Eliminator Week 8: Maybe next year for Miami, Houston
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The U. is back -- near the bottom of the ACC Coastal Division standings.
After opening the Mark Richt era with four straight victories, the Hurricanes have lost three consecutive games, including an ugly 37-16 loss at Virginia Tech last week.
The Hurricanes play three of their final five regular-season games on the road, starting with Saturday's trip to reeling Notre Dame, which meant a lot more in the 1980s and '90s than it means right now.
Miami and Houston were the only teams eliminated from the College Football Playoff race this week by The Eliminator, which is trimming the 128-team FBS field to four teams for the four spots in the playoff.
Through eight weeks, 106 of the 128 FBS teams have been eliminated from the College Football Playoff race, leaving 22 teams in contention for the four spots.
Here's where the FBS stands after Week 8:
Jump to sections: Who's in? | Still in contention | On the fence | Better luck next season | Previously eliminated
Who's in?
Ohio State's stunning 24-21 loss at unranked Penn State on Saturday night shook up the top four spots in the CFP race. No. 1 Alabama remains in the top spot after winning its 20th consecutive game and 12th straight over a ranked foe, 33-14 over No. 6 Texas A&M at Bryant-Denny Stadium on Saturday. Michigan, which is 7-0 for the first time since 2006, moves into the No. 2 spot, and Clemson is No. 3 after taking the weekend off. Washington, which beat Oregon State 41-17 to improve to 7-0, moves into the No. 4 spot. The Buckeyes are still alive in the playoff race, but they'll have to win their final five regular-season games, including a Nov. 26 showdown against the Wolverines at the Horseshoe, which figures to be a winner-take-all finale in the Big Ten East.
Still in contention
Trending: UP
According to research by ESPN Stats & Information, Alabama's defense is adding about 21 points per game to its net scoring margin by forcing turnovers and turning them into points, controlling field position and limiting opponents' offenses. That's the highest defensive efficiency this far into the season in the past decade.
Trending: EVEN
I hope the Bears haven't worn themselves out after their recent four-game stretch: Iowa State, bye, Kansas, bye. At least the "bye" teams didn't have 1-6 records, like four of the six teams Baylor has defeated this season.
Trending: EVEN
The six FBS foes the Tigers have defeated this season are a combined 14 games above .500. That's the best opponents' record among the top four teams in the AP top 25: Alabama's eight FBS opponents are 34-25, Michigan's seven opponents are 27-24 and Washington's six foes are 16-28.
Trending: UP
Go ahead and hand him the Heisman? Louisville quarterback Lamar Jackson has accounted for 34 touchdowns (rushing and passing), which is more than any other player through seven games in FBS history. It's eight more than Robert Griffin III and Jameis Winston had through seven games during their Heisman-winning seasons in 2011 and '13, respectively.
Trending: UP
It's kind of lonely atop the Big Ten East standings, isn't it Wolverines? Don't worry, the Buckeyes are right below you.
Trending: DOWN
After having to come from behind to beat Big Ten cellar-dweller Purdue 27-14 last week, the Cornhuskers play on Saturday at Wisconsin, where they haven't won in 50 years. A Nebraska linebacker named Barry Alvarez had an interception in the Cornhuskers' last victory at Camp Randall Stadium on Oct. 8, 1966.
Trending: EVEN
Huskies coach Chris Petersen isn't saying when linebacker Joe Mathis will return to the field. Mathis, who leads the Huskies with five sacks and 7½ tackles for loss, didn't play in last week's 41-17 win over Oregon State. He was seen wearing a walking boot on campus last week. Petersen said his injury isn't season ending, but won't say when he'll be back.
Trending: UP
West Virginia's Dana Holgorsen has guided the Mountaineers to 11 victories in their past 12 games, or six more than Notre Dame has won in the same span.
On the fence
Trending: UP
I'm not sure bleach and Spray 'N Wash will get the cleat marks off Arkansas' jerseys.
Trending: UP
Upset alert: The No. 13 Broncos play at Wyoming on Saturday night, which might not sound so daunting. But the Cowboys have won four of their past five games, and they're 5-2 (3-0 Mountain West), after going 6-18 in coach Craig Bohl's first two seasons.
Trending: EVEN
It's the first time in 27 seasons that neither Mark Richt nor Steve Spurrier coached in the annual Florida-Georgia game. The last time it happened was Nov. 11, 1989, when Ray Goff guided the Bulldogs to a 17-10 win over the Gators, who were led by interim coach Galen Hall.
Trending: UP
If interim coach Ed Orgeron guides the Tigers to an upset win over No. 1 Alabama (and former LSU coach Nick Saban), they'll give him the full-time job -- and rename Tiger Stadium in his honor.
Trending: EVEN
Don't look now, but it looks like North Carolina's defense has turned the corner under second-year coordinator Gene Chizik. The Tar Heels allowed season-low rushing totals in each of their past two games and had seven tackles for loss in a 35-14 win at Virginia.
