The Path to the 12-team College Football Playoff Week 8: Kirby Smart plays bully ball in Austin

The best teams in the country heard that with the expanded 12-team College Football Playoff they could survive a loss, so they all decided to try it. Heading into the year, Georgia, Ohio State, and Texas appeared to be the clear top tier and through Week 8, all three have a loss on their resumes. Georgia lost to Alabama, Ohio State lost to Oregon, and now Texas lost to Georgia. Each week we learn more about the top of the college football landscape and in many ways, it still feels like we know nothing. 

So many teams are still alive for the CFP and for the first time this season, no team deserved the CFP death penalty, at least no team that hasn’t already gotten it (I’m looking at you Michigan). It was another fun week of college football and the season is still picking up steam as we officially head towards Week 9, so keep your Saturdays clear. But as always, if missed anything in the Week 8 slate, “The Path” is here to get you up to speed. Let’s do it. 

The Statements

The biggest wins of Week 5

1. An old-school Georgia win

When you think of Georgia football, I’m not sure an image of a first-round quarterback prospect throwing the ball 50 times in a 41-34 game comes to mind. Well, after that 41-34 loss to Alabama in Week 5, the No. 5 Bulldogs have finally gotten back to their identity and they cemented it on Saturday night with a 30-15 win over No. 1 Texas in Austin. 

That identity includes dominating in the trenches and in a lot of ways, winning in spite of your quarterback play. Stetson Bennett developed into a star, but he didn’t have to be for Georgia to win back-to-back national championships in 2021 and 2022. At the start of this season, Kirby Smart needed Carson Beck to play like a first-rounder and when he didn’t (because he isn’t one), the Dawgs struggled. Against Texas, Beck completed 23 of his 41 passes for under 200 yards with three interceptions, and Georgia won by two scores. That’s Georiga football. 

Coming into this game Texas left tackle Kelvin Banks Jr. had not allowed a sack in 202 pass-blocking snaps this season and was only responsible for three sacks his entire career, across 1,208 pass-blocking snaps. Well, Georgia linebacker Jalon Walker dominated Banks and every other player in burnt orange who got between him and the quarterback. Walker finished the night with eight solo tackles, three sacks, three tackles for loss, and a fumble recovery. No individual defense player in the country has had a bigger impact on any game this season. 

Texas’s offense, which was top 10 in the country in both expected points added per play (EPA/play) and yards per quarterback dropback through the first seven weeks, wasn’t remotely functional the entire first half. Texas head coach Steve Sarkisian even went to Arch Manning out of desperation before the half mercifully ended 23-0. 

The Longhorns found their footing in the second half with Quinn Ewers back at QB, but by that time Georgia’s other fearsome pass rusher Mykel Williams, who at 6-foot-5 265-pounds is a bit more traditionally terrifying than the undersized Walker, found his rhythm and finished the job with a strip-sack on fourth-and-6 early in the fourth quarter. 

Saturday night was Kirby Smart’s Georgia Bulldogs at their best, overwhelming an offense with waves of freakish defenders. If Smart’s defense can continue to play that way, getting Carson Beck back to even an average level of play will be enough to win an SEC where every contender is deeply flawed. 

I’ll try not to overreact to this win, as I did when Alabama beat Georgia, but it’d be really tough to pick any other team to take the conference crown after Saturday night. 

2. Josh Heupel is thriving with his defensive identity

With 10:55 remaining in the fourth quarter on the Third Saturday of October at Neyland Stadium, Tennessee head coach Josh Heupel sent out his punt unit for fourth-and-6 from the Alabama 41-yard line, trailing 17-14. 

Across his four seasons in Knoxville, Heupel has been known for his high-octane veer-and-shoot offense, but the 2024 No. 11 ranked Volunteers have buttered their bread on the other side of the ball. Punter Jackson Ross pinned the No. 7 ranked Crimson Tide inside their own five-yard line, Tennesse forced a three-and-out, and Tennessee redshirt freshman quarterback Nico Iamaleava responded with a seven-play 54-yard touchdown drive, capped off by the game-winner, a 16-yard toss to Chris Brazzell II. 

