of the best offenses in the nation, could manage only 192 yards against Ole Miss in a 23-3 loss. That was without Robert Nkemdiche, the best player on that Rebels defensive unit. How bad was it really for Kevin Sumlin’s team? Well, the coach opted to use his third-string quarterback after half time because Kyle Allen was absolutely ineffective, 12-34 for 88 yards. It’s been a bad few weeks for the sophomore, and for the Aggies as a whole. What Sumlin does with his quarterbacks is anyone’s guess.
Utah
Like the Aggies, the Utes, who had risen to No. 3 in the AP Top 25 Rankings, were beaten for the first time this season, losing 42-24 to an unranked USC Trojans squad – who, for some reason, were bookies’ favourites – to really throw a cat amongst the pigeons as far as the Pac-12 conference race goes.
The Utes had gotten to their lofty perch thanks to wins over Michigan early and Oregon more recently, and by forcing turnovers whilst not committing any themselves. On Saturday night, that all changed. Quarterback Travis Wilson threw four interceptions – three to freshman linebacker Cameron Smith, including a 54-yard return touchdown that just about put the game out of reach for the Utes. Conversely, the Utah defense couldn’t force one turnover from a Trojan team who had turnover issues last week against Notre Dame.
It’s fair to say that the final score line wasn't indicative of just how well USC controlled this game. Utah (and, particularly, Wilson) didn’t bring their A-game, and were punished on both sides of the football. Doubtless, the film review will worry plenty in Salt Lake City. This was a bad loss.
Florida State
Losing on a botched special teams play seems to be the flavour of the month. Michigan did it last week and Florida State did it this week. The difference is that the Wolverines’ blunder didn’t cause their first loss of the season, but that was the case for the Seminoles, who were poised to win the game on a field-goal attempt with only a few seconds left. Instead, it was blocked, and the Seminoles special teams unit were kept well away from the football by their Georgia Tech counterparts. The 22-16 loss is going to sting.
As a footnote, Everett Golson, a turnover machine when playing quarterback for Notre Dame a season ago, threw just his first pick of Season 2015. FSU suffered their first ACC loss since October 2012.
New Mexico State
The Aggies lost again, their seventh straight on the season, and have now lost seventeen straight over the last two seasons. They lost 52-7 Saturday to a one-win Troy team, and have up 482 yards. Yep, folks, it’s a dumpster fire!
Missouri
The Tigers have made this list multiple weeks in 2015, because they’ve spent multiple weeks in 2015 stinking up the college football landscape. They’re 4-4 after a 10-3 loss to Vanderbilt on Saturday. Despite a good defense, perhaps one of the best in the SEC, the offense isn’t getting anything going. They haven’t scored a touchdown since the South Carolina game on October 3. Yep, you read correctly. The Tigers haven’t scored a touchdown in three long weeks. That’s an insane stat.
Nebraska
Like Missouri, the Huskers have appeared on the villain list many times this season, and the team suffered yet another close loss, falling 30-28 to Northwestern. Here’s a bad stat: the Cornhuskers five losses have come by a combined 13 points. Being a Nebraska fan isn’t easy these days. Some of the losses came on fluke plays – Hail Mary’s and the like – but Mike Reilly’s squad clearly has problems closing games out. Trust me, as a USC fan, I know exactly how that feels. This proud program has had a season to forget.
Baylor
The Bears’ gun-slinging quarterback Seth Russell will see a specialist on Monday morning after being diagnosed with a fractured neck. The Bears need Russell more than perhaps any other team needs their quarterback in college football today. It’s simple: in 2015 the Bears only go as far as Russell can take them, and if he’s out for any length of time, that’s a big problem. One thing is for sure, backup QB Jarrett Stidham isn’t going to provide the same offensive spark as Russell can and does.
Texas Tech’s run defense
The Red Raiders gave up 405 rushing yards and seven scores to Oklahoma in a 63-27 loss on Saturday. 201 of those yards (and four touchdowns) were amassed by powerful OU sophomore back Samaje Perine. A lot of teams have had trouble stopping Perine, but the Red Raider defense couldn’t stop back-up Joe Mixon, either. He ran for 154 yards and two scores. That’s 42 of OU’s 63 points gained via the ground game. Back to the drawing board for coordinator David Gibbs.
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