Trending: DOWN
The Buckeyes are going to need some help if they're going to get back into the playoff race, but history shows they're probably going to rebound quickly. Urban Meyer's teams have lost consecutive games only four times in his 15-year career and only once at Ohio State, when the Buckeyes dropped back-to-back games against Michigan State and Clemson at the end of the 2013 season.
Trending: DOWN
They broke calculators in Lubbock, Texas, on Saturday night.
Trending: EVEN
The Panthers are probably going to need North Carolina to lose twice to win the ACC's Coastal Division. But they can stay in the race by upsetting No. 25 Virginia Tech on Thursday night.
Trending: EVEN
The Volunteers are coming off back-to-back losses heading into Saturday night's game at South Carolina. The good news: No UT players were hurt during last week's open date.
Trending: EVEN
Come on, Aggies, it's OK to admit it. You thought you had a chance to win, didn't you?
Trending: EVEN
I think it's really cool that Utah coach Kyle Whittingham schedules his team's practices in the morning so once-retired tailback Joe Williams can still catch "Golden Girls" reruns.
Trending: UP
Thank goodness Hokies defensive coordinator Bud Foster isn't allowed to hand out Benjamins for quarterback sacks. He would have been broke after Tech sacked Miami's Brad Kaaya eight times in last week's 37-16 win over the Hurricanes.
Trending: UP
The Broncos are still rowing their boats -- maybe all the way to the Cotton Bowl.
Trending: UP
The Badgers' 17-9 win at Iowa came with a costly loss. Leading tackler Jack Cichy tore a pectoral muscle and will miss the rest of the season. The Badgers also lost starting inside linebacker Chris Orr to a season-ending ACL injury on the first drive of the season against LSU.
Better luck next season
Trending: DOWN
Houston's surprising 38-16 loss to SMU probably didn't help Cougars coach Tom Herman's chances of landing the Texas job (if it opens). But it probably boosted Mustangs coach Chad Morris' chances of landing the Baylor job if he wants it.
Trending: DOWN
You can buy tickets to attend Miami's game at Notre Dame on Saturday for less than $45 on StubHub. Oh, how the once mighty have fallen.
Previously eliminated
Eliminated in Week 7: Arizona State Sun Devils, Maryland Terrapins, Ole Miss Rebels, Wake Forest Demon Deacons
Eliminated in Week 6: Air Force Falcons, Arkansas Razorbacks, Colorado Buffaloes, Indiana Hoosiers, Minnesota Gophers, Stanford Cardinal, Texas Tech Red Raiders, UCLA Bruins
Eliminated in Week 5: Arizona Wildcats, Cincinnati Bearcats, Florida State Seminoles, Georgia Bulldogs, Georgia Tech Yellow Jackets, Iowa Hawkeyes, Kansas State Wildcats, Memphis Tigers, Michigan State Spartans, Navy Midshipmen, Oregon Ducks, San Diego State Aztecs, TCU Horned Frogs, Texas Longhorns, Toledo Rockets
Eliminated in Week 4: Army Black Knights, Central Michigan Chippewas, East Carolina Pirates, Georgia Southern Eagles, Oklahoma State Cowboys, Oregon State Beavers, Penn State Nittany Lions, Rutgers Scarlet Knights, South Carolina Gamecocks, South Florida Bulls, USC Trojans
Eliminated in Week 3: Boston College Eagles, Duke Blue Devils, Illinois Fighting Illini, Marshall Thundering Herd, Missouri Tigers, Notre Dame Fighting Irish, Southern Mississippi Golden Eagles, Syracuse Orange, Texas State Bobcats, Vanderbilt Commodores
Eliminated in Week 2: Akron Zips, Ball State Cardinals, BYU Cougars, California Bears, Connecticut Huskies, Eastern Michigan Eagles, Florida Atlantic Owls, Idaho Vandals, Kansas Jayhawks, Louisiana Monroe Warhawks, Middle Tennessee Blue Raiders, Nevada Wolf Pack, New Mexico Lobos, NC State Wolfpack, Old Dominion Monarchs, Purdue Boilermakers, SMU Mustangs, South Alabama Jaguars, Texas San Antonio Roadrunners, Troy Trojans, Tulsa Golden Hurricane, UCF Knights, UNLV Rebels, Utah State Aggies, UTEP Miners, Western Kentucky Hilltoppers, Wyoming Cowboys
Eliminated in Week 1: Appalachian State Mountaineers, Arkansas State Red Wolves, Bowling Green Falcons, Buffalo Bulls, Charlotte 49ers, Colorado State Rams, Florida International Golden Panthers, Fresno State Bulldogs, Georgia State Panthers, Hawaii Rainbow Warriors, Iowa State Cyclones, Kent State Golden Flashes, Kentucky Wildcats, Louisiana Lafayette Ragin' Cajuns, Louisiana Tech Bulldogs, Massachusetts Minutemen, Miami (Ohio) RedHawks, Mississippi State Bulldogs, New Mexico State Aggies, North Texas Mean Green, Northern Illinois Huskies, Northwestern Wildcats, Ohio Bobcats, Rice Owls, San Jose State Spartans, Temple Owls, Tulane Green Wave, Virginia Cavaliers, Washington State Cougars
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