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Week 8 in College Football brought some exciting action in the SEC and beyond. The AP top-25 rankings have been shaken up with Oregon taking the top spot from Texas and knocking the SEC out of first for the first time this season.
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Watch Out Texas, There’s a New Dawg in Town
In a game riddled with turnovers and penalties, the University of Georgia pulled out the upset against the No. 1 Texas Longhorns, 30-15. The teams started the game off slow, punting on both of their first possessions.
Slow quickly became sloppy as Georgia quarterback Carson Beck threw interceptions on the following two drives. Texas punted again before quarterback Quinn Ewers fumbled on a sack during the following possession.
This gave the Bulldogs a boost as Georgia’s offense finally turned it around, rattling off 23 points in the first half. Ewers continued to struggle, throwing an interception before being pulled out of the game in favor of redshirt freshman Arch Manning. Manning couldn’t do much better as he turned the ball over on a fumble. The Longhorns went into halftime scoreless.
Ewers returned from the half looking like a different quarterback, quickly leading Texas down the field for a score and two point conversion. Beck threw another interception, which was called a defensive pass interference. It was then overturned by officials.
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Both teams then scored again before another Texas fumble by Ewers. Neither team scored again and the Bulldogs pulled out the win in messy fashion. They racked up seven penalties for 78 yards. With Texas losing, there are no longer any undefeated teams in the SEC.
Goodbye Goalpost
Week 8 had another upset on the cards in the SEC as the No. 11 Tennessee Volunteers took down No. 7 Alabama, 24-17.
This game also featured a turnover frenzy with Tennessee turning the ball over three times in the first half on a fumble and two interceptions thrown by quarterback Nico Iamaleava. The Volunteers failed to score at all in the first half, recording two missed field goals.
The Crimson Tide didn’t have much success either as quarterback Jalen Milroe also threw an interception in the first half. They were able to squeak out a touchdown to go into the half up by seven. Alabama did leave points on the table though, as the kicker missed a field goal before the half ended.
The scoring picked up in the second half with two Tennessee rushing touchdowns from Dylan Sampson to take the lead. Alabama made a field goal to recapture it. Iamaleava then threw for his only touchdown of the game to put the Vols up 21-17.
After kicking a field goal, the Tennessee defense stood strong, picking off a Milroe pass to end the game.
In Volunteer fashion, the fans rushed the field following the victory. Mirroring their 2022 victory in the same game, fans ripped the goal post out of the field. Tennessee was later fined for these actions.
The goal posts come down again in Knoxville pic.twitter.com/3iHsBhCph3
— Trey Wallace (@TreyWallace_) October 20, 2024
Big Time Blowouts
Moving away from the SEC, there were big wins across all of college football. Oregon made easy work of Purdue, winning 35-0 on its way to AP’s top spot. Indiana improved to 7-0 and moved up to No. 13 in the rankings after defeating Nebraska 56-7.
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Army and Navy also solidified their spots in the top-25 with massive wins over East Carolina and Charlotte, respectively.
History in the Making
Week 8 was a big weekend for Illinois and Duke who both took down conference rivals in historic fashion. Illinois, who is now ranked No. 20 in the country, beat the defending national champions, Michigan, 21-7. This win marked the first for the Fighting Illini over the Wolverines since 2009 and snapped their six game losing streak to their Big Ten rival.
ILLINOIS TAKES DOWN MICHIGAN!
The fans storm the field as @IlliniFootball secures a 6-1 start to the season. pic.twitter.com/29Y2tHS41C
— CBS Sports (@CBSSports) October 19, 2024
Duke took down Florida State on Friday, 23-16, to improve to 6-1 on the season. This win marked the first for the Blue Devils against the Seminoles in history while ending FSU’s 22 game win streak over Duke. The Blue Devils also clinched bowl eligibility with this win while the Seminoles dropped to 1-6 on the season.
What’s Next
Next week features more top-25 matchups across the country. In the SEC, No. 8 LSU will take on No. 14 Texas A&M, No. 5 Texas will look to redeem itself over No. 25 Vanderbilt, and No. 21 Missouri faces No. 15 Alabama.
