Mid-October is the time of year when the college football regular season begins to hit its stride, and 2024 has been no different.
Conference title races are tight across the nation, and this past weekend saw several games that will define the back half of the season, especially when it comes to the College Football Playoff rankings, which are set to release in just a couple of weeks.
The Big 12 title picture got a little clearer this past weekend, too, as we saw a few comeback wins, some upsets, and a couple of outcomes that just left us scratching our heads.
We kept up with everything that happened in a wild Week 8, and here are some of the biggest takeaways from Saturday’s action.
Winner: Iowa State’s College Football Playoff Chances
Nothing about Saturday’s game between UCF and Iowa State would’ve implied that the home team would need to erase a double-digit deficit in order to win this game, yet that’s exactly what the Cyclones had to do.
In the opening minutes of the third quarter, UCF quarterback Jacurri Brown got free for a 67-yard touchdown and gave the Knights a 28-14 lead over Iowa State. The Cyclones hung in there, though, and made it a one-point game in the fourth quarter. Then, when Roco Becht threw what might’ve well have been his second pick-six of the game and gave UCF a 35-27 lead on the next play, it felt like it might just be UCF’s night. Still, Iowa State found a way to stick around.
With less than two minutes left in the game, Iowa State found itself down 35-30 and needed a game-winning drive to take the lead. Eleven plays, 80 yards, and 1:18 later, they did just that, as Becht found retribution with a one-yard score to give his team the lead, 38-35.
It was the kind of drive that you expect from championship-caliber teams, and Iowa State found a way to move to 7-0 and keep its goals of making the College Football Playoff alive and well.
Loser: West Virginia’s Offense
When Kansas State took a 17-10 lead over West Virginia into the locker room at halftime on Saturday, it felt like the Mountaineers might be able to put together something and try to make it interesting. Then, the Wildcats outscored WVU 28-8 in the second half and never looked back.
The West Virginia offense took a beating in this game, and in a literal sense in the first half, as Garrett Greene, Wyatt Milum, and Jahiem White all left the game with injuries. All three integral parts of the offense, Green, Milum, and White would miss the entirety of the second half and it showed.
With the game on the line, the Mountaineers had to turn to Nicco Marchiol and hope that he could rally the troops. That just didn’t happen, as West Virginia was held to just 63 total yards in the second half.
Losing 45-18 on your home field one week after urging the fans to show up and support the team is a bad look for Neal Brown, who was already dealing with a hot seat. Going forward, there feels like a better chance than not that he won’t be around in 2025.
Loser: Texas Tech’s Defense
Texas Tech’s defense hasn’t been great by any stretch of the imagination this season, but at least against Arizona, it showed some life. They limited the Wildcats to 22 points and forced three turnovers, so there was a little bit of hope that they’d figured some things out.
Fast-forward to this week, and that couldn’t have been more wrong. The Red Raiders were absolutely gashed by Baylor’s offense, which racked up 529 yards and 59 points in the most surprising lopsided game of the weekend. Coming into the game, Tech was tied for first place in the Big 12 and was 5-1 overall. It is looking to get to 6-1 before heading to Fort Worth next weekend.
However, they ended up taking their first loss in Big 12 play and were exposed on the defensive side of the ball again. BU quarterback Sawyer Robertson turned in the best day of his career, going 21-32 for 274 yards and five touchdowns.
Texas Tech’s offense is good enough to keep it in most games, but a defensive performance like that makes you wonder if they’ll ever get that side of the ball figured out this season. With teams like TCU, Iowa State, and Colorado coming up, they’d better find a solution quickly.
Winner: BYU’s Magical Season Continues
When Ollie Gordon turned in three first-half touchdowns and Oklahoma State took a 21-14 halftime lead into the locker room, it felt like BYU’s undefeated streak might be in serious trouble.
After outscoring the Pokes 14-0 in the third quarter, and knocking their starting quarterback out of the game, it seemed like the Cougars were on the mend. Then, Big 12 football happened.
In the fourth quarter, Oklahoma State went on a 17-play, 76-yard drive that lasted eight minutes and 27 seconds to take a 35-31 lead. A perfectly orchestrated drive from both a play-calling and execution standpoint, OSU had stolen the lead and the momentum and left just 1:13 remaining on the clock. It felt like one of those classic “Mike Gundy stealing one on the road” situations was upon us once again. BYU had other plans, though.
Jake Retzlaff led the Cougars on an eight-play, 75-yard drive to take back the lead, capped by a 35-yard connection with Darius Lassiter to put the game on ice with 10 seconds left. The win moved BYU to 7-0 and has the Cougars in the thick of the Big 12 race and College Football Playoff discussion.
Winner: Colorado’s Play in the Trenches
The biggest criticism that Colorado football was facing in the early portions of the 2024 season was its play up front. Their ability to hold up along the offensive line and create havoc plays on defense were a major concern coming into the year and severely capped what their ceiling might be.
Fast forward to Week 9, and we’re talking about a team that might just be on the cusp of making a lot of doubters (including myself) look really dumb. This past weekend, Colorado went to Tucson as an underdog and left with a 34-7 win over Arizona, moving the Buffs to 5-2 (3-1) on the year.
The most telling part about this latest performance is just how dominant they were along the offensive and defensive lines of scrimmage. Colorado’s offensive line allowed just one sack on the afternoon and actually led the way to 155 yards on 35 carries (4.4 ypc) and two touchdowns on the ground. Meanwhile, the defensive line piled up seven sacks, seven tackles for loss, and allowed just 107 rushing yards on 34 carries (3.1 ypc).
If this group can sustain that level of play on the O-Line and D-Line, there’s not a team left on the schedule that they won’t be favored over. If they go 8-1 in Big 12 play, they’ll be in Arlington. A win there, and they’re not only Big 12 Champions, but they’re also headed to the College Football Playoff. Talk about a turnaround.
