Kirk Herbstreit spent part of ESPN’s Week 8 college football discussion zeroing in on a short list of top teams that could be in danger, and the biggest warning light went up for No. 2 BYU.
Week 7 already showed how quickly the top of the sport can get shaken. Five top-10 teams lost, and with only seven of the top 10 in action in Week 8, Herbstreit dug into the matchups that could create another round of chaos.
One of the first games he highlighted was No. 7 Ole Miss at No.
19 Texas. Herbstreit called that possibility “a pretty logical one,” though the label gets a little tricky.
Texas was No. 1 before dropping consecutive games, and with the Longhorns at home, the betting line has kept them favored by about a field goal. So while a Rebels win would count as a rankings upset, it wouldn’t be one in the betting market.
Herbstreit also pointed to No. 6 Indiana’s trip to Michigan, a game that has started to attract attention.
Reports this week said QB Josh Hoover is banged up, and Indiana is coming off last week’s loss to Ohio State. That combination, Herbstreit said, makes the Wolverines look like a live home underdog.
“I think this one [IU/Michigan] is becoming very trendy,” he admitted.
Michigan has its own issues, too, most notably on offense. The Wolverines have struggled there, and high-priced QB Bryce Underwood was benched in mid-game last week. Herbstreit’s point was simple enough: if Michigan can pull off a win over a top-10 team, it could change the feel around the season in a hurry.
But the matchup that drew the strongest reaction was BYU’s cross-country trip to UCF. Coming off a huge win over Notre Dame, the No. 2 Cougars now have to deal with a tricky road setup against a team Herbstreit clearly respects.
“I think this is tough,” said Herbstreit. “It doesn't sound sexy enough.
But I'm telling you, Scott Frost has a team that can play well.... That's a tough game to require.”
UCF has dropped its last two games, but the Knights are 3-0 at home and have been productive on offense, averaging 31.7 points per game. QB Keyone Jenkins has thrown eight touchdown passes against three interceptions and added three rushing scores, while running back Duke Watson has run for 483 yards and averaged 6.9 yards per carry.
Herbstreit stopped short of actually picking UCF to spring the upset, but his comments made the message clear: BYU has a real test on its hands in Week 8.
In Other News...
Texas Faces One Brutal Test Protecting Arch Manning Against Ole Miss
Ole Miss has already spent much of this season proving it can handle high-end competition, with Pete Goldings defense navigating four ranked opponents and coming away with three wins. That track record is a big part of why the Rebels are getting attention heading into the matchup with Texas, a program that has slid from No. 1 to No. 19 after back-to-back losses and now has even more pressure on every snap.
The conversation starts up front, where Ole Miss has leaned on a pass rush that can change the tone of a game and force quarterbacks into hurried decisions. Texas will spend plenty of time worrying about that edge pressure and the Rebels disruptive front, while Ole Miss still has its own offensive cleanup work to handle if it wants to make the most of another marquee SEC chance. [Read more 🡒]
Ole Miss Gets One More Jolt Of Hype Before Texas Showdown
The No. 7 Rebels head to Austin for a ranked SEC showdown with No. 19 Texas that already carries real College Football Playoff weight, and the pregame buzz has only grown louder. The Longhorns are dealing with notable absences in Colin Simmons and Hollywood Smothers, while the quarterback situation has also been unsettled enough that backup KJ Lacey Jr. has been getting more first-team reps than usual.
Ole Miss has also picked up a little extra fuel from the national conversation, with several familiar voices weighing in on the matchup. Desmond Howard, Nick Saban, Pat McAfee and Dalton Kincaid have all offered predictions for the game, and most of them landed on the Rebels as the team more likely to leave Austin with a win. [Read more 🡒]
Ole Miss Gets A Chance To Prove A Popular Model Wrong
ESPNs SP+ model is leaning toward Texas in this weekends SEC matchup with Ole Miss, even as the Longhorns arrive on a two-game losing streak and the Rebels carry plenty of momentum of their own. It is the kind of prediction that adds a little extra edge to a game that already has plenty riding on it, especially with both teams trying to shape the bigger picture in conference play.
For Ole Miss, the matchup offers more than a chance to bank another important SEC win. It is also an opportunity to challenge a computer projection that sees Texas as the better bet on paper, and those kinds of games tend to say as much about where a team really stands as they do about the scoreboard. Around the league, SP+ has plenty of other Week 8 calls lined up too, but this one stands out because it pits current form against a model that still favors the Longhorns. [Read more 🡒]