Quick reaction to the biggest games of Week 8: Oregon at UCLA, USC at Notre Dame, Illinois at Penn State, Clemson at Pitt, Tennessee at Alabama, Oklahoma at Kansas
College Football Big Game Reaction: Week 8
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– Week 8 Scoreboard, Predictions
Week 8 Big Game Reactions
– Illinois 20, Penn State 18 9OT
– Oregon 34, UCLA 31
– Pitt 27, Clemson 17
– Alabama 52, Tennessee 24
– Notre Dame 31, USC 16
Oklahoma 35, Kansas 23 Reaction
Any landing you can walk away from is a good one.
It’s a 12-point win on the road in Big 12 play. The rest is just details, but …
Obviously this game was a problem for Oklahoma.
You don’t struggle that much with Kansas and just chalk it up to a flat day at the office. The offense couldn’t score in the first against one of the worst teams in America. The defense got picked clean and needed to be saved by a Heisman-worthy few plays by the freshman quarterback to get out alive.
And yes, Caleb Williams is in the Heisman race. Find anyone who’s supposedly among the favorites who has done anything bigger than 1) tear off a 40-yard touchdown run on fourth down to help take over the game on the road, and 2) have the presence of mind to take the ball away from RB Kennedy Brooks – who was stuffed on fourth down – to grind to a desperately-needed first down.
Williams saved a shockingly disappointing defense that couldn’t handle Jason Bean – a good, veteran quarterback who put up big yards at North Texas and did everything he could to try pulling off the shocker – and he’s apparently going to have to do so as the rest of the season goes on.
Oklahoma’s 35 second half points got the job done, but Kansas outgained the Sooners 412 to 398. The Sooners committed penalty after key penalty, the secondary was seemingly outguessed on every third down, and this was way, way too close for comfort.
It’s now a problem.
OU tried to give away the Tulane game. It tried to give away the Kansas State game. It didn’t get off the bus against Texas until Williams stepped in.
It can’t put together a full 60 minutes without taking a nap during a sizable portion of the game, and that’s not going to fly with Texas Tech, at Baylor, Iowa State, at Oklahoma State, and likely the Big 12 Championship and College Football Playoff still to go.
Week 8 Big Game Reactions
– Illinois 20, Penn State 18 9OT
– Oregon 34, UCLA 31
– Pitt 27, Clemson 17
– Alabama 52, Tennessee 24
– Notre Dame 31, USC 16