WEEK 8 // 2024
QUOTE OF THE WEEK QUOTE THE WEEK
“We all knew we were getting into a dogfight, and two heavyweights going at it.”
- Oregon quarterback Dillion Gabriel, who threw for 341 yards and accounted for three touchdowns, as third-ranked Oregon outlasted No. 2 Ohio State, 32-31
TEAM TO WATCH
TEAM of the week LSU ARIZONA STATE
Garrett Nussmeier hit Kyren Lacy for a 25-yard touchdown on the Tigers’ first offensive play in overtime to complete a 29-26 comeback victory over SEC rival No. 9 Ole Miss.
Nussmeier struggled for much of the game, but ultimately led then No. 13 LSU to a memorable win with three total touchdowns, including two on the team’s final two snaps. Nussmeier connected with Aaron Anderson in the final seconds of regulation, tying the game, 23-23, to send it to overtime.
Ole Miss stumbled on its overtime possession, netting -15 yards before settling for a career-long 57-yard field goal from Caden Davis. That set the stage for Nussmeier’s game-winning toss to Lacy.
The victory moved No. 8 LSU up five spots in the AP Week 8 Poll. The Tigers travel to Arkansas in a primetime game on ESPN at 4:00 p.m. PHX on Saturday, October 19.
Arizona State’s offensive and defensive efforts converged in a 27-19 upset against then No. 16 Utah Friday night. Arizona State running back Cam Skattebo rushed for 158 yards and two touchdowns, while linebacker Caleb McCullough recorded 12 tackles and two interceptions.
Arizona State earned its first win over a ranked opponent since 2019 with Skattebo leading the way, routinely breaking several tackles on a pair of 47-plus yard scores in the second half. Defensively, the Sun Devils forced three Utah turnovers and held the Utes to field goals on three of their four trips into the red zone. In total, the Utes scored one touchdown in seven trips inside Arizona State’s 30-yard line.
After Skattebo’s second touchdown gave the Sun Devils a 27-19 lead with 2:41 remaining, McCullough sealed the upset with a game-clinching interception.
Arizona State travels across the country to face off with Cincinnati on Saturday, October 19, at 9:00 a.m. PHX on ESPN+.
GAMES Watch
For a full schedule of Week 8 games, click here. (All times in PHX)
GAME OF THE WEEK
#5 GEORGIA AT #1 TEXAS
No. 5 Georgia will travel to Austin this weekend for the first time in 66 years to face No. 1 Texas. Texas is leading the FBS in total defense and scoring defense, but Georgia’s quarterback Carson Beck is coming off a hot performance, throwing for 459 yards and three touchdowns in the 41-31 win over Mississippi State. Texas has allowed only one team to throw for more than 200 yards this season, and Michigan barely exceeded that threshold (204 in Week 2). Meanwhile, Georgia’s defense has allowed 85 points in its last three games compared to 18 total points in its first three.
The Bulldogs’ defense will face a Longhorn’s offense led by quarterback Quinn Ewers, who returned from a month-long absence due to injury in last week’s 34-3 Red River Rivalry win over No. 18 Oklahoma.
Texas and Georgia have met five previous times but will square off as SEC foes for the first time. Kickoff is 4:30 p.m. PHX on ABC on Saturday, October 19.
CBS – No. 5 Oregon/No. 12 Boise State vs. No. 4 Iowa State BR – No. 5 Ohio State/No. 12 LSU vs. No. 4 Iowa State
247 Sports – No. 5 Oregon vs. No. 4 BYU
On3 – No. 5 Ohio State/No. 12 Navy vs. No. 4 BYU
USA Today – Georgia vs. Iowa State
Athlon Sports – No. 5 Ohio State vs. No. 4 Kansas State
RATE BOWL
Bonagura – Wisconsin vs. TCU
– Rutgers vs. TCU
– Rutgers vs. Oklahoma State 247 Sports – Iowa vs. UCF
Network – Iowa vs. Cincinnati
Sports – Iowa vs. Oklahoma State
.
highlight alumni
Justin Fields completed 14-of-24 passes for 145 yards, adding another 59 yards and two scores on the ground in the Pittsburgh Steelers win over the Las Vegas Raiders, 32-13.
The Steelers recorded a season high in points scored and moved to 4-2 on the season. Fields was part of a rushing offense that gashed the Raiders for 183 yards and three touchdowns. His first of two touchdowns right before halftime put the Steelers in front for good, 12-7.
In the 2019 CFP Semifinal at the Fiesta Bowl, Fields threw for a career-best 320 yards and finished the season with the program’s third-most passing yards in a single season.
The Steelers host the New York Jets on Sunday, October 20, at 5:20 p.m. PHX on NBC.
notable performances JUSTIN FIELDS
TAWEE WALKER - WISCONSIN TYLER WARREN - PENN STATE
Running back Tawee Walker ran for a career-best 198 yards on 24 carries and scored three touchdowns in Wisconsin’s 42-7 dominant win over Rutgers. Walker’s 55-yard score was the longest of his career and the team’s longest rush of the season. His three touchdowns gave him eight total in the last three games.
