Another week of college football is in the books and, as usual in this wildly unpredictable sport, and while there were plenty of teams and individuals who got it done on the college gridiron, there were just as many who didn’t.
Here, then, are a few of those who could’ve and probably should’ve done better, my week 8 villains.
Click here for more of Andrew’s hero and villain lists.
Oklahoma and Texas Tech defences: you may ask, what defence? Well, you’d be right in querying, because the shootout in Lubbock on Saturday night – one that ended with Oklahoma prevailing 66-59 – broke records for combined offensive yards (854 each), total yards by one player (Tech quarterback Patrick Mahomes) and combined passing yards.
It also tied a record for most passing yards by an FBS player. Absolutely insane. The Big XII has never been more ludicrous – or entertaining!
Deontay Anderson: it takes a brave man to go in and try to stop a rampaging Leonard Fournette, and we know for a fact that Anderson is brave. But that didn’t stop him from getting absolutely obliterated down the sideline by Fournette, who had his way with the Ole Miss defence.
Points for trying, young man, but I reckon you’ll be sore for a few days to come after that hit.
Brigham Young: who in the right mind runs a fake punt on fourth and nineteen inside your own 10-yard line? Answer: BYU coach Kalani Sitake, who obviously sanctioned the ill-advised attempt that saw New Zealand-born punter Jonny Linehan run out of his end-zone before being tackled for a three-yard loss.
It’s easily the most insane play call I’ve ever seen in college football. Despite the fact that the Cougars didn’t surrender points off of it, you’ve gotta wonder what on earth they were thinking.
Stanford and Colorado’s combined offense: the polar opposite to what happened in Lubbock was this ugly Pac-12 slug fest, a 10-5 final, in favour of the Buffs. Yeah, the game was just as bad as you figure – and then some! It made my eyes bleed.
Arkansas’ run defence: the Razorbacks lost to Auburn 56-3, and gave up 543 rushing yards. Not a good night for Bret Bielema’s men, and it’ll be an uncomfortable film study session for the defence this week.
Oregon’s defence: the Ducks couldn’t get to Cal quarterback Davis Webb in their 52-49 double overtime loss. They couldn’t force an interception. They couldn’t tackle running backs Khalfani Muhammad or Tre Watson. They gave up 636 yards against a decent but not first-rate offense – apologies Golden Bears fans – and as a result are 0-4 in the Pac-12, and only 2-5 overall. Surely head coach Mark Helfrich is gone at the conclusion of this nightmare season, and defensive coordinator Brady Hoke should be out the door alongside him.
Ohio State: somehow, the Buckeye offense that has terrorised everyone this year, managed to lay a series of eggs late against a Penn State defence that’s been good in 2016 without being great. Suddenly, the Nittany Lions defenders looked like 1985 Chicago Bears, getting pressure, ploughing through the Buckeye offensive line to swamp quarterback J.T. Barrett late to preserve a big win.
For Urban Meyer’s men, it means they must absolutely win out, including beating Michigan on Thanksgiving weekend, and win the Big Ten to remain a chance of qualifying for a national playoff. A loss that the Buckeyes didn’t need. And now their most heated rivals, the Wolverines, hold sway in the conference.
Michigan State: five losses in a row for the Spartans who are a shadow of their former selves this year. Nothing is working on offense, and its’s hard to know what Mark Dantonio does next, given the recent loss came on the road in Maryland 28-17. Next Saturday, they’ve got a Michigan team champing at the bit to beat their in-state rival. It’s hard to see where this freefall ends.
Shockingly, the Spartans are 0-4 in Big Ten play for the first time since 1982 and it’s hard to know whether they or Oregon are the most disappointing high-flying program of 2016.
Quarterbacks who throw for 734 yards in a game: it’s happened twice. Patrick Mahomes of Texas Tech was the most recent man to do it. And, on both occasions, the quarterback has lost. Steer clear of that yardage number.
Houston: lost to Southern Methodist. It wasn’t just that Tom Hermann’s men lost to the Mustangs, but the way they lost – so easily. The final score was 38-16, and after a similarly brutal loss to Navy a few weeks back, I’m wondering if either Hermann isn’t as good as we thought, or he’s already got one eye on that probably-soon-to-be-vacant Texas job?
Missouri: the Tigers scheduled Middle Tennessee on Homecoming Night…and inexplicably lost 51-45, dropping them to a miserable 2-5 after giving up 584 yards, the most they’ve surrendered in a non-conference home game since 1944.
Texas: despite Kansas State, up 21-7, doing their damndest to give the Longhorns a way back into the game, Charlie Strong’s men couldn’t capitalise, losing 24-21. It wasn’t for a lack of opportunities, either. Just lots more poor defence, like we’ve seen every week this year. It’s officially a raging dumpster fire in Austin now, and it’s hard even for Charlie Strong’s most ardent supporters to defend him.
UCLA’s run defence: only slightly better than Arkansas. Where the Razorbacks gave up 543 yards, the Bruins managed to allow one man, Joe Williams, to run up 332 on his own, including touchdown runs of 43, 55 and 64 yards. This is even more shocking when you consider that, coming in, the UCLA defence was giving up less than 150 yards a game.
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