College Football Tournament Week 8 - Consumed by Chaos

Week 7 Recap

Our Horned Frogs got caught up in the first Chaos Week of the 2018 season, looking terrible in a home loss as a TD+ favorite. We will now spend the rest of the campaign attempting to spoil the chances of our Big XII brethren, though only WVU and OU are alive from our remaining schedule. Although the Tournament only had one guaranteed elimination game, the shakeup throughout the rankings knocked out some prime contenders, including three from the SEC (SC, Mizzou, Auburn) and three more that were ranked 16 or better going into the week (Penn St, Wisconsin, Miami).

Even more chaos was possible: USF & UCF put together huge comebacks to avoid elimination; Texas, Florida, Notre Dame, and Ohio State all narrowly escaped massive upset bids. Ultimately, the chaos washed 8 teams away, leaving just 33 standing in Week 8.

Week 8

1. Colorado @ Washington (-15.5) – The Buffs have been one of the brightest surprises of this season – projected for only 4 wins, but now in real contention in the Pac12 South even with the loss last week to USC. Their offense has been a thrill, as DeSoto’s Laviska Shenault Jr. has been downright Doctsonian, ranking 3^rd in the nation in total receiving yards (in two fewer games than #1 Hawaii’s John Ursua). For further perspective on Shenault’s dominance: going into this head-to-head matchup with the Pac12’s #2 receiver, Washington’s Aaron Fuller trails by 191 yards and has played one more game. Shenault even has five rushing TDs this season to go with his per game receiving average of 10 catches for 130 yards and a TD. I know I’m gushing here, but this is my favorite non-TCU player and I think he should be yours too.

Where to watch: Saturday 10/20, 2:30 PM, Fox

2. Oregon @ Washington State (-3) – Ol’ Crimson finally comes home after 15 years travelling across the country, with College GameDay heading to Pullman for the first time ever. A surprisingly sentimental choice from ESPN, choosing a game broadcast on Fox over their own top-25 matchup of NC State at Clemson. The Ducks enter this game coming off perhaps the biggest victory of the Cristobal era to jump back into the Pac12 North race and stay afloat in the Tournament. Wazzu had the week off to prepare for future New York Giants #1 overall pick QB Justin Herbert. Hopefully the Pac12’s untrained third party review personnel will better protect Herbert from Cougar targeting than they did USC’s JT Daniels. in The crowd will be wild and Leach can always turn any game weird, but I would expect to see Lee Corso proudly hoisting his favorite mascot head.

Where to watch: Saturday 10/20, 6:30 PM, Fox