Bill ConnellyOct 17, 2025, 07:00 AM ETCloseBill Connelly is a writer for ESPN. He covers college football, soccer and tennis. He has been at ESPN since 2019.Follow on X
play1:20Highlight: No. 16 Rebels keep playoff hopes alive with win vs. No. 3 GeorgiaOle Miss wins the turnover battle, highlighted by stripping the ball from the Bulldogs in the final minutes to solidify a 28-10 win and stay relevant for the College Football Playoff.
play1:44Alabama Crimson Tide vs. Missouri Tigers: Full HighlightsAlabama Crimson Tide vs. Missouri Tigers: Full Highlights
Can No. 5 Ole Miss match No. 9 Georgia’s physicality? (2:17)Read & React’s Cole Cubelic and Roman Harper stresses that the Bulldogs can not start slow and call on TE Dae’Quan Wright and the Rebels’ physicality to be an X-Factor in this top-10 matchup. (2:17)
Highlight: No. 16 Rebels keep playoff hopes alive with win vs. No. 3 GeorgiaOle Miss wins the turnover battle, highlighted by stripping the ball from the Bulldogs in the final minutes to solidify a 28-10 win and stay relevant for the College Football Playoff.
Ole Miss wins the turnover battle, highlighted by stripping the ball from the Bulldogs in the final minutes to solidify a 28-10 win and stay relevant for the College Football Playoff.
Alabama Crimson Tide vs. Missouri Tigers: Full HighlightsAlabama Crimson Tide vs. Missouri Tigers: Full Highlights
A pair of elimination games (of sorts) in the Group of 5
How do you take a typical big October Saturday and make it even better? By making every big game a toss-up.
There are stakes, too! The SEC race is a giant, puddly mess and should achieve only so much clarity Saturday. Notre Dame-USC could be a College Football Playoff eliminator of sorts (and, oh yeah, it might be the last Notre Dame-USC game for a while). The Big 12 and ACC each have a couple of huge, title-related games, and we’ve got hierarchy-establishing battles in the Sun Belt and Mountain West.
It’s a lot! Let’s make some sense of it! Here’s everything you need to follow in a blood pressure-unfriendly Week 8.
The SEC has no team in the current SP+ top four, but it has eight of the next nine and 10 of the top 19. The conference title race and the race for playoff spots are up for grabs, especially if Alabama stops producing loads of close-game magic.
On Saturday, the league gets the tripleheader of its dreams: Three ranked-versus-ranked battles, all relative toss-ups. The results could establish a bit of a hierarchy within the conference, or they could make things even messier. (As always, I root for the latter.)
Last year, Georgia muscled its way to the SEC title, boasting less upside than we’re used to seeing but grinding out victories. But the Dawgs’ high floor was no match for Ole Miss’ high ceiling: The Rebels dominated the line of scrimmage and posted a shockingly easy 28-10 win; it was Georgia’s worst loss since 2019.
If Georgia starts slowly again, Ole Miss might lay down the hammer again. UGA trailed Auburn by 10 points in the first quarter, Alabama by 14 in the second and Tennessee by 14 in the first. That Gunner Stockton and the Dawgs fought back to win two of those three is another reminder that Kirby Smart teams will always be tough as hell. But they lost to Bama, and they might not be able to afford more than one additional defeat. At some point, they have to play well.
Ole Miss messed around last week, stumbling through early miscues and needing a late stop to beat Washington State 24-21. Maybe the Rebels were looking ahead to UGA? This is a pretty big game, and not only because the Rebels haven’t won in Athens since 1996. They’re one of only two remaining unbeatens in the parity-soaked SEC, and a win here would put them in excellent position to reach their first SEC championship game.
When Georgia has the ball Yards per carry (not inc. sacks): Georgia offense 79th, Ole Miss defense 106th Yards per dropback: Ole Miss defense 36th, Georgia offense 59th
Georgia should exploit Ole Miss’ shoddy run defense, but the Rebels could counter that with a big passing advantage. Trinidad Chambliss distributes the ball well to five or six receivers, and even after playing against Auburn’s destitute passing game, Georgia still ranks 117th in sack rate. Chambliss will likely have time to find open guys.
The close games probably aren’t going to stop. Of Bama’s next six games, five are projected within 8.1 points. The Tide will require a lot more of what we saw against Missouri, when Ty Simpson didn’t produce dazzling stats (23 completions for 200 yards with four sacks) but completed some brilliant passes on third- and fourth-and-long.
Alabama Crimson Tide vs. Missouri Tigers: Full Highlights
Alabama Crimson Tide vs. Missouri Tigers: Full Highlights
Simpson has gotten help from running back Jam Miller of late, though he is questionable for Saturday (concussion protocol). The defense got carved up on a couple of drives but controlled Mizzou for a large run in the middle of the game.
