Week 8 takeaways: SEC title logjam, Duke’s historical win, Army

Oct 21, 2024, 07:00 AM ET We have actually formally approached midseason, and conversations about the College Football Playoff will only continue to grow as we launch the next eight weeks. With two-loss teams more than most likely to be consisted of in the 12-team field, what do those teams require to do throughout the 2nd half of the season to look like CFP contenders?After a difficult loss to USC

in the season opener, LSU has done everything right since then to position itself for an area in the conference title game and the CFP. The Tigers have particular facets to enhance on, but what have actually the Tigers done right since that Week 1 loss?In its very first year in the SEC, Oklahoma hasn’t necessarily had the most convenient start there. With a great deal of modifications at quarterback and production still short on offense, is it time that the Sooners look toward next season?Our college football experts break down key takeaways from Week 8. Two-loss groups still need to look like playoff groups There has been a great deal of conversation about the possibility of two-loss teams qualifying for the 12-team playoff, and deservedly so– it is a far more flexible system. But groups still have to appear like a national title competitor– and Alabama is far from it.The two-loss Tide again were pestered by turnovers( two ), penalties (15 for 115 lawns )and a minimum of 3 sacks on quarterback Jalen Milroe for the 2nd week in a row. If Alabama continues to play like that, it will stay an afterthought on Choice Day.The larger question is how many two-loss teams the committee will need to think about. According to ESPN Analytics, there still are 33 teams with at least a

, in addition to coach Jim Harbaugh and numerous of the program’s most

essential assistants. However there’s merely no reason for the Wolverines to be this bad at quarterback.Jack Tuttle on Saturday became Michigan’s third starting quarterback in seven games, and the outcomes weren’t much better. Tuttle struggled with his accuracy and missed out on open targets. He wound up with decent numbers– 20 completions for 208 passing lawns– but had two turnovers, as Michigan failed to score 10 points or more for the first time in a decade(Sept. 6, 2014). Tuttle likely would have been Michigan’s top choice to get in the season if he had actually recovered quicker from a throwing elbow injury. Perhaps he would have discovered a groove previously. However Tuttle likewise has an injury history and never ever has been a full-time starter. Michigan could have included a transfer quarterback with more starting experience in the spring website, just in case.Instead, the Wolverines advanced with a group that carried considerable questions and never ever got on track offensively. Michigan doesn’t be worthy of a pass for a group that struggles to finish lots of.– Adam Rittenberg LSU is hiding After a tough Week 1 loss, LSU has won every game following. Andy Altenburger/Icon Sportswire After a frustrating last-minute loss to USC in its season opener that had a steaming Brian Kelly slamming the newsconference table, the Tigers have quietly turned their season into a burgeoning success. Not just have they won every game considering that, however they have revealed to have some semblance of a working identity. LSU has actually been far from mistake-free or best in any of its previous six games and it doesn’t have a trusted running game, yet the Tigers have actually found a method to win.Since losing to the Trojans by a goal, they have actually won two conference games by a field goal while also handling weaker opponents, consisting of Arkansas this previous week, with relative ease. Over the previous four games, the unstable defense most saw in Week 1

has actually required 7 turnovers while, on the other side of the ball, quarterback Garrett Nussmeier leads among the nation’s 10 best passing attacks. Suddenly, the Tigers are undefeated in conference play and they prevent a match with Georgia this season as well.The win over Ole Miss was excellent, however this next stretch of two games– at Texas A&M next week and hosting Alabama the following week– will be the true test of just how much Kelly’s group has been able to right the ship and turn themselves into what could possibly be a group that plays for the conference title and perhaps even more.– Paolo Uggetti SEC logjam on top looming?For the very first time since 2007, the SEC will enter the month of November without an unbeaten team after Georgia went on the roadway Saturday and batter on then-No. 1 Texas 30-15. Anyone who might have cast the Bulldogs aside after their lackluster 13-12 win over Kentucky or their 41-34 loss to Alabama in Week 4 or their porous defensive showing in a 41-31 win over a 1-6 Mississippi State team hasn’t been paying attention.Kirby Smart is money in these games. He’s now 6-1 in top-5 matches, and his groups generally improve and

the record books will count heaven

Devils’23-16 win as a historical very first regardless. Duke picked up its first-ever win over the Seminoles with a stingy defense, the type that Manny Diaz promised to bring when he took over for Mike Elko this season.Elko, a defensive wizard in his own right, had turned around the Duke program in 2 brief years with a strong defense of his own. However Diaz has raised a good unit into one that has ended up being far more aggressive. Duke leads the country in tackles for loss with 69, ranks No. 7 in sacks (24 )and ranks No. 4 in backyards per play allowed(4.29 )– almost one backyard less per play than last season(when Duke went 8-5 ). Duke also required three turnovers on three straight plays to turn the Florida State game, giving heaven Devils 13 on the season. While the offense has struggled to discover consistency, the defense has actually led the way. Diaz probably likes it that method, considering his background. Duke is now 6-1 and bowl-eligible after being chosen to finish 11th in the preseason ACC media poll.Nobody quite knew what to expect out of a team that lost its head coach, starting quarterback and a variety of others to the draft and transfer website. The road ahead gets harder– 4 of its five staying challengers have winning records, starting with SMU on

