Nine top-25 teams fell and many more were caught in intense showdowns during week eight of the college football season on the weekend of Saturday, Oct. 18.

University of Louisville vs. University of Miami

The weekend began with a thriller at Hard Rock Stadium in Miami, Fla. between the unranked Louisville Cardinals and the No. 2 Miami Hurricanes on Friday, Oct. 17. Both teams came into the game after bye-weeks, with Louisville having lost to the University of Virginia Cavaliers the week before their bye. With their opening drive, the Cardinals drove down the field in a six-minute drive and scored following a crucial fourth and two conversion on a fake field goal attempt.

Their next time with the ball, Louisville was able to score again following a 35-yard pass by quarterback Miller Moss to wide receiver Chris Bell to score a touchdown, putting the Cards up 14-0. Miami responded with a two-yard touchdown run by runningback Mark Fletcher Jr. to put the game at 14-7 after the first quarter. The second quarter had far less scoring due to multiple punts by Louisville and two interceptions thrown by Miami quarterback Carson Beck, leaving the game at 14-10 at half. 

The third quarter saw both teams exchange field goals, with the score being 17-13 in Louisville’s favor by the fourth quarter. The Cards scored once more on another Bell-recieving touchdown to go up 24-13.  When Miami got the ball back, Beck threw another interception to give the Cards the ball back. However, runningback Isaac Brown fumbled the ball, setting Miami up to score a touchdown to make it a 24-21 game. On their final drive, Miami got into field goal range, but Beck threw his fourth interception to linebacker T.J. Capers to seal the 24-21 win for the Cardinals. Louisville returned home Saturday with the Schnellenberger Trophy, in part thanks to a 136-yard receiving performance by Bell and a 113-yard rushing performance by Brown.

Louisiana State University vs. Vanderbilt University

The noon window also featured a highly anticipated matchup between the No. 10 Louisiana State University (LSU) Tigers and the No. 17 Vanderbilt University Commodores. Vanderbilt’s offense came in averaging 43.2 points, which was seventh in all of college football. They kept up that high-scoring play, defeating LSU 31-24.

 It was the most points the Tigers had given up all season as Commodore quarterback Diego Pavia threw for 160 yards and a touchdown and rushed for 86 yards and two scores. Pavia continues to prove himself as a Heisman candidate. He has led Vanderbilt to a 6-1 start, their best start to a season in 75 years. 

“You can’t watch him play and not realize what a game changer he is. There are a lot of good players. There’s only a handful to me that can take a game over, and he’s one of those,” said Vanderbilt head coach Clark Lea. 

University of Mississippi vs. University of Georgia

The University of Georgia pulled off a thrilling 43-35 comeback win over the University of Mississippi in Athens, showcasing quarterback Gunner Stockton’s grit and leadership. Despite nursing an oblique injury, Stockton insisted on playing aggressively, completing 26 of 31 passes for 289 yards and four touchdowns, while rushing for another score. 

After trailing 35-26 entering the fourth quarter, the Bulldogs dominated the final period 17-0, with Stockton going a perfect 12-for-12 in the second half. Tight end Lawson Luckie caught three touchdown passes, and Georgia’s defense finally stepped up late, forcing Ole Miss to punt for the first time in the game. 

Head coach Kirby Smart praised his team’s resilience, calling the victory a “culture win” that reflected Georgia’s toughness and ability to rally under pressure. The win improved Georgia’s record and reinforced its reputation as one of the SEC’s most mentally strong teams. 

Texas Tech University vs. Arizona State University

In the Big XII conference, another afternoon game featured a showdown between the No. 7 Texas Tech Red Raiders and the unranked Arizona State Sun Devils. This matchup began slowly but in Arizona State’s favor as they got out to a 9-7 lead at halftime.

The second half started out just as well for the Sun Devils, who went down and scored a touchdown from quarterback Sam Leavitt in the third quarter. Early in the fourth, kicker Jesus Gomez nailed his fourth field goal of the game to put Arizona State ahead 19-7. However, with three minutes left, Texas Tech’s freshman quarterback Will Hammond completed a touchdown pass to close the Sun Devils’ lead to 19-14. After forcing a punt, then returning it 36 yards, Texas Tech was able to score another touchdown to take a 22-19 lead with two minutes left. 

When Arizona State got the ball back, Sam Leavitt drove down the field and took a 26-22 lead with 33 seconds left. Texas Tech was unable to respond to Arizona State, losing as time expired. Arizona State’s 26-22 victory has led the Big XII title race into chaos. 

University of Texas vs. University of Kentucky

In a tense overtime matchup in Lexington, No. 21 Texas edged out Kentucky 16-13 thanks to the clutch kicking of Mason Shipley. Shipley drilled a 45-yard field goal in overtime to secure the Longhorns’ victory, after also connecting on a 39-yarder late in regulation to give Texas a short-lived lead. 

Despite being held to just 179 total yards, the Longhorns capitalized on two huge punt returns by Ryan Niblett and a crucial goal-line stand that stopped Kentucky on four straight plays in overtime. Quarterback Arch Manning threw for 132 yards, while running back Quintrevion Wisner scored Texas’ lone touchdown in the second quarter. 

Kentucky’s Cutter Boley led the Wildcats with 258 passing yards and a 16-yard rushing touchdown that tied the game in the fourth quarter, but the Wildcats’ offense couldn’t finish the job. Texas coach Steve Sarkisian praised his team’s toughness, calling it a “culture win” after finding a way to prevail in the gritty SEC game. 

Utah University vs. Brigham Young University

In the late window, the No. 23 Utah University Utes welcomed the No. 15 Brigham Young University (BYU) Cougars to Salt Lake City in a renewal of the annual “Holy War” rivalry. The game got off to a slow start, with the Utes and Cougars trading punts and turnovers on downs, neither scoring in the first quarter. BYU entered halftime with a 10-7 lead following a 17-yard touchdown pass from quarterback Bear Bachmeier. 

The game remained tight through the third and fourth quarters, with Utah scoring a touchdown in the last two minutes to make the score 21-24, only trailing BYU by three. However, they failed to recover the onside kick, and the Cougars were able to take a knee and run the clock out for a 24-21 victory. 

BYU won the rivalry game for the third straight year behind Bachmeier, who threw for 166 yards and rushed for 64, throwing one touchdown and running for one as well. Utah quarterback Devon Dampier threw for 244 yards, but an interception late in the game led to a BYU touchdown, which the Utes ultimately could not recover from. With this loss, they fall out of the Top 25 rankings and sink to 10th in the Big XII Conference Standings. 

Playoff Picture and Preview

This week’s results have truly rattled the College Football Playoff picture. ESPN’s Playoff Predictor states that Miami’s playoff chances have dropped to 44% and BYU’s playoff chances have risen up to 52%.

Week nine appears to have a plethora of thrilling college football games with the No. 15 University of Missouri Tigers taking on the No. 10 Vanderbilt Commodores and the No. 8 Ole Miss Rebels playing the No. 13 Oklahoma Sooners.