Week 8 of the college football season has arrived, and once again, all eyes will be on the two dominant conferences in the sport: the Big Ten and the SEC.
You’d be hard-pressed to find a more anticipated game than the SEC showdown between No. 1 Texas and No. 5 Georgia. It feels like the winner of this matchup should be considered a lock to play in the inaugural 12-team College Football Playoff.
In other action, Nebraska travels to Bloomington for a massive game against undefeated Indiana, while No. 11 Tennessee hosts No. 7 Alabama, No. 24 Michigan heads to No. 22 Illinois for a Big Ten showdown, and Arkansas gets set to host No. 10 LSU.
We have reached the midway point of the season, meaning this is the point where the CFP picture should really start to become more clear.
Here are the top five games to watch this weekend:
No. 5 Georgia at No. 1 Texas (7:30 p.m. ET)
Since defeating Michigan earlier this year, Texas has looked like the most complete team in the sport. Even without starting quarterback Quinn Ewers for two-and-a-half games, the Longhorns have not made many mistakes and have looked as sound offensively as they have defensively. It’s been quite a first half showing and one that has led to a 6-0 start and the No. 1 ranking in the Associated Press poll — twice. In Georgia, though, the Longhorns face the best team it has seen and might see all season.
I expect to see Georgia play a complete game of football for the first time all year. In every game it has played against FBS opponents so far, either the offense or the defense has underwhelmed us. And that underwhelming performance by the defense against Alabama cost them dearly. They didn’t look much better against Mississippi State last weekend, which is worrisome. Kirby Smart knows better than most that UGA doesn’t need to play its best game on the Forty Acres on Saturday, but it does need to show itself to be one of the 12 best teams in the sport.
The Bulldogs have scored at least 31 points in each of their last three games and failed to do that just once all year. If the UGA defense can stand up against a still maturing Texas offense, there’s no reason to believe the Dawgs can’t leave Austin with the best win in college football this year — a victory over the No. 1-ranked opponent on the road.
“I want to see them play their best game against Texas,” Smart said. “I mean simply stated, we have not played our best game. We have not put a complete game together, and that’s what every coach’s goal is. Right? To play your best game moving forward. That’s what’s going to be needed to go on the road at Texas. We got to play better and that’s the only goal I’m thinking about right now, how we play this week.”
Meanwhile, Texas hasn’t faced an elite offensive opponent all year. Michigan ranks 110th in the country in yards per play, and Oklahoma ranks 127th. And those are the Longhorns’ two best wins. Couple that with the knowledge that UGA ranks No. 17 in the country in yards per play.
No. 7 Alabama at No. 11 Tennessee (3:30 p.m. ET)
Josh Heupel fields perhaps the best team he’s ever had at Tennessee against what is one of the most explosive offenses in the country in Alabama. With quarterbacks each capable of taking over the ball game, at least one game-wrecker at wideout and at running back for either, I expect this game to be about which defense can hold up against offenses that are always one play away from a quick six and three from mounting a three-score lead.
The challenge for Tim Banks’ front seven is to contain Jalen Milroe, which has proven difficult for every team Bama has faced this season. Even in a game that came down to the last possession against South Carolina last weekend, Milroe’s athleticism proved the difference with a rushing and passing TD to seal a much-needed victory.
For Rocky Top, getting Nico Iamaleava going early will be key, as this offense has found it difficult to move the ball through the air. Iamaleava has yet to throw for more than 200 yards against an SEC opponent, and the offense has not scored more than 25 points against an SEC opponent. That might not be enough against a Tide team that has scored at least 27 in every game it has played this season and put up 41 in a win against Georgia.
No. 8 LSU at Arkansas (7 p.m. ET)
Taylen Green played the best game of his career in the Razorbacks’ win over Tennessee. The fact he did that in Fayetteville against an SEC team with a top-10 ranking ought to be enough to convince the Tigers that Arkansas is capable of scuttling their perfect start to SEC play. But in order to pull of the upset the 6-foot-6 QB who led Boise State to the 2023 Mountain West title will need to have another outstanding performance. So far this season, Green has thrown for 1,828 yards, nine touchdowns and five interceptions.
Meanwhile, LSU is once again in one of the five best games of the weekend after winning an overtime thriller that ended with quarterback Garrett Nussmeier throwing a 25-yard TD pass to win at Tiger Stadium. Going on the road against a 4-2 Arkansas team will be a worthwhile test for the Bayou Bengals, who look like a challenger for the SEC championship.
Nebraska at No. 16 Indiana (noon ET on FOX and the FOX Sports app)
Indiana has mopped the floor with its competition, becoming the first team this season to record six wins while ranking ninth in third-down efficiency (54%), fourth in yards per game (515.7) and second in the country in scoring (47.5 points per game). Put Indiana in Penn State’s uniforms, and then you’d likely agree that it’s the third-best team in the country, and not the 16th.
Indiana head coach Curt Cignetti garnered attention last December when he left no doubt about who he is and what he expected to do as head coach at Indiana.
“I win,” he said. “Google me.”
Google, we did. Cignetti has never had a losing season as a head coach. He is 125-35 all time, and he has coached four out of the last seasons with just three losses or fewer. He has since cooled on the rhetoric, though.
“You know, I made a couple comments when I first got hired, I was out there on a limb a little bit, felt like that’s what I needed to do. I think it’s more of a reflection on how the team has played and the success that they’ve had on the field that’s gotten people excited, and this is just a byproduct of that.”
Meanwhile, Nebraska ranks 13th in total defense, 18th in TFLs and 26th in takeaways, having recorded seven interceptions in six games and giving up just 11 points per game. But the Cornhuskers have not beaten a team with a number next to their name in the scorebug since 2016. And they’re facing real pressure of earning a sixth win in a season for just the second time since 2016.
No. 24 Michigan at No. 22 Illinois (3:30 p.m. ET)
In a matchup of top 25 teams, the Illini look like the better positioned program at the halfway mark of the season due in large part to its advantage at quarterback. Luke Altmyer has rounded into an upper-echelon quarterback in the Big Ten and marked that achievement with a 379-yard passing performance in a 50-49 overtime win against Purdue last weekend.
The Illini look to knock off a third top-25 opponent in their first seven games to keep themselves within striking distance of making the College Football Playoff. Meanwhile, Michigan can’t afford another loss if it hopes to hold onto a chance of making the CFP. Without a steady act at quarterback, it’s hard to see how the Wolverines maintain what has been a winning season.
RJ Young is a national college football writer and analyst for FOX Sports and the host of the podcast “The Number One College Football Show.” Follow him at @RJ_Young.
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