Saturday and after that a journey to Diaz’s former company, Miami, on Nov. 2. No matter what occurs, though, Duke will constantly have its historical moment.– Andrea Adelson Big Reds are in a bad way Oklahoma and Nebraska reached brand-new lows Saturday in what are rapidly spiraling into sobering seasons for the previous Huge 8 Conference rivals.Nebraska suffered a 56-7 defeat to Indiana for its second-biggest loss since signing up with the Big Ten in 2011– and third-biggest loss over the past 75 years, according to ESPN Research study. Matt Rhule is now 0-5 versus ranked opponents as Nebraska’s head coach, while the Huskers have lost 26 directly to AP ranked teams.At least Nebraska(5-2 )is a win away from bowl eligibility.After South Carolina humiliated them 35-9 in your home, the Sooners( 4-3 )are in danger of losing out on a bowl for the very first time because the John Blake era(1996-98 ). Oklahoma’s offense is in chaos. The

Sooners rank 133rd in offensive EPA

, ahead of only Kennesaw State.Other than a conference with FCS Maine, OU figures to be heavy underdogs in every game the remainder of the method.

Invite to the SEC.– Jake Trotter It’s time for Venables to begin shopping When Jeff Lebby left Oklahoma to become the head coach at Mississippi State, Brent Venables went the safe route and promoted from within, calling Seth Littrell and Joe Jon Finley his co-offensive coordinators. Through 7 games, that decision has yielded disastrous consequences

. And now, Venables is moving on from offending coordinator Seth Littrell.Oklahoma’s 35-9 home loss to South Carolina was over not long after it started, with a spectacular 21-0 swing in the first six minutes on three turnovers by true freshman QB Michael Hawkins Jr.

. The personnel returned to Jackson Arnold four weeks after benching him, however Arnold couldn’t spark much while getting sacked

8 times. In fairness to the QBs, it’s tough to determine any position groups on OU’s offense that are playing well.Venables is switching playcallers, however it’s officially time to begin believing

ahead for 2025. The head coach needs to recognize an offending coordinator who can turn things around and effectively keep him off the spot next year. Then he requires to go get him.The blueprint going forward might be similar to what Arkansas coach Sam Pittman’s moves were entering 2024: Hire a proven OC(Bobby Petrino), find a promising quarterback in the portal (Taylen Green of Boise State)and reload with a lots transfers on offense. If that OC prospect can bring his starting QB with him, even better.These are challenging decisions. They could end up defining Venables’tenure. But at this point, he plainly understands they’re inevitable.– Max Olson Cal: Bad luck or …? It doesn’t take a brilliant imagination to picture a world in which the California Golden Bears are 7-0 and ranked in the top 10. Rather, Cal is living in a vastly different truth: sole possession of last location in the ACC. The Bears have actually dropped their very first 4 conference games by a combined 9 points.Find one play in each of those losses to go differently and Cal may have won, that makes it hard to assess this team. On one hand, you can make the case it is a victim of terrible, dreadful, no good,

extremely bad luck. On the other, there holds true that Cal has actually regularly mismanaged its escape of success and doesn’t have what it requires to win close games.The fairest method to take a look at it is somewhere in between, however this is a fundamental service, and you are what your record states you are. The excellent vibes from the”GameDay”see and the Calgorithm can only buoy spirits for so long.– Kyle Bonagura Let’s hear it for the Army-Navy offenses

Navy declares a spot in the Top 25 for a second week in a row. AP Photo/Nick Wass The service academy rivals kipped down 2 of the top-six scoring efficiencies amongst AP Top 25 offenses in Week 8. Both unbeaten at this phase of the season for the very first time because 1945, Army and Navy are a pair of bona fide Group of 5 playoff contenders in 2024, surging this fall behind 2 of college football’s most impressive offending turnarounds.Army improved to 7-0 Saturday in a 45-28 win over East Carolina behind five rushing scores from Bryson Daily. The Black Knights quarterback’s 19 hurrying touchdowns lead the country this fall, and Army strikes its bye week with the FBS ‘top hurrying attack, balancing 359.1 backyards per game. Meanwhile, in Annapolis,

3 first-quarter ratings from fullback(!)Alex Tecza was the stimulate for Navy in a 51-17 win over Charlotte that sends the Midshipmen into the back half of their season 6-0 with the nation’s fourth-highest-scoring offense at 44.8 points per game.Eight weeks into the 2024 routine season, Army and Navy sit 4th andninth respectively in scoring margin among FBS offenses as the AAC’s last two remaining unbeatens, taking pleasure in a pair of offensive renaissances that exist in plain contrast to the school’s current histories.After finishing 114th in scoring and 120th in total offense a year earlier, Army has actually totaled more points (283 )than all however seven FBS attacks in 2024, under the leadership of first-year offensive coordinator Cody Worley. And in Year 2 under coach Brian Newberry, a Navy offense