Walker joins Melvin Gordon and Jonathan Taylor as the third Wisconsin running back to record three straight multitouchdown games. The Oklahoma transfer played his senior season of high school at Centennial High School in Peoria, Arizona, a winner over Saguaro in this season’s Fiesta Bowl Friday Night Showdown
Penn State tight end Tyler Warren tied a FBS record when he caught 17 passes in the Nittany Lions overtime win against USC, 33-30. The records didn’t stop there. His 224 receiving yards set a Penn State and Big Ten Conference tight end record.
Warren’s highlight play came in the third quarter on a double pass that resulted in a 32-yard touchdown. On the play, Warren surpassed 1,000 career receiving yards.
Warren, the Week 8 AP National Player of the Week, has a reception in each of his last 22 games and leads all Power 4 tight ends with 40 catches and 513 yards this season.
big news
The Rate Bowl will once again feature Bowl Season’s only Big Ten vs. Big 12 matchup at a new afternoon time of 3:30 p.m. on Thursday, December 26. As we eagerly await kickoff in downtown Phoenix, we’re bringing you weekly game highlights, player reports and other updates from the two conferences. Here’s the BIG news for Week 8:
BIG TEN BIG 12
• Nine Big Ten teams appear in the AP Poll this week, including three of the top four. Oregon leads the conference at No. 2, followed by No. 3 Penn State, No. 4 Ohio State, No. 16 Indiana, No. 22 Illinois and No. 24 Michigan
• Three Big Ten teams remain undefeated through seven weeks of the 2024 season. Indiana, Oregon and Penn State are among the 11 NCAA FBS teams sporting perfect records entering Week 8
• Iowa’s 40-16 win over Washington marked head coach Kirk Ferentz’s 200th career win as a member of the Big Ten Conference, moving him into sole possession of second place in league history, trailing Ohio State’s Woody Hayes’ 205 wins
• Indiana and Ohio State rank among the top 15 nationally in both scoring offense and scoring defense. The Buckeyes rank fifth in scoring defense (11.0 points per game) and sixth in scoring offense (43.5 PPG). The Hoosiers rank second nationally in scoring offense (47.5 PPG) and 11th in scoring defense (14.8 PPG)
• Two additional Big Ten teams rank in the top 10 in terms of scoring defense: Nebraska (7th, 11.3 PPG) and Penn State (9th, 14.4 PPG)
• No. 24 Michigan travels to No. 22 Illinois this weekend in the only ranked Big Ten Conference matchup this weekend
• Iowa State moved up to No. 9 in the AP Week 8 Poll, followed by No. 13 BYU and No. 17 Kansas State
• BYU has started 6-0 for the sixth time in school history as Kalani Sitake joins LaVell Edwards as the only BYU head coaches to do it twice
• The Conference has five of the top 10 Power 4 teams in rushing yards per game: UCF (first), Kansas State (third), Kansas (sixth), Arizona State (seventh) and West Virginia (eighth)
• Arizona State and Texas Tech are the only programs in the nation with four wins in one-score games this season
• Iowa State’s 6-0 mark is the second-best start to a season in program history, trailing only a 7-0 start in 1938
• Kansas State allowed -29 rushing yards on Saturday, which were the fewest given up by an FBS team this season. It also marked the fewest allowed in a Big 12 game since 2006
• Three of the top five rushers come from the Big 12 including Tahj Brooks (Texas Tech, 135.8 yards per game), DJ Giddens (Kansas State, 131 YDS/GM) and Cam Skattebo (Arizona State, 128.8 YDS/GM)
news in the foundation news in the foundation
50 Year Fiesta Bowl
Anniversary, BYU vs Oklahoma State
Oklahoma State travels to No. 13 BYU on Friday, October 18, for a 7:15 p.m. PHX kickoff on ESPN. The inaugural meeting between BYU and Oklahoma State came 50 years ago in bowl season, when the two matched up in the 1974 Fiesta Bowl
The Cougars won their second Western Athletic Conference title in program history while earning the school’s first-ever bowl bid. The Cowboys returned to the postseason after a 16-year drought and earned the school its first bowl bid as a member of the then Big 8 Conference with a 6-5 record.
The Fiesta Bowl had been known as an offensive battle until Oklahoma State and BYU. Despite the fierce defensive struggle, the Cowboys scored 16 unanswered points to pull away with a 16-6 victory.
View the full story here.
BOWL SEASON’S ONLY BIG TEN / BIG 12 CONFERENCE MATCHUP RENAMED
In line with the rebrand of financial services and mortgage lending leader Guaranteed Rate to simply “Rate,” the newly-named Rate Bowl kicks off on Thursday, December 26, at 3:30 p.m. in downtown Phoenix.
Returning to downtown Phoenix for the ninth consecutive season, the Rate Bowl transforms a Major League Baseball park transforming into a football field, providing one of college football’s most unique postseason experiences. Following the game, the 75,000-plus square foot natural grass playing field is donated to an Arizona community in need.
To read the full press release, click here
CFP QUARTERFINAL AT THE Vrbo FIESTA BOWL
DECEMBER 31, 2024 | 5:30 PM
RATE BOWL
DECEMBER 26, 2024 | 3:30 PM