Tennessee’s defensive line dominated the game with 10 tackles for loss and three turnovers, but most importantly completely shut off Alabama’s explosive plays. The Tide generated zero big plays, first because Alabama’s receivers didn’t have enough time to get downfield before quarterback Jalen Milroe was under duress, and second because Oregon State transfer cornerback Jermod McCoy locked down Bama’s star freshman Ryan Williams. Milroe still funneled as many targets Williams’s way as he could and he finished with eight catches for 73 yards and a score, but almost none of it came against McCoy. Alabama’s longest play of the afternoon was a 28-yard completion to Germie Bernard, which didn’t register as an “explosive play” according to Gameonpaper.com’s model. 

There are plenty of offensive-minded coaches who wouldn’t be comfortable leaning on their defense, even if it had proved it was an elite unit. Huepel deserves credit for recognizing the strength of his team and the limitations of his young quarterback. After scoring 69, 51, and 71 points in non-conference play, the Vols haven’t cleared 25 points in any game since. However, Heupel has a championship defense, so if Iamaleava can hit at least one deep shot, as he did today 55 yards downfield to Dont’e Thornton Jr. then Tennessee’s title hopes will stay alive. Tennessee might be one of two SEC teams that could survive a young QB’s growing pains and still stay in the fight.

By the eye test, Georgia and Tennessee's defenses are the best in the SEC after Week 8, but there's really no comparison statistically.

“I promise you one thing…”

With a 12-team CFP, one loss doesn’t end your season anymore

3. Alabama’s chances are slim and hopes are fading 

Kalen DeBoer unveiled his fastball to the SEC in the first half against Georgia, putting up 30 points on the Bulldogs and befuddling Kirby Smart with Jalen Milroe operating from an empty backfield on the ground and through the air. The problem is, after DeBoer’s big win, this Alabama offense doesn’t have a change-up, and even the hardest throwers in the MLB will eventually get touched up if they keep throwing it. 

Against Georgia, Milroe played like a first-round NFL draft pick, always the best athlete on the field, he was finally operating like a true quarterback in the pocket. Since that night, Alabama has lost to Vanderbilt with Milroe playing well, narrowly escaped against South Carolina with an up-and-down performance from its QB, and now has lost to Tennessee with arguably Milroe’s worst performance since he was benched after last season’s Week 1 loss to Texas. 

Milroe finished 25/45 for 239 yards with a touchdown and two interceptions, was sacked three times, and only ran for 11 yards on 14 attempts. For the season, Alabama is 84th in rushing success rate and has just 14 rushes of 15+ yards. Crimson Tide running backs have only busted off eight runs of 15+ yards, had zero on Saturday, and just two total in SEC play. Jam Miller and Justice Haynes can’t produce explosives on the ground, so Milroe hasn’t just been asked to create an effective downfield passing game but also to be the offense’s answer on the ground and the heavy workload is wearing him down. 

Saturday was Milroe’s second-worst career game by EPA/play, only behind his Rose Bowl performance against Michigan’s legendary defense last season. Alabama’s defense has its problems, and they aren’t getting better until DeBoer has another crack at the transfer portal, but if Milroe continues to regress and fall back into bad habits as a passer that will be this team’s fatal flaw. 

Milroe sealed the loss with an interception, but if Alabama can beat LSU in Baton Rouge on November 9, he won’t have sealed their fate with this performance. 

Contender or Pretender

You may be off to a hot start, but does your undefeated record mean you’re a real threat to make the CFP?

4. 7-0 BYU Cougars: Pretender

Quarterback Jake Retzlaff led his BYU Cougars to an absolute nail-biter of a win in Provo on Friday night. Oklahoma State milked nearly nine minutes off the clock on its final offensive drive before taking a 35-31 lead with 1:13 left on a six-yard touchdown pass from super-senior Alan Bowman to Brennan Presley. Still, BYU had enough magic left. 

Retzlaff only needed eight plays to go 75 yards and capped off the game-winning drive with a 35-yard touchdown throw to Darius Lassiter. Retzlaff finished with 212 yards and two touchdowns through the air and 81 and another score on the ground. 

BYU’s defense is excellent, 24th in EPA/play and 17th in success rate, but offensively, head coach Kalani Sitake’s Cougars are incredibly reliant on their former junior college quarterback. Though Retzlaff has provided explosive plays and memorable moments, this offense is 83rd in the country in success rate, faces an average third-down distance of 7.63 yards, and converts less than 40% of their late-down plays. 

