That included a Top 15 team losing in historic fashion on a special teams play as time expired for the second week in a row. Here is a look at the four biggest takeaways from Week 8 of the college football season.
Clemson Is A Legitimate Playoff Contender
Anybody that questioned whether Clemson was a legitimate College Football Playoff contender got another response this week as the Tigers absolutely dominated Miami. They crushed them in a 58-0 result in which they showed absolutely no signs of letting up.
Clemson finished the game with 416 rushing yards and made a Hurricanes team that nearly upset Florida State look like they belonged in Division II. It was the worst lost in Miami school history and it prompted the firing of head coach Al Golden almost immediately after the game.
Meanwhile, the Seminoles lost to Georgia Tech on another absolutely disastrous special teams meltdown in the final seconds that ended their undefeated season. Clemson will visit North Carolina State before its showdown with Florida State on the first weekend in November and right now they deserve to be considered a legitimate playoff contender with a chance to go undefeated and win an ACC title this season.
The Pac-12 Is Stanford’s To Lose
An ugly loss at Northwestern in their season opener made it look like Stanford would be an afterthought in the Pac-12 this season but fast-forward to Week 9 and the Cardinal are suddenly the frontrunner in their conference. They have a legitimate shot at contending for a playoff spot if they win out. Stanford beat up on Washington this past weekend in a 31-14 win and have now parlayed six straight double-digit wins to climb in to sole possession of top spot in the Pac-12 North division. With a favorable schedule the rest of the way and Utah coming off its first loss of the season against USC, it is clear that the Cardinal are now a legitimate threat and the Pac-12 now appears to be Stanford’s to lose. They’re the only team that looks threatening from this conference.
Baylor’s Season Is In Jeopardy
Clemson and Stanford are riding high but it wasn’t all good news for the Top-25 teams this week. Baylor beat up on Iowa State in a 45-27 win but lost its star quarterback Seth Russell to a fractured neck. Russell had emerged as a legitimate Heisman threat after throwing for 2,104 yards and 29 touchdowns but the Bears will now have to move forward with freshman Jarrett Stidham. Stidham has looked good in limited snaps this season, completing 24-of-28 pass attempts for 331 yards and six touchdowns with zero interceptions. However, Russell was one of the best quarterbacks in the country for a team that was considered a legitimate national championship contender. Losing their star passer will be a major blow (although people said that about Ohio State a couple of times last season too).
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LSU Will Be Tough To Stop In SEC
Any talk about LSU being on an upset alert in a trap week following a win over Florida and preceding a showdown with Alabama was clearly exaggerated. They ran all over Western Kentucky in a 48-20 win to improve to 7-0. The Tigers are the SEC’s lone remaining undefeated team and the Tide could be all that stand in their way of a perfect season.
Leonard Fournette is the clear favorite to win the Heisman but sophomore quarterback Brandon Harris has done an excellent job as well and the defense also deserves credit. LSU will be a very tough team to stop heading into the final stretch. We’ll see if they can take care of business against Alabama this weekend but oddly enough, a loss wouldn’t be the worst thing for them. If they lose and Alabama has to play in the SEC Championship Game, it’s still possible that Alabama loses that game and then a one-loss LSU team still gets into the CFP. LSU is in good shape.
