Fox News Digital Sports’ college football winners and losers for Week 8
The college football season is starting to get very exciting.
Week 8 was filled with more electric SEC matchups, another Colorado victory, and some unruly behavior by some fans.
Here are Fox News Digital’s winners and losers from this past weekend in college football:
WINNERS
Georgia: A combination of a huge win against the No. 1 team in the country and a loss by Alabama puts the Bulldogs in a good spot in the SEC going into the home stretch of the season. Even when momentum swung after that interception (which resulted in a wild scene when Longhorns fans threw a bunch of debris on the field), Kirby Smart kept his team composed, and Georgia proved they are still a force to be reckoned with.
CLICK HERE FOR MORE SPORTS COVERAGE ON FOXNEWS.COM
Head coach Kirby Smart of the Georgia Bulldogs reacts after defeating the Texas Longhorns 30-15 at Darrell K Royal-Texas Memorial Stadium on Oct. 19, 2024, in Austin. (Tim Warner/Getty Images)
Tennessee: The Vols defense has proven that they are one of, if not, the best in the country. Holding Alabama to 75 yards rushing, while also keeping Jalen Milroe in check, this team is built for a run toward the playoffs. Everyone had them buried after the Arkansas loss, and rightfully so, but this offense got things rolling in the second half behind Dylan Sampson, and QB Nico Iamaleava. Now, they’ll get a bye week to get healthy, and there’s a game with Georgia looming in the next month.
Colorado: Lost in all the chaos on Saturday was Colorado beating up on Arizona 34-7 on the road. Shedeur Sanders did have two interceptions, but his two touchdowns and one rushing TD was enough on offense, and now the Buffs are hanging around near the top pf the Big 12 conference. If Deion Sanders can keep his team at this pace, the schedule could lead to an appearance in the conference title game. But as we have all seen, the Big 12 is a beautiful mess this season, so there are at least four teams that could grab the playoff bid.
Shedeur Sanders of the University of Colorado celebrates with a teammate after scoring a touchdown against the University of Arizona on Oct. 19, 2024, in Tucson. (Patrick Mulligan/Getty Images)
STEVE SARKISIAN EXPLAINS WHY HE TEMPORARILY BENCHED QUINN EWERS FOR ARCH MANNING
LOSERS
Texas: All of that hype about this being the game where the Longhorns establish their name in the SEC and beat the daunting Georgia Bulldogs. Wrong. Texas looked mediocre against that Georgia defense, and it got so bad at one point that Steve Sarkisian decided to yank Quinn Ewers for Arch Manning. Sure, they made a slight comeback in the second half, but Kirby Smart and the Dawgs slammed that door shut after the chaotic sequence where a pass interference penalty was called, and Texas students littered the field with trash. The Longhorns have some work to do, but are still in a great spot for the playoffs.
Officials, possibly?: When that costly interception occurred, it was initially waved off due to pass interference. Understandably so, they were upset – not understandably so, they threw beer cans, water bottles and other debris onto the field. Afterward, referees discussed and picked up the flag. As Kirby Smart put it, “We have a precedent that if you throw a bunch of stuff on the field and endanger athletes, that you’ve got a chance to get your call reversed.”
Texas Longhorns fans throw bottles onto the field after a defensive pass interference call overturned an interception against the Georgia Bulldogs at Darrell K Royal-Texas Memorial Stadium on Oct. 19, 2024 in Austin. (Alex Slitz/Getty Images)
CLICK HERE TO GET THE FOX NEWS APP
USC: My goodness, the Trojans keep stumbling and Lincoln Riley has a major problem at USC. As if this wasn’t already noticed, this team once again blew a halftime lead, after Maryland trailed 28-14 at halftime. We should’ve known that the Terps would make a comeback, which they did, and won the game. USC is now 3-4 on the season, and making a meaningless bowl game is their only hope for this season. This is an embarrassment for the program, which hasn’t gotten off the ground since Riley arrived.
Follow Fox News Digital’s sports coverage on X, and subscribe to the Fox News Sports Huddle newsletter.
