Week 8 of the college football season features three games between ranked teams, including two Pac-12 showdowns.
No. 12 Oregon travels to No. 25 Washington (3:30 p.m., ABC) in a Pac-12 North matchup the Ducks need to stay alive in the College Football Playoff hunt. No. 17 Arizona State travels to No. 13 Utah (6 p.m., FOX) in order to stay in the lead in the Pac-12 South. The prime-time showdown is a "Whiteout" between No. 16 Michigan and No. 7 Penn State.
Every week, Sporting News will survey the landscape looking for Heisman contenders, coaches on the spot, upset alerts and other trends. With that in mind, get ready for Week 8:
Heisman watch
Sporting News picked LSU's Joe Burrow as its Midseason All-American quarterback, which might anger fans of Alabama quarterback Tua Tagovailoa – who was SN's Player of the Year in 2018.
MORE: Week 8 Picks against the spread
Don't worry, Bama fans. There is enough time for Tagovailoa to take over the award. Last season, at this time, Tagovailoa was the unquestioned front-runner. Tagovailoa's numbers are significantly better than last season through six games:
| YEAR | COMP | ATT | % | TD | INT |
| 2018 | 76 | 101 | 75.2 | 18 | 0 |
| 2019 | 134 | 182 | 73.6 | 27 | 1 |
Tagovailoa's Heisman campaign reached its height when he compiled 306 yards and four TDs against Tennessee before the bye week leading up to LSU.
This year, he can use the game against the Vols to keep building toward that Nov. 9 showdown against LSU.
Burrow, and perhaps the Heisman, will be waiting.
Coach on the spot
Which Big Game James will show up in Happy Valley on Saturday?
There is more pressure on Michigan and fifth-year coach Jim Harbaugh. The Wolverines rank eighth in the scoring offense (30.3) and fifth in scoring defense (17.5). Harbaugh's 1-9 record against top-10 opponents is the most-discussed stat in the Big Ten, and “Harbaugh is 1-10 against the top-10" will trend on Twitter if they lose.
MORE: Michigan-Penn State prediction
Penn State coach James Franklin also has a lot on the line here, however. Franklin does have a Big Ten championship to his credit, but he has an identical 1-4 record against Michigan, Michigan State and Ohio State. If the favored Nittany Lions lose here, then the Harbaugh heat will shift to Franklin. That might lead to rumors linking Frankin to USC (it happened last year) and put pressure on Penn State heading into the Michigan State game the following week.
That's what is on the line at Beaver Stadium on Saturday.
Upset alert
Temple spoiled Maryland's early-September run and knocked Memphis from the ranks of the unbeaten last week. Can the Owls be a party crasher again in Week 8?
The Owls travel to SMU – a school enjoying a storybook 6-0 season to this point — and will bring a pass defense that allows less than 200 yards per game with them.
The teams have combined for an average of 91 points in their three AAC meetings, so get ready for a high-scoring affair in Dallas. If the Owls win, then they will be ranked Sunday.
Over/under
If you follow the rule that a two-loss team won't get into the College Football Playoff and the committee won't consider a Group of 5 school, then there are 18 teams remaining in the hunt heading into the second half of the season. That list will shrink this weekend, too.
How did we arrive at that conclusion? Look at the teams with one loss or less in the Power 5 conferences:
ACC: Clemson (6-0), Wake Forest (5-1)
The Tigers and Deacons meet on Nov. 16, and it will be on Wake to get there with just one loss.
Big Ten: Ohio State (6-0), Penn State (6-0), Wisconsin (6-0), Minnesota (6-0), Michigan (5-1)
Michigan needs to beat Penn State in a "Whiteout" to stay on this list.
Big 12: Oklahoma (6-0), Baylor (6-0)
Will the Nov. 16 meeting be the first of two?
Pac-12: Oregon (5-1), Utah (5-1), Arizona State (5-1)
Arizona State and Utah play this week. The Ducks play Arizona State on Nov. 23.
SEC: Alabama (6-0), LSU (6-0), Florida (6-1), Georgia (5-1), Auburn (5-1), Missouri (5-1)
Missouri is ineligible, and the other five teams will collide in five head-to-head regular-season games.
Independent: Notre Dame (5-1)
The Irish can't be propped up by a conference championship game.
If the chalk holds, including with Penn State-Michigan and Utah-Arizona State, we'll be down to a Sweet 16 – maybe less – in Week 9.
Think about it …
Illinois coach Lovie Smith is on the hot seat, and the Illini are up against it with Wisconsin coming in this weekend. Illinois went 34-51 under Ron Zook from 2005-11, but that included three winning seasons and a trip to the 2008 Rose Bowl.
Tim Beckman, Bill Cubit and Lovie Smith have combined to go 28-63 since, and that includes no winning seasons. Given the jump Minnesota has made this season, time can't always be an excuse. That's not the biggest lesson learned, however.
If you get rid of a coach, then make sure you have the right guy lined up behind him.
