Saturday Superlatives: Another Utah-USC classic, upsets and scares galore

Here are the best plays, players, moments and more from Week 8 in college football. If you went to bed early on Saturday night, there’s a decent chance you’re wondering how Washington ended up in a 15-7 game against 1-6 Arizona State. But hey, it was one of those days, with a lot of upsets and several Top 25 teams finding out whether they can survive dangerous fights.

Game of the Week: No. 14 Utah 34, No. 18 USC 32. The clash of amazing USC offense vs. amazing Utah defense was everything we’d hoped, but it was actually Utah’s offense that ended up stealing the show.

Thanks to a big night from Bryson Barnes and another breakout game from safety-turned-running back Sione Vaki (217 total yards, two TDs), the Utes pulled ahead 28-14 in the third quarter. The Trojans clawed their way back, got stops and got a 61-yard punt return by freshman phenom Zachariah Branch to set up an 11-yard go-ahead score by Caleb Williams. They just left too much time — 1:46 — on the clock when they pulled ahead.

Utah got to midfield with the help of a roughing the passer penalty on a third down, and then Barnes saved the day with a 26-yard scramble down to USC’s 19-yard line. Cole Becker finished the job with a 38-yard game-winning field goal as time expired.

Kyle Whittingham and his tough 6-1 Utes are now 3-0 against Lincoln Riley and are yet again the Pac-12 team responsible for delivering a fatal blow to USC’s College Football Playoff hopes.

Player of the Week: Utah QB Bryson Barnes. He threw for 235 yards and three touchdowns. He ran for 57 and another TD. He overcame what could’ve been a game-changing pick six in the fourth quarter by guiding a game-winning drive. And he outdueled Caleb Williams and knocked the Trojans out of the CFP race. No matter how this season ends, the former walk-on should be a hero in Salt Lake City for a long time for this one.

After the game, Whittingham announced quarterback Cameron Rising won’t be making a comeback from his knee injury this season. It’s up to Barnes to keep leading the Utes in their pursuit of one last Pac-12 title. Next up: Oregon is coming to town.

Best quote: You really can’t sum it up any better than this.

Heisman watch: I was in Columbus on Saturday and wrote about another record-setting day from the dude they’re evidently now calling … Maserati Marv? Is that nickname going to stick? Ohio State receiver Marvin Harrison Jr. brought his best against a top-10 Penn State team with an elite defense, catching 11 passes for 162 yards plus a game-sealing touchdown in a 20-12 victory and putting himself right back in the Heisman Trophy conversation with his fifth 100-yard performance of the season.

Crazy finish: Minnesota 12, Iowa 10. The most Iowa ending you’ve ever seen would be the Hawkeyes getting a go-ahead score on a punt return touchdown by Cooper DeJean to win a game in which the offense averaged a half-yard per play in the second half (24 plays, 12 yards). Well, that is exactly what happened — but then came an absurd twist: DeJean’s touchdown return was reviewed and reversed to a fair catch.

The postgame referee explanation: DeJean waving his arm was considered an “invalid fair catch” signal of fair catch that, by rule, makes it a dead ball at the spot where he caught it. DeJean insists he wasn’t trying to call a fair catch. Iowa then got the ball at its 46-yard line. Three plays later, Minnesota’s Justin Walley picked off Iowa quarterback Deacon Hill to seal the victory.

The Hawkeyes are averaging 19.5 points per game and will need to score 34 points per game the rest of the way in order to satisfy the contract requirements of offensive coordinator Brian Ferentz. They’ll also need to win out and get some help in order to get to the Big Ten title game.

Yet another crazy finish: No. 8 Texas 31, Houston 24. The first and last Big 12 matchup between these two schools was a memorable one.

The Longhorns grabbed a 21-0 lead early. Houston got hot with a 21-point run to tie it up. Texas went up by 7 with five minutes left despite losing quarterback Quinn Ewers to an injury. Houston then drove 65 yards but ran into trouble on a third-and-1 in the red zone. Running back Stacy Sneed appeared to gain a first down but was spotted short for no gain.

Houston coach Dana Holgorsen was not in a good place after that call. The Cougars threw it on fourth down and couldn’t convert. This one meant a lot to Houston, and it came oh-so-close.

