Michigan or Ohio State? Heisman in doubt? Five top college football Week 8 overreactions
Emotions always run high on college football weekends. That’s a major part of the sport’s appeal, of course, but it also means one’s reaction to events on the field are often colored by said emotions. Our goal here is to provide a modicum of perspective to what we’ve just witnessed.
In this week’s rehash of five top overreactions from the week that was, we’ll examine the ongoing debate over Big Ten superiority, look in on the continuing fluctuations in the quest for the sport’s most prestigious individual honor, and throw some cold water on a few other favorite fan talking points.
Michigan/Ohio State should be ranked higher than Ohio State/Michigan
In this corner, we have the Wolverines, who have won their eight games by an average score of 40.6-5.9. They’ve faced nobody ranked, either currently or at the time of their meeting, but four of Michigan’s eight opponents have winning records, and two of them – UNLV and Rutgers – are already bowl eligible.
And on this side of the ring we have the Buckeyes, who haven’t had the impressive scoring margins but are winning by an average of 33.7-10 through seven games. They got by a ranked Notre Dame team on the road and shut down a previously undefeated Penn State squad, arguably worth more than any win on Michigan’s ledger. To date, they have just one common opponent. There will be more, of course, but for what it’s worth Michigan had a much easier time with Indiana (52-7 on Oct. 14) than did the Buckeyes (23-3 on Sept. 2).
No matter which side of the debate you come down upon, opinion anyone offers is going to be an overreaction, simply because the matter will be settled on the field in a few weeks anyway. Polls are fun and all – that’s why we do them – but one it’s important to remember that they’re just weekly snapshots.
(Insert favorite player’s name here) just won the Heisman
Marvin Harrison Jr. was the difference maker for Ohio State against the Nittany Lions, Jordan Travis made some sweet throws while rallying Florida State to victory against a very good Duke team, and Michael Penix Jr. is glad most of the country wasn’t awake to see his nearly catastrophic outing as Washington barely escaped Arizona State.
It seems we have to say this every week, but whenever someone takes a star turn, declarations immediately follow that said star just showed why he should win the Heisman. One name that has now come to the fore is Michigan's J.J. McCarthy with the Wolverines unbeaten. We will say, however, that while it remains true that the trophy is never won or lost with a single performance, Washington’s close call undoubtedly allowed the field to gain on Penix.
MISERY INDEX:Another disappointment for Penn State leads Week 8
HIGHS AND LOWS: Winners and losers from Week 8 in college football
NCAA should do the right thing and let James Madison go to a bowl
This isn’t going to be a popular take. The NCAA is a favorite punching bag for good reason due to its labyrinthine collection of rules and regulations that seem at times to be arbitrarily enforced at best. But the leadership at James Madison was well aware of the rule requiring a two-year waiting period for football when elevating to the Bowl Subdivision.
Not every team making the jump has been this successful this quickly, as Massachusetts discovered a few years ago and Sam Houston State is learning this season. It is therefore not often that the waiting period comes under scrutiny.
The Dukes are ahead of schedule to be sure, and it was suggested none to subtly by the ESPN announcing crew during their most recent win at Marshall that someone at the NCAA should step in and grant them a waiver to shorten its transition period.
Such a waiver has essentially already been denied, and NCAA President Charlie Baker spelled it out in a response to the Virginia attorney general. "The Division I Board of Directors and council believe clear standards and timelines for reclassification processes will promote strategic membership growth and allow for a uniform experience for all reclassifying institutions," he wrote.
The fact is NCAA rules are made by its members, and changing them is a rather arduous legislative process. It is furthermore not altogether a given that there is a desire within the organization’s membership to alter the transition rule.
We will concede this point, however, as noted on social media by Dukes coach Curt Cignetti. There’s no reason JMU’s individual and team stats shouldn’t be displayed among the FBS leaders. While the Dukes are indeed transitioning, they’re playing a full Sun Belt Conference schedule, and their on-field numbers are totally earned. Having them only listed among non-classified teams diminishes their accomplishments
It’s a conspiracy, I tell ya.
If you’re a fan of Houston, Arizona State or Iowa, you no doubt expressed sentiments that your game’s officials, and by extension the conference offices that appointed them, didn’t want your team to win this weekend. All three schools had some very dubious decisions go against them at critical times in the fourth quarter.
Trust us, folks, the leagues don’t care. Sure, officials make mistakes, and the replay system can’t eliminate those entirely. Sometimes the booth even contributes to the mayhem, as we saw in Iowa City. But no matter how it looks or which conference’s top-tier program appears to benefit, there is no grand agenda afoot.
It just sucks for the Cougars, Sun Devils and Hawkeyes that those decisions cost them victories.
What’s with all the terrible offenses?
A look at yesterday’s scoreboard revealed some truly ugly numbers. They weren’t all unexpected – Minnesota’s 12-10 result against Iowa was almost certainly going to be a low-scoring affair. But the day began with Mississippi State’s win at Arkansas by a 7-3 score more fitting of a playoff baseball game, and ended with Nevada ending its long losing streak with a 6-0 triumph over San Diego State that was, well, everything you might expect a 6-0 game to be with just 446 combined yards of total offense and zero third-down conversions by the Aztecs.
So are there really fewer good offenses and a lot more really bad ones this year? It’s hard to say. As of the conclusion of the Week 8 action, there are 23 FBS teams still averaging over 35 points a game, and 24 averaging 21 or fewer. At the end of the 2022 campaign, there were 22 teams averaging 35-plus and 20 putting up less than 21 a game. That’s not exactly a significant trend either way, but it’s something to keep an eye on the rest of the way, especially if you have an interest in playing totals.