Close games will determine the SEC’s CFP bids; five of Vandy’s last six games are projected within 6.5 points, per SP+, and four of LSU’s last six are within 4.5. The loser of this one will likely have spent its final mulligan and will have to win a lot of coin-flip games to stay in the hunt.
I’m struggling to get past the idea that we might lose Notre Dame-USC, at least for a little while, for embarrassingly silly reasons. Just in case sanity doesn’t prevail, we deserve a barn burner Saturday night.
In a rivalry based on long-term momentum swings, Notre Dame has held the advantage for most of the past 15 years, but this one appears relatively even on paper. Since losing its first two games by a combined four points — both to current top-five teams (Miami and Texas A&M) — Notre Dame has won four games by an average of 30. The defense had big-play issues early on but has allowed 27 total points in the past three weeks and should keep improving now that corner Leonard Moore is healthy again.
Quarterback CJ Carr has been absolutely dynamite. Despite being a redshirt freshman, and despite substandard performance from the offensive line — which has allowed quite a few negative run plays and merely average pressure numbers — he’s 11th in Total QBR. On third-and-7 or more, Notre Dame ranks second nationally with a 44% conversion rate. Carr’s ceiling is spectacularly high.
Of course, USC’s Jayden Maiava ranks first in Total QBR. He’s completing 72% of his passes at 15.1 yards per completion. That’s quite the high-end combination.
That leaves the USC defense. A consistent liability in Lincoln Riley’s nine years as a head coach, the Trojans have been mostly solid this year, but they got beat for some long passes against Michigan State and Illinois. That will probably happen Saturday, too, but if they can hold the Irish to 31 points or so, Maiava & Co. could top that.
Current line: Irish -9.5 (up from -7.5 on Sunday) | SP+ projection: Irish by 3.1 | FPI projection: Irish by 5.1
There’s nothing I enjoy more than a nice, silly Big 12 title race, and Texas Tech’s current dominance levels suggest at least half of the Big 12 championship game matchup is as good as settled. That could change, obviously, but when you lose your quarterback to injury twice in three games and extend your lead by 20-plus points in both games, you’re proving something. We’ll see if the Red Raiders can keep proving something against the defending conference champs.
Regardless of Tech’s dominance, there are two spots available in Jerry World, and the fight for the other spot (at least) is up for grabs. The winner of Saturday night’s Holy War in Provo, Utah, will become the favorite to land that one.
Arizona State was hit-and-miss early last season, then lost a game with quarterback Sam Leavitt injured. That summarizes this season as well. Leavitt should return after missing last week’s loss to Utah, and if the Sun Devils hit the gas like last year, everything’s still on the table.
Last week was pretty demoralizing, though. Leavitt’s presence wouldn’t have done much to stop Utah from scoring touchdowns on six of seven possessions. The Sun Devils rank 71st in points per drive and 94th in points allowed; they simply might not have enough to offer.
A few weeks ago, Texas Tech pushed around Utah just like the Utes did to ASU. Even if quarterback Behren Morton (questionable) can’t go, Will Hammond has played well — he isn’t as consistent a passer, but he offers far more with his legs. And either way, ASU still has to score on a defense ranked fifth in points allowed per drive and featuring two of the best defenders in college football (linebacker Jacob Rodriguez and edge rusher David Bailey).
Current line: Tech -7.5 (down from -10.5) | SP+ projection: Tech by 15.5 | FPI projection: Tech by 7.3
Of course, Utah’s defense is by far the best Bear Bachmeier has faced. The unbeaten BYU freshman quarterback came through with his legs in last week’s comeback win over Arizona, but he also went 12-for-29 passing with two interceptions. Utah’s defense is awesome at the front (where end John Henry Daley is a breakout star) and back (where the Utes rank sixth in completion rate allowed).
As with Texas Tech in the Big 12, Miami’s fast start has established a clear front-runner in the ACC title race. But two teams will make the ACC championship game, and five are unbeaten early in ACC play (Miami, Georgia Tech, Duke, Virginia and SMU). They’re among six teams, along with Louisville, who have at least a 7% chance at the conference title, per SP+.
Louisville is 4-1 and a projected favorite in six of its last seven games. The Cardinals appear likely to post at least nine wins for the third straight time under Jeff Brohm. The defense has been excellent, and running back Isaac Brown remains one of the most explosive in college football.
The Cardinals still feel pretty disappointing this season, though, at least on offense. Brown and Duke Watson have been slowed because of injuries, and quarterback Miller Moss struggled on several dropbacks in their loss to Virginia. The offensive line is allowing loads of negative plays. All’s forgiven if they win Friday night, but they’ll have to raise their game.