CFB Wrap-Up: Takeaways from Week 8's biggest games

College Football Wrap-Up recaps the most important developments from the day's action and examines their significance moving forward.

Georgia is nobody's underdog

Georgia entered Saturday's matchup at Texas as an underdog for the first time in 50 games. After the Bulldogs' performance in Austin, it might be another 50 games before oddsmakers do such a thing again. The visitors looked a lot like the team that's dominated college football over the past five years, holding the nation's sixth-ranked offense to just 38 total yards in the first half.

Things got so bad for the Longhorns' offense early that Steve Sarkisian opted to bench Quinn Ewers for a couple of series hoping Arch Manning would bring a spark. Spoiler alert: it didn't. Ewers returned to start the second half with a much-improved offense, but the 23-0 deficit was too much to overcome.

Smart had to be delighted by the performance of a defensive unit that allowed 41 points to Alabama earlier this season and 31 just last week at home to Mississippi State. Georgia entered play ranked 87th in the nation in sacks per game at 1.6 but brought down both Ewers and Manning a whopping seven times on Saturday night. The combo of Jalon Walker and Mykel Williams was an issue all night with five sacks and four other quarterback hurries.

The veteran head coach - who posted his 118th win with Georgia - was still fired up postgame, calling out ESPN for its entire College GameDay panel picking Texas to win.

The loss - combined with other results on Saturday - throws the SEC into flux with Texas A&M and LSU the only unbeaten teams in conference play. That won't last long as the two meet next week in College Station. Behind them sit five one-loss teams, including Texas and Georgia, battling for the two conference title game spots.

Tennessee lights up Alabama in 2nd half

The cigars are lit by the home team in Knoxville once again thanks to a second-half surge by Tennessee to knock off Alabama on the third Saturday in October. Josh Heupel rallied the Volunteers from a 7-0 halftime deficit to explode in the second half for a 24-17 victory. It's the second straight home win in the rivalry for Heupel and one that will send shockwaves across the state of Alabama.

The score actually flatters the Crimson Tide significantly, as one could argue three first-half turnovers are the only thing that kept this from being a more dominant win. The turnovers stopped at the half, and the Vols finally hit on some big plays they narrowly missed in the first. A 55-yard passing connection set up an easy touchdown that got the Vols rolling, and a perfect end-zone fade by Nico Iamaleava secured the Tennessee win with six minutes remaining.

However, as has often been the case this year for Tennessee, it was the defense that carried the day. The Volunteers sacked Jalen Milroe three times, posted nine tackles for loss, and hurried the quarterback an impressive 12 times in the contest. The outstanding pass rush had Milroe shook almost the entire game, forcing him into two bad interceptions.

The win keeps Tennessee firmly in the CFP race, with only Georgia remaining on the schedule as a game it won't be favored in. While the offense doesn't have the same pop as previous editions under Heupel, the defense is more than enough to keep the Vols trucking toward the SEC title game.

Welcome to reality, Alabama

They say you never want to be the guy who follows THE guy. Kalen DeBoer's bank account would likely tell a different story, but the pressure about to hit Alabama's new coach is something we haven't seen in recent memory. The setback at Tennessee marks the first time since Nick Saban's first season in 2007 that the Crimson Tide have lost two regular-season games before November.

Saban took over a team in disarray that went 6-7 and lost five of its last six games, while DeBoer took over a squad that narrowly lost to the national champion in the semifinals. The two situations aren't to be compared.

DeBoer - and his lengthy resume of offensive success - was supposed to bring Milroe to a Heisman level. That certainly wasn't the case Saturday, largely due to the fact the Crimson Tide simply couldn't protect the passer. He appeared so shell-shocked from the constant pressure that even when he had time, he couldn't find the open man down the stretch. Pass protection is by far the biggest thing that DeBoer needs to fix before next week's game versus Missouri.

Even with the 12-team playoff format, it's almost impossible to see Alabama making the field. Regardless of how the Crimson Tide finish the campaign, missing out on the CFP would mark an underwhelming first season for DeBoer in Tuscaloosa.

Can anyone slow down Indiana?

Turns out, Curt Cignetti's epic "I win. Google me," comment in December might have been the most accurate words ever spoken at a coach's introductory press conference. Since that moment, the Indiana frontman has done just that, rolling out to the school's first 6-0 start since 1967. Saturday presented the toughest test of the season with 5-1 Nebraska in town, but Cignetti's quote wasn't "I win ... mostly," was it?

Nebraska entered with the sixth-best defense in the nation, allowing 4.2 yards per play, and was the only team in the country to not allow a rushing touchdown all year. Both of those claims are now gone thanks to an absolute beatdown by Cignetti's Hoosiers. Indiana piled up an absurd 343 yards of total offense in the opening half - including the first three rushing touchdowns of the season allowed by the Cornhuskers.

The 28-7 edge at the half was impressive, but Cignetti clearly wasn't satisfied with that scoring margin. The nation's fourth-best second-half scoring attack lit up the Cornhuskers for 28 more points to finish with the 56-7 blowout. Nebraska apparently wasn't the only thing getting lit up in Bloomington, with a very loud crowd putting in work.