Sophomore running back LJ Martin had the best game of his career against Oklahoma State, rushing 20 times for 120 yards and two touchdowns, but that performance came against a Cowboys defense that ranks 129th in the country in yards per rush. BYU is a nice story, with a favorable schedule ahead, but if the Cougars somehow survive to make the Big 12 title game, I’d pick Kansas State, Iowa State, or any of the other contenders to win that matchup and represent the one-bid league. 

5. 7-0 Indiana Hoosiers: Contender

Curt Cignetti just wins, and immediately. Coach Cigs went 8-3 and 11-1 in his two years at James Madison while the program was making the jump to FBS football, and now Cigs has Indiana at 7-0 after a 56-7 blowout win over Nebraska in Week 8. Under Tom Allen, the Hoosiers won seven games across the last two seasons and only nine across the last three. The way Indiana’s schedule is laid out, after acing the biggest test of the year against the Huskers, they will be favored in four of their final five games. The lone exception is a November 23rd trip to Columbus. 

The Hoosiers could be 10-0, and possibly, the higher ranked team than Ohio State in the penultimate week of the regular season. Cignetti overhauled the roster in Bloomington, constructing a Group of Five all-star team through the transfer portal, highlighted by former Ohio quarterback Kurtis Rourke and former JMU wide receiver Elijah Sarratt, who was one of 13 players who followed their head coach from Harrisonburg, Virginia to the Big Ten. 

Indiana has yet to trail this season and hasn’t allowed any of its opponents to score in the first quarter. A program that has never won 10 games in its history is leading the Big Ten with an average margin of victory of 35 points. The Hoosier’s non-conference wins are over FIU, Western Illinois, and Charlotte, so it’s fair to poke a few holes in this resume, but this dominant performance took the Hoosiers from a fun story to a real threat to steal an at-large bid into the CFP or even a spot in the Big Ten title game. 

6. 7-0 Iowa State Cyclones: Contender

Is it incredibly unfair for me to consider Iowa State to be a contender after calling BYU a pretender when the resumes are pretty similar and Iowa State needed a miraculous comeback to escape a scare at home from UCF on Saturday night, one day after BYU did the same thing in Provo? Yes incredibly unfair. But I don’t care. 

Iowa State gained 530 yards against UCF and just shot itself in the foot with Rocco Becht’s two interceptions both turning into six points, one as a pick-six, the other as a near pick-six if the defender didn’t drop the ball early before UCF scored on its first offensive play from the goal line. 

The advanced metrics aren’t particularly kind to Iowa State as they aren’t to BYU, but there is a bit less volatility with the Iowa State offense because it does an excellent job staying on schedule. The biggest difference however, is that Iowa State plays Kansas State in the final week of the season, so the Cyclones have a chance to either knock the Wildcats out of the Big 12 title game or get a rematch with them the next week. Having two remaining shots to beat the team I view as the best in the conference right now (and did in the preseason before the BYU loss and a few shaky Avery Johnson games scared me off my own take), is better than the Cougars hoping to replicate an remarkably fluky result from a few weeks ago in Provo. 

Don’t let me down

7. On top of the Big Ten for the first time, don’t you know it’s gonna last

A week ago, Oregon notched the biggest win of the season, until Georgia knocked off Texas seven days later, and the Ducks had a perfect recipe for a letdown spot in West Lafayette on Friday night. 

It may have been impossible for Oregon to muster up the same energy needed to beat the Buckeyes last week while Purdue finally had some positive momentum, coming off its best offensive performance of the season in a 50-49 overtime loss to Illinois, and yet, the Ducks blanked the Boilermakers. Oregon had 10 tackles for loss and pressured Purdue quarterback Ryan Browne on 16 of his 27 dropbacks (59.3%) in the 35-0 win. 

8. LSU that lasts forever? LSU that has no past?

Well, I guess we couldn’t keep the Beatles lyrics making sense for very long in this category, but you get the point. LSU didn’t let us down either after last week’s comeback win over Ole Miss in the Magnolia Bowl. It appears that for the second straight week, I’m admitting I’m wrong about LSU because this defense is making real strides. 

When LSU brought back much of the same personnel from last year’s putrid unit and new defensive coordinator Blake Baker didn’t make an immediate impact early in the season, I assumed it would be more of the same in Baton Rouge. Well, in Week 8, LSU’s defense held an Arkansas run game that ranks 12th in the country in success rate to just four successful runs all game and 38 total yards on the ground. 

