Bill Connelly writes that college football's Week 8 chaos echoes the 2007 season, with three straight weeks of AP top-two teams falling to unranked opponents: No. 1 Texas to Oklahoma, No. 1 Georgia to Auburn, and No. 2 BYU to UCF. The only other time that happened was 2007. Tennessee throttled Alabama then lost to a team Alabama beat by 31. Ole Miss beat Missouri, which beat Florida, which beat Texas, yet Texas still secured a season-saving win over Ole Miss. In all, teams ranked Nos. 2, 8, 11, 15 and 16 lost to unranked opponents Saturday, and No. 6 nearly did.
Connelly says Texas' defense under Will Muschamp is trustworthy. Muschamp is the only reason Texas remains in the College Football Playoff picture. The Longhorns' defense has allowed more than 5.0 yards per play only once this season, and even against Ohio State it allowed just three points after halftime. Against Ole Miss, Texas erased the Rebels in the first half, giving up just three points. Ole Miss gained 70 yards in two first-half snaps and 68 in 35 other plays. After Ole Miss tied it 24-24, Texas locked down again; Ole Miss scored just three points over its last four drives, averaging 4.4 yards per play.
The Texas offense, meanwhile, remains untrustworthy. The Longhorns scored 10 points in their first two drives against Florida and scored TDs on three consecutive first-half drives before stalling out.
Source: ESPN General · Summarized by HeadlinesBriefing