Week 8 of the college football season didn’t have the same level of drama that we had seen in previous weeks but there was one major upset with Penn State handing Ohio State a monumental blow in a 24-21 upset win. The Nittany Lions shocked the college football world and they certainly earned a spot on the following list as one of the biggest surprises from this past weekend. Here is a look at the four biggest winners from Week 8 of the college football season.
Penn State Nittany Lions
The football program at Penn State has been through a lot over the past decade and this past weekend they finally pulled out the type of statement win that will not be forgotten anytime soon. There had been rumblings about head coach James Franklin and questions about what direction the program was heading. However, all of those have been laid to rest with a win over Ohio State.
The Buckeyes led 21-7 after three quarters, but the Nittany Lions stormed back with 17 points in the fourth quarter including a blocked field goal returned for a touchdown with less than five minutes remaining on the clock. It was a massive win for a program that has been largely overlooked over the past couple of years and it might be the dagger that ultimately keeps the Buckeyes from reaching the College Football Playoff this season. Penn State is officially on the map.
Alabama Crimson Tide
The Crimson Tide extended their perfect season to eight straight wins with a 33-14 win over No. 6 Texas A&M. Alabama scored on its first three possessions to make sure this one didn’t look close out of the gate but after falling behind 14-13 in the third quarter, they turned it on again and rallied with 20 unanswered points to seal another impressive victory. They were again the more disciplined team as the Aggies shot themselves in the foot. Up 14-13, the Aggies got an early stop in the third quarter but a needless roughing the passer penalty allowed Alabama to extend the drive. They would score a few plays later and would eventually run away with it.
Perhaps most impressive is the fact that the Tide extended its streak with either a defensive or a special teams touchdown to 10 straight games. Alabama has scored on five fumble recoveries, four interceptions, our punts and one kickoff over that incredible span.
Joe Williams, Utah Utes
Remember a couple of weeks ago when Joe Williams retired from college football because his body was worn down and he didn’t have the mental or physical desire to compete at the highest level anymore? Well, Williams came out of retirement and suited up for the Utes this past weekend and he exploded with a monster performance in a 52-45 win over UCLA. Williams ran for 332 yards and four touchdowns including TD runs of 43 yards, 55 yards and 64 yards to keep Utah in the mix for a Rose Bowl seed. It was clearly the best performance of Williams’ career, so it only makes sense that it came after his retirement and subsequent return.
There has been a clear changing of the guards in the Pac-12 as the old guard – teams like Oregon, Stanford, USC and UCLA – are all down right now. However, the teams that are up are Washington, Washington State, Colorado and Utah. Williams is a big reason why the Utes are there.
Jeffery Wilson, North Texas Mean Green
It might not have been the marquee matchup of the week but everybody knew that passing yards would be at a premium between North Texas and Army so it was that much more impressive to see what Wilson did. After being limited to seven yards on two carries in the first half, Wilson exploded for 153 yards and three touchdowns to lead the Mean Green to a 35-18 win. Wilson now has 12 touchdowns on the season and more importantly, North Texas is 4-3 overall and somehow still in the mix to become bowl-eligible. Nobody thought that the Mean Green would be in that range at this point in the season.
