2017-18 NCAA Football (Week 8)

(19) Michigan 13-42 Penn State
Yeah, this game wasn't that close. Felt like Penn State was gonna score every time they touched the ball, even against a pretty well stacked Michigan defense. Michigan on the other side of the ball is still a project and they didn't get much going in this game. Nittany Lions still look like the real deal, that offense can move and that defense can grind, I wouldn't have put them ahead of Clemson but Penn State has a shot at getting to the final.

(11) Southern Cal 14-49 (13) Notre Dame
I've had my eye on Notre Dame all year (wouldn't you have to say of the 1-loss teams, they have the best loss?), figured they'd have a good chance against the up-and-down Trojans. Oh man, they had more than a chance. The Irish pretty well stomped them from the jump. USC's performance was so bad it kinda calls into question the whole PAC, doesn't it? That conference is such a cluster and USC's inability to emerge is disheartening. The Irish are good, maybe really good.


Top 25
Handled their business
(1) Alabama, (2) Penn State, (4) TCU, (5) Wisconsin, (13) Notre Dame, (14) Virginia Tech, (15) Washington State, (16) South Florida, (20) Central Florida, (21) Auburn, (23) West Virginia (I'll overlook the weird 4th quarter collapse because it looks like they had the game well in hand), (24) LSU


Got it done but did not impress
(8) Miami. (I notice I have them in this category a lot this season...) At home, outdoors, on grass, against a so-so Syracuse squad should not be scuffling effort for a top ten team. Miami clearly has talent and moxie but are they really gonna be there at the end of the year?
(9) Oklahoma. Man, I keep waiting for the Sooners to dominate but they're just not going to, are they? Scrambling on the road to Kansas State is not a good sign.
(10) Oklahoma State. I can forgive an OT win against a (sorta) resurgent Texas squad, but to only score 10 points in regulation is troubling for a team built on overwhelming offense. Looks like they get pretty whelmed down in Austin.
(18) Michigan State. Had to come from behind to steal a W at home from Indiana--though to be fair, seems like Indiana has done that to a lot of folks this year. Are the Hoosiers on to something? 
(25) Memphis. Coming from behind to steal one at Houston is probably more impressive than I'm giving it credit for.


Not good
(11) Southern Cal. They just looked discombobulated from beginning to end in South Bend.
(19) Michigan. Penn State was clearly the superior team in this contest.


Other notable games
Louisville 31-28 Florida State. Boy, this season has not gone as planned for either of these teams. Who would've thought that this game would be such an afterthought?


Next week's notable games (good slate!):
(2) Penn State @ (6) Ohio State
(11) Oklahoma State @ (22) West Virginia
(4) TCU @ (25) Iowa State
(14) North Carolina State @ (9) Notre Dame