College Football Awards, Week 8 (2025) October 20, 2025

Posted by intellectualgridiron in Sports.
Tags: Arch Manning, Arizona State, Arkansas, Auburn, Barry Odom, Baylor, Bobby Petrino, Bret Bielema, Brian Kelly, BYU, Charlotte, Cincinnati, college football, Cougars, Cutter Boley, David Braun, Floyd of Rosedale, Georgia, Georgia State, Georgia Tech, Hurricanes, Illinois, Iowa, Iowa State, James Madison, Jedd Fisch, Jeff Brohm, Josh Heupel, Kalen DeBoer, Kentucky, Louisville, LSU, Mario Cristobal, Mark Stoops, Memphis, Miami (FL), Minnesota, Missouri, NCAA, Nebraksa, North Texas, Northwestern, Notre Dame, Oklahoma, Oklahoma State, Old Dominion, Ole Miss, Oregon, Purdue, Razorbacks, Rutgers, Sam Houston State, South Alabama, South Florida, Steve Sarkesian, Temple, Texas, Texas A&M, Texas Tech, Toledo, UAB, Utah, Vanderbilt, Virginia, Washington, Washington State
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COACHES
Wish I were him:  Kalen DeBoer, Alabama

Glad I’m not him: Josh Heupel, Tennessee

Lucky guy: Steve Sarkesian, Texas

Poor guy: Mark Stoops, Kentucky

Desperately seeking a wake-up call: Brian Kelly, LSU

Desperately seeking a P.R. man: David Braun, Northwestern

Desperately seeking sunglasses and a fake beard: Mario Cristobal, Miami (FL)

Desperately seeking … anything:  Barry Odom, Purdue

TEAMS
Thought you’d kick butt, you did: Oregon (defeated Rutgers 56-10)

Thought you’d kick butt, you didn’t: Memphis  
Thought you’d get your butt kicked, you did: Charlotte (lost to Temple 49-14)

Thought you’d get your butt kicked, you didn’t: UAB

Thought you wouldn’t kick butt, you did:  Toledo (defeated Kent State 45-10)  

Dang, they’re good: Oregon
Dang, they’re bad:  Purdue

Can’t Stand Prosperity: Miami, FL

Did the season start?  LSU
Can the season end?  Sam Houston

Can the season never end? Vanderbilt

GAMES
Play this again:  No. 9 Georgia 43, No. 5 Ole Miss 35

Play this again, too: Arizona State 26, No. 7 Texas Tech 22

Never play this again: James Madison 63, Old Dominion 27

What?  UAB 31, No. 22 Memphis 24

Huh?  Minnesota 24, No. 25 Nebraska 6

Double-huh?  No. 17 Vanderbilt 31, No. 10 LSU 24

Are you kidding me??  Arizona State 26, No. 7 Texas Tech 22

Oh – my – God:  Louisville 24, No. 2 Miami, FL 21

NEXT WEEK

rankings are current AP (week 9)
Ticket to die for:  No. 3 Texas A&M @ No. 20 LSU

Best non-Power Four vs. Power Four  matchup: none

Best non-Power Four matchup: No. 18 South Florida @ Memphis

Upset alert: No. 11 BYU @ Iowa State

Must win: No. 8 Ole Miss @ No. 13 Oklahoma

Offensive explosion: Baylor @ No. 24 Cincinnati

Defensive struggle: Rutgers @ Purdue

Great game no one is talking about: No. 23 Illinois @ Washington

Also:  Northwestern @ Nebraska

Intriguing coaching matchup:  Jedd Fisch of Washington vs Bret Bielema of Illinois

Who’s bringing the body bags?  Oklahoma State @ No. 14 Texas Tech

Why are they playing? N/A

Plenty of good seats remaining: South Alabama @ Georgia State

They Shoot Horses, Don’t They?  North Texas @ Charlotte

Week 8 Thoughts:

Another week has passed where upsets abounded.  The weekend launched with a bang in the form of unranked Louisville delivering a massive upset in Miami, thus exposing the Hurricanes for perhaps not being the juggernaut team some thought they were.  Jeff Brohm has been known to gear his team up for huge games, and golly, did he deliver this time.  On the other side of the ball, the Hurricanes can still regroup, finish the season strongly, and a playoff berth would surely be in the cards – an ironic expression, given the team to which they just lost – nonetheless.

Also on Friday evening, Minnesota delivered a blow to Nebraska’s brief ranking.

The next day at noon Eastern Time, the upset trend picked up where it left off with Vanderbilt exposing LSU for having an inconsistent office.  Here it is, mid-season, and Brian Kelly, a supposedly offensive coach, has yet to craft an offense to take advantage of Garrett Nussmeier’s strengths.

Then Memphis inexplicably laid an egg against UAB in Birmingham, Ala., thus jeopardizing its ranking.  At that same time, Arizona State came out of hiding and delivered the first loss of the season to then-No. 7 Texas Tech.

One would think that then-No. 9 Georgia defeating then-No. 5 Ole Miss would also qualify as a massive upset, but deep down, we all knew that the Bulldogs were the stronger team in any case, regardless of preliminary ranking.

Some near-upsets likewise occurred, such as Texas, who barely escaped Lexington with their skin on, while Washington State actually led Virginia, in Charlottesville, for a good chunk of the game before eventually losing by only two points.

Do not be fooled by the result of the Arkansas-Texas A&M game.  The Razorbacks’ loss by only three points was due to a last-minute touchdown.  That said, Bobby Petrino’s signature upset shall surely come in due time.

Another near-upset took place in Columbia, Mo., with unranked Auburn taking Missouri into OT, only to lose by a touchdown in the second overtime.  Over in Utah, while the Utes gave BYU a tough game in Provo, it was not meant to be, as the Cougars triumphed 24-21.

Random Thoughts:

The Miami Hurricanes’ quest for the playoffs is by no means dead, but look out for Georgia Tech, who remains undefeated and has now quietly risen to the No. 7 ranking, ahead of the ‘Canes sent down to that of No. 9 (a fall that could have been worse).

The Longhorns were lucky to escape Lexington with their skin on.  Now they venture to Starkville, Miss., to take on a scrappy Mississippi State squad.  High-profile QB Arch Manning was outclassed by Kentucky’s Cutter Boley last night.  Can he get it together in time to redeem himself on the road this week?

Also this week, Minnesota plays Iowa for one of the most unique trophies in all of college football, the Floyd of Rosedale, considered by many to be the top rivalry trophy in all of college football. Be ready for what should be a hard-fought matchup, as both teams are now 5-2 and are fairly evenly matched.

Look for another possibly even matchup with No. 15 Mizzou taking on No. 10 Vandy in Nashville (both teams are 6-1).  Elsewhere, 5-2 Northwestern ventures over to Lincoln to face 5-2 Nebraska, while 5-2 Illinois goes all the way out to Seattle to take on 5-2 Washington.  Perhaps the best battle of teams with matching records shall be 6-1 [No. 8] Ole Miss playing 6-1 [No. 13] Oklahoma in Norman.

It might not be the monster week we all enjoyed in week 7, but plenty of hidden gems await us all the same.