Best upset: Virginia 31, No. 10 North Carolina 27. Virginia had never won a road game against a top-10 opponent. Nobody expected it to on Saturday night. The 1-5 Cavaliers pulled off one of the great stunners of this season thanks to three rushing touchdowns from Mike Hollins and three fourth-quarter stops from their defense after grabbing the lead. UNC quarterback Drake Maye got a shot to lead a game-winning drive but was picked off by Virginia’s James Jackson with 26 seconds left. It was an absolutely shocking loss for the undefeated Tar Heels and a hard-earned signature victory for coach Tony Elliott and his program in Year 2.

Best interception: Washington cornerback Mishael Powell. The No. 5 ranked Huskies were seriously in the danger zone due to an unusually sloppy performance against Arizona State. The Sun Devils were driving to extend their lead to 14-6 midway through the fourth quarter when Powell stepped in front of a Trenton Bourguet throw and ran it back for an 86-yard pick six. This play flipped what looked like a very losable game. The Huskies survived without scoring any offensive touchdowns and advanced to 7-0.  

Powell’s interception was the most important one. But that doesn’t necessarily make it the best one. Boston College cornerback Amari Jackson might’ve had the pick of the year on Saturday with this one in a 38-23 win at Georgia Tech.

Honorable mention goes to UTSA’s Nicktroy Fortune for paying attention and stealing this one with a toe-tapper against FAU.

Best stop: Did you get enough crazy finishes? Can I interest you in one more? Miami rallied back from a 17-7 deficit in the fourth quarter and took Clemson to double overtime despite the absence of injured quarterback Tyler Van Dyke. Hurricanes linebacker Corey Flagg Jr. got to be the hero on fourth down with the game on the line, taking the right angle and dragging down Cade Klubnik for a 28-20 win that dropped the Tigers to 4-3. After the misery of the botched ending against Georgia Tech, Miami has bounced back in a big way.

Best big fella TD: Now here’s the game-winning touchdown pass your opponent will never see coming. Wisconsin’s Braedyn Locke tossed a 3-yard pass to offensive lineman Nolan Rucci with 27 seconds left, and the Badgers dropped 18 points in the fourth quarter for a 25-21 comeback win at Illinois. That’s a former 5-star recruit making a 5-star catch.

Best catch: BYU WR Darius Lassiter made an amazing Odell Beckham Jr. grab while getting pushed out of bounds during the Cougars’ 27-14 upset win over Texas Tech.

Best pass: Air Force had only attempted 28 passes on the year entering its game against Navy on Saturday. Maybe the No. 22 Falcons should be tossing it around a little more? Air Force quarterback Zac Larrier tossed this one to receiver Dane Kinamon on the first play of the second quarter, and he took it all the way for a 94-yard touchdown. That’s the longest pass in Air Force history, and it helped spark a 17-6 win for the 7-0 Falcons.

Best rushing performance: For the second week in a row, Oklahoma State running back Ollie Gordon II takes home this honor. Gordon put up 284 total yards in a win over Kansas last Saturday. He followed that up with 29 carries for 282 yards and four touchdowns to power a 48-34 road win at West Virginia. The Cowboys have totally turned around their season, and the sophomore back is the biggest reason why.

Streak ends: Nevada won a college football game for the first time in 413 days on Saturday. The Wolf Pack went to San Diego State as an 11-point underdog and snapped a 16-game losing streak with a 6-0 victory. They hadn’t won a game since a home victory over Texas State on Sept. 3, 2022.

Best smooch: UCF receiver Javon Baker had plenty of time to blow a kiss to Oklahoma’s sideline on this 86-yard touchdown. Oklahoma coach Brent Venables protested this one with officials after the play, arguing that a taunting penalty should’ve taken the TD off the board. He was told they didn’t see it happen. The No. 6 Sooners would get the last laugh in a 31-29 victory.

Best stall: Utah showed off a real mastery of the substitution rules to slow down the pace against USC and burn clock.

Easiest block: Oregon tight end Patrick Herbert helps Bucky Irving out on this touchdown run by laying out a Washington State linebacker who … forgot the play wasn’t over?

Best meme: The Lane Kiffin-Auburn relationship is a little complicated so, yeah, not too shocked by that tweet. Or the quote tweet.

Whittingham kept it nice and simple late Saturday night with Lincoln Riley’s preferred emoji to celebrate four in a row over the Trojans.

(Photo: Gina Ferazzi / Los Angeles Times via Getty Images)