CFB Week 8 Takeaways
It’s been 8 weeks, and there still isn’t a clear answer of who the 10 best teams are in college football. Perennially successful programs like Michigan and Alabama have slid out of the playoff picture, meanwhile, teams like LSU and Indiana are building resumes to secure a spot in the CFP. Let’s look back on what we learned from Saturday’s biggest matchups.
Oklahoma is why you can’t build your OL through the portal
9 sacks, 2 interceptions, 6 fumbles. That’s the gross performance that Oklahoma’s offense produced today in a 35-9 loss to South Carolina. The defensive effort by the Gamecocks was certainly impressive, but this has to serve as a reminder that Oklahoma’s makeshift offensive line won’t cut it in the SEC. This offseason the Sooners brought in 3 new linemen through the portal, and it’s been the most glaring weakness for this squad. Any team should see Oklahoma as clear evidence that you must develop and recruit offensive linemen primarily through high school recruiting.
Curt Cignetti should be Coach of the Year
We’re witnessing a miraculous team transformation for Indiana this season. It’s one thing to turn a historically struggling program into a competitive one, but walloping a second-year coach is on another level. Curt Cignetti hung 56 points on Nebraska without starting quarterback Kurtis Rourke for a portion of the game. Indiana also heavily disrupted freshman phenom Dylan Raiola into throwing three interceptions. The potential for the Hoosiers to finish the year at least 10-2 is looking highly realistic with the ways they're dominating their Big Ten schedule.
Cam Ward continues to shine
Forget about the Heisman trophy for a moment, Cam Ward is playing himself into the first overall pick in the 2025 NFL Draft. In a 56-45 shootout with Louisville, Ward finished 21 of 32 for 319 yards and 4 touchdowns. Outside of his impressive stats, Ward flashes his rare improvisational skills that allowed him to evade sacks and drive the ball deep down the field for numerous explosive plays. His traits are exactly what NFL teams fall in love with during the draft process.
What’s wrong with Alabama?
It’s easy to feel like the sky is falling for Alabama with a 5-2 record through 7 games after a 24-17 loss to Tennessee. Undisciplined play continues to plague their performances, as they totaled 15 penalties and 2 turnovers. It’s still way too soon to sound the alarm on Karen DeBoer’s early struggles, but if they can’t clean up their game they could stumble to an 8-4 record at the end of 2024 with two ranked matchups in their next two games.
Why do people continue to doubt Georgia?
There is so much to unpack from this game on the Texas side, but I came away from last night reassured of how effective Georgia is at bouncing back. Carson Beck had possibly the worst performance of his career, but the Bulldogs's defense completely took over this game. Producing 7 sacks and 10 TFLs, Georgia reminded everyone they can physically overpower any team in the country. There’s no reason to keep doubting Georgia, they are in the driver’s seat to win the SEC and should be the National Championship favorite.