On a weekend when the slate didnât jump off the page, we first take you to Mississippi State head coach Mike Leach discussing his favorite Halloween candies.
Mike Leach really spent the post-game interview talking about Halloween candy đpic.twitter.com/AuLWVk5o8e
â The Sporting News (@sportingnews) October 24, 2021
And now we can talk football.
Even without an AP top-25 matchup on the schedule, we knew that college football would give us some wild games. Two top-10 teams went down, and a nine overtime game was played.
Letâs take a look at the best from week eight of the college football season.
No. 3 Oklahoma needs second half comeback to escape Kansas
Kansas came into Saturdayâs matchup against No. 3 Oklahoma at 1-5 on the season and 38.5 underdogs. Finally, an easy win for OU.
As Lee Corso is famous for saying, âNo so fast, my friends.â
The Sooners entered the fourth quarter training 17-14, but two fourth quarter touchdowns by running back Kennedy Brooks and one unreal play by quarterback Caleb Williams allowed Oklahoma to escape Lawrence, Kansas, with a 35-23 win.
âI donât care who youâre playing,â OU head coach Lincoln Riley said. âIf you donât seize momentum early in a road football game, youâre gonna be in for a dogfight, and we were. When weâre not playing well itâs close. Weâre tired of being close. Weâve got to push it over the edge.â
On a fourth and one from their own 46-yard line, the Sooners held just a 28-23 lead. Williams handed off to Brooks, who was stopped short of the line to gain. But what Williams did next took everyoneâs breath away.
Caleb Williams just made the play of the dayđ¤Ż#CFB
â PFF College (@PFF_College) October 23, 2021
In one of the most heads up plays youâll see at the college football level, Williams took the ball out of Brooksâ hands and turned up the field for a first down.
âI knew that I couldnât get tackled on fourth down,â Brooks said. âSo I gave it to him.â
OU remains undefeated on the year, moving to 8-0.
Illinois takes down No. 7 Penn State in nine overtimes
The over/under for the game was 45.5, and yet even with nine overtimes, you lost money if you bet the over on the Penn State vs Illinois game.
In the first ever ninth overtime in college football history, Illinois wide receiver Casey Washington caught a walk-off two-point play to take down No. 7 Penn State 20-18.
âTo see our locker room right now is pretty special,â Illinois coach Bret Bielema said. âThey fight for one another.â
After both teams exchanged field goals in the first two overtimes, they began a series of two-point attempts from the three-yard line, the new format for the 2021 season.
Illinois had 357 yards on the ground to Penn Stateâs 62, and a banged-up Sean Clifford was just 19-34 for 165 yards on the day.
âI think the combination of guys that did not practice, a combination of a wet day, the threat of the pass not being there, a limited Sean, all of it factored in,â Penn State head coach James Franklin said when asked about his struggling run game. âYou canât go from heavy pass to heavy run in one week. You got to be able to be mixed and be balanced, and we werenât able to do that today.â
Iowa State hands No. 8 Oklahoma State first loss
You just knew Mike Gundy and undefeated Oklahoma State were heading into a trap game at Jack Trice Stadium on Saturday.
The No. 8 Cowboys entered the game undefeated, yet were +7 underdogs for a reason.
Breece Hall scored a rushing touchdown for the 19th straight game, and Iowa State staged a second half comeback to hand OK State their first loss of the season. Cyclones quarterback Brock Purdy threw for 307 yards and two touchdowns, getting a late stop from his defense in a 24-21 win.
âIâm just so happy for our team,â Purdy said. âIt felt good to finish it the right way.â
The Cowboys took back the lead on a 25-yard touchdown pass from quarterback Spencer Sanders midway through the fourth quarter, but Iowa State drove right back down on their next possession, ending on Hallâs only touchdown run of the day.
Oregon survives UCLA, keeps Pac-12âs playoff hopes alive
For a brief moment, any hope that the Pac-12 had for getting a team into the College Football Playoff appeared to be crashing to the ground.
But DJ James intercepted backup quarterback Ethan Garbers with under a minute to play, and Oregon finished off a 14-point comeback to beat UCLA 34-31.
âI needed to just trust in my instinct. I know we needed a play and I put it on the line,â said James.
Oregon quarterback Anthony Brown threw for 296 yards and rushed for 85 on the ground, as the Ducks moved to 6-1.
âThey all just rallied around him and showed belief,â coach Mario Cristobal said. âIt was a great game and really hard fought. There were big plays all over the place.â
The Ducks have five conference games remaining, needing to win out in order to have a chance at the CFP.
Other Scores:
No. 2 Cincinnati 27 Navy 20
No. 4 Alabama 52 Tennessee 24
No. 5 Ohio State 54 Indiana 7
No. 6 Michigan 33 Northwestern 7
No. 13 Notre Dame 31 USC 16
No. 16 Wake Forest 70 Army 56
No. 22 San Diego State 20 Air Force 17
No. 23 Pittsburgh 27 Clemson 17
Joe Morgan is the Sports Reporter for The Daily Wire. Most recently, Morgan covered the Clippers, Lakers, and the NBA for Sporting News. Send your sports questions to [email protected].
The views expressed in this piece are the authorâs own and do not necessarily represent those of The Daily Wire.