Sophomore linebacker Whit Weeks, who saw his snap count jump after Harold Perkins Jr. was lost for the season, led the team with nine tackles and added a sack, a tackle for loss, a pass breakup, and an interception. The latter two came on the same play and set up an LSU touchdown. 

And the Week 8 Heisman goes to…

9. Miami Quarterback: Cam Ward

Among the traditional Heisman Trophy candidates, meaning the ones that aren’t a two-way freak on a mid-tier Big 12 team or an other-worldly running back bullying the Mountain West, Cam Ward has been the primary front-runner this season. Alabama quarterback Jalen Milroe had a moment in the sun after beating Georgia, but things haven’t gone so well since. In Week 8 with Milroe struggling, and Ward playing lights out in another Miami shootout win, the first-year Hurricane has climbed back to the top of the non-Travis Hunter/Ashton Jeanty category. 

Ward threw for 319 yards and four touchdowns on 21/32 passing in Miami’s 52-45 win over, and most importantly, he avoided the mind-numbing turnovers that prevented him from making the jump to the NFL straight from Washington State last season. If he can avoid the plays that have caused CBS Sporst’s Tom Fornelli to dub him the “Whoopsy Daisy King” then QB-needy NFL facilities could use a few extra wet floor signs because the league’s evaluators won’t be able to stop drooling. 

He showed off the arm strength with this absolute rocking outside of the pocket and while he isn’t a traditional dual-threat he has the type of mobility that is becoming a necessity in the NFL. It may not feel like a true “Heisman moment” but his first-down scramble on 3rd-and-17 was a massive play. 

Miami knew it had a favorable schedule coming into the year, but as it stands, the Hurricanes won’t face a ranked opponent all regular season. This was the biggest test Ward will face and while his team’s questionable defense did nothing to quell concerns, the fifth-year QB has proven he can go score-for-score with just about anybody. 

Play the fight song!

Whether by a great play-call or just a great play, the week’s most exciting and important touchdowns

10. We Love a lead blocker

Notre Dame sophomore running back Jeremiah Love had six touchdowns on the season coming into the Fighting Irish’s 31-13 win over Georgia Tech in Week 8 and added another, but at 6-foot 206-pounds, Love also serves as a decent lead blocker on the goal line. Quarterback Riley Leonard leads the team with 10 rushing scores but Love’s block was the highlight of his first of two on Saturday. 

With a block like that from your running back, you can play the fight song! 

11. If only Avery Johnson was mobile

Kansas State’s Avery Johnson might be the fastest quarterback in the entire country, but he’s reluctant to use his legs as a scrambler, instead opting to keep his eyes down the field, and offensive coordinator Conor Riley can be even more reluctant to draw up designed runs for his offense’s best player. 

Well, on Saturday night at West Virginia, it didn’t matter. Johnson didn’t record a single rushing attempt in K-State’s 45-18 win and finished 19/29 for 298 yards and three touchdowns. Without utilizing his best ability, essentially playing with one hand behind his back, Johnson averaged 10.28 yards per dropback which, extrapolated out for the entire year, would be second in the nation to Indiana’s Kurtis Rourke this season. 

When the most athletic quarterback in the country can rip the ball up the seam off play-action in the red zone like that, you might get tired of hearing the fight song. Johnson still has so much growing to do, but already he has K-State looking like the favorite to win the Big 12, even with one loss already, and if he does continue to develop, a conference title won’t be the only hardware he wins in his career. Johnson is my irresponsibly early 2025 Heisman Trophy pick. 

UCF 2017 National Championship Memorial Group of Five Team of the Week

12. Army may have created a super soldier

If the United States Army is experimenting with any type of super-soldier serum, they’ve given it to quarterback Bryson Daily. He’s just 6-foot and 221-pounds and he might be the scariest man in college football. He certainly was this week in Army’s 45-28 blowout win of East Carolina. 

In the triple-option centric offense, Daily ran the ball 31 times for 171 yards and five touchdowns and completed seven of his 10 throws for 147 yards and a score. Instead of simply a straight triple-option this year, both Army and Navy have opened things up with quarterbacks who are capable downfield throwers and still with limited usage, have two of the most successful and efficient passing offenses in the entire country.