Indiana has never won 10 games in a season in the 126-year history of the program. Next up is Washington at home and a trip to Michigan State before two blockbuster games versus Michigan and at Ohio State. Double-digit wins seem incredibly attainable for the Hoosiers, as well as perhaps the most improbable playoff berth of any team in the nation.

Illinois beats Michigan at its own game

Michigan was involved in a game Saturday in which the winning quarterback threw for just 80 yards. That won't shock regular Wolverines watchers, but the fact Michigan wasn't the winner of the matchup was certainly a surprise. Illinois succeeded in employing Michigan's own formula at home, relying on a solid running game and opportunistic defense to post a comfortable 21-7 victory.

The Illini further highlighted the Michigan quarterback problem this season by intercepting Jack Tuttle twice and forcing him to fumble for a third turnover. If the Wolverines play Alex Orji under center, the offense simply can't move the ball through the air but limits turnovers. If it's Tuttle or Davis Warren at quarterback, the passing attack comes alive - but not always in a positive way. That pair have now combined for a whopping nine interceptions on the season.

The win ensures Illinois will have a serious say in deciding the Big Ten race. A road win at Oregon next week would throw the conference into chaos - with Penn State and Indiana undefeated, and Ohio State, Illinois, and Oregon with one loss apiece.

USC misses the Pac-12

Lincoln Riley and USC might be feverishly digging through paperwork to see if they can get out of the Big Ten and return to the friendly confines of the Pac-12. The Trojans' controversial move to their new conference certainly brought in plenty of money - but the early returns show it's also going to bring in plenty of losses.

The latest saw USC blow a 14-point second-half lead to Maryland and be forced to dodge field-storming fans on its way to the locker room. That marks four losses in five conference games this season, with three in a row in October. All three have held a common theme: an inability to finish down the stretch.

• Fourth quarter vs. Minnesota: Outscored 14-0
• Second half/OT vs. Penn State: Outscored 27-10
• Second half vs. Maryland: Outscored 22-7

The Trojans have actually held a fourth-quarter lead in all seven of their games this season but somehow have a losing record. Over 200 teams have held a fourth-quarter lead in their first seven games over the last 20 seasons, and USC is one of only two such teams to post a losing record, according to Paolo Uggetti of ESPN.

The most questionable decision on Saturday was a field-goal attempt with 1:56 to play on Maryland's 31-yard line. Sure, the three points would have made it a two-score game, but on fourth-and-1, a conversion would have essentially ended the game with Maryland down to two timeouts. The attempt was blocked, setting the Terrapins up with great field position to drive for the go-ahead touchdown.

Riley is now 5-9 in his last 14 games as USC head coach.

Ward carrying Miami

Another week, another masterpiece for Cam Ward. In the wildest game of the early window, the Miami QB threw for 319 yards and four touchdowns as the offense hung 52 points on Louisville. It turned out all of that production was needed, as the Cardinals put up 45 points of their own on the embattled Hurricanes defense. The effort by Ward made him the first Miami quarterback ever to throw for 300 yards and score at least three touchdowns in each of the first seven games of the season.

While the Hurricanes will certainly be pleased with the victory, the reliance on Ward and the offense has to be concerning for head coach Mario Cristobal. After blowing through non-conference play, Miami has allowed an average of 39 points in ACC action. Ward has put on the Superman cape and led them to a win each time, but that type of performance seems unsustainable over the entire season.

Big 12 unbeaten's bring the drama

Two schools in the Big 12 entered the weekend undefeated and the same two will exit the same way thanks to a pair of incredibly dramatic finishes. BYU got the madness started early with a Friday night matchup against Oklahoma State. After the Cowboys took a late lead, the Cougars stormed down the field to claim the victory on a 35-yard touchdown with 10 seconds to play.

Iowa State trailed by 14 points in the second half to UCF but roared back to make it a five-point game late in the fourth. Rocco Becht would take the Cyclones 80 yards in the final two minutes with zero timeouts and complete the comeback himself with a touchdown plunge to win the game.

Sadly, the two programs don't meet in the regular season this year but seem to be on a collision course for the conference title game in early December.

It's somehow getting worse for Oklahoma

The annual USA Today college football coaching salaries database dropped this week, which is always an illuminating look into what the top names of the sport are making and their respective buyouts. Coming in at No. 15 is Oklahoma's Brent Venables with an annual salary of $8.1 million and a buyout totaling a whopping $44.8 million. Sooner alums with disposable income might want to get that group chat going.

The start of the home game against South Carolina was an utter disaster.

Three turnovers in nine plays - all involving freshman quarterback Michael Hawkins Jr. - saw the Sooners trail 32-3 at halftime in front of a stunned crowd. That's the worst halftime home deficit for Oklahoma since 1997.

You may recall Venables' decision to bench the highly-touted Jackson Arnold during the Tennessee game and turn to the first-year Hawkins. He stuck by his quarterback despite immense struggles as the offense battles severe depth issues at wide receiver. However, not even Venables could look the other way from the turnover-fest, opting to bench Hawkins for Arnold in the first half. Arnold played significantly better, but the bar was incredibly low after Hawkins' performance.

Oklahoma has now played four games in SEC play with a 1-3 mark to show for it. The losses have come with a combined score of 94-27 as the Sooners simply have no chance to come from behind against any of the teams in the top half of the league.