College football Saturday: Death Valley prevails after big Notre Dame, Texas Tech, Oklahoma wins

Say this much for Texas: they have some smoking hot women who genuinely care about football. Unfortunately for Longhorns fans, the rest of the nation generally finds this out when one of them is reacting in disbelief to Texas getting annihilated at DKR. A couple years ago it was Oh My God Girl watching UCLA club Texas, 34-12; this weekend introduced us all to Don’t Read Her Lips Girl:

I’m in love. Texas proceeded to lose 63-21.

Buddy. As in Holly, born in Lubbock, Texas, the site of this weekend’s most surprising non-surprise, a team losing on the road to Tommy Tuberville while carrying an abnormally high ranking and showing no understanding of what they were walking into. Being down 35-7 at the half might have shocked anyone who had not watched Tommy Tuberville go 5-2 against top five opponents at Auburn, and especially to those who do not understand what powers Lubbock has over unsuspecting opponents.

Courage. You were not forgotten, Sad Red Raider Fan of 2011.

Alabama’s still No. 1 in the Week 8 BlogPoll, using a 42-10 win over Missouri to make up for ground lost during their Week 6 bye. And the Crimson Tide doesn’t have West Virginia to watch out for anymore, not after Texas Tech’s 49-14 obliteration of the Mountaineers.

West Virginia was No. 4 in the Week 7 BlogPoll, and earned one first-place vote; now, the ‘Eers are No. 17, falling 13 spots after their belly flop in Lubbock, and appear no higher than No. 9 on any ballot.

For the record: to my eyes, Stepfan Taylor’s elbow was pretty clearly down before he reached across the goal line, whistle or no. Just wanted to throw that out there. It may have been a “controversial finish,” but it wasn’t that controversial, and it shouldn’t take away from the fact that Notre Dame is 6-0 for the first time since 2002.

In my 2012 Notre Dame preview, I pulled off the greatest hedge of my life. I talked the Irish up more than just about anybody else on the internet, claimed they should be due both good luck and a ferocious defense in 2012, and told you with a straight face that Brian Kelly’s team could be a true Top 10 or 15 squad this fall. I also grew terrified of the schedule and, despite the lofty praise, decided that an 8-4 record might still be rather successful.

LSU: Sure, Death Valley is always an impressive atmosphere, but LSU fans really brought it Saturday night as the Tigers defeated South Carolina. With many top recruits in attendance, including national No. 2 Reuben Foster, an Auburn commitment, it was important to make the impression, and LSU delivered on and off the field.

On the flip side, I don’t see this loss hurting South Carolina’s recruiting in the slightest. The Gamecocks were expected to lose, and while their national championship hopes are almost certainly dashed, they were a huge longshot anyhow. Recruits saw South Carolina fight hard and play LSU tough for 60 minutes. It wasn’t an embarrassing performance like Georgia had two weeks ago in Columbia.

Take a look at Johnny Linebacker never giving up on the play, just as he does when his team has the ball. Johnny Tackles has never given up on a single thing in his entire life.

This play ended up being whistled dead at the line of scrimmage anyway, which explains why Johnny Takedown didn’t somehow end up scoring.

Check the national college football scoreboard right here, and look through SB Nation’s many excellent college football blogs to find your team’s community.

Alabama’s bye last week gave the college football world a chance to assess the rest of the field in the running for a national championship. This week, the Crimson Tide reminded everyone why they’re No. 1 in all the rankings.

Alabama threw a 21-0 haymaker at Missouri in the first quarter of what turned into a 42-10 rout, and did it like this: Eddie Lacy raced 73 yards to the end zone on the first offensive play of the game; the Tide’s defense forced a three-and-out, picked off a pass, and allowed 36 yards in the period; Alabama blocked a punt; the Tide rolled up 199 yards and three rushing touchdowns on just 16 plays.

Oregon’s in line to get another shot at a team from the state of Alabama in a BCS National Championship, with the Ducks and the Tide still looking like the country’s best two national title candidates.

This week’s complete bowl projections (asterisks for teams filling the spots of conferences that couldn’t fill all of their own), with my explanation below:

Here are the highlights from LSU’s 23-21 victory over South Carolina.

After a suspension of play due to lightning, Missouri would respond with a Marcus Murphy 98 yard kickoff return for the touchdown to put the Tigