Michigan, J.J. McCarthy among College Football Week 8 winners; USC, North Carolina biggest losers

College Football Week 8 winner: Utah

You have to give it up for Utah and head coach Kyle Whittingham. The Utes beat USC twice last season, including in the Pac-12 championship game.

So USC football had to have this game circled on the calendar. On top of that, Utah was missing its starting quarterback Cam Rising, which is why USC was nearly an eight-point favorite.

Yet, Utah proved again that USC is overrated. Utah sacked Caleb Williams four times and while the Utes allowed 401 yards of total offense and 32 points, they did enough to win the game.

Ja’Quinden Jackson ran 26 times for 118 yards while Bryson Barnes threw for 235 yards and three touchdowns in a performance every bit as good as Williams, even though he’s Utah’s backup.

Utah now joins USC, Oregon, Oregon State, UCLA, and Washington State among one-loss teams in the Pac-12. Washington is unbeaten right now and the top two teams in terms of record will meet for the Pac-12 title.

So there’s a long way to go but don’t count out the two-time Pac-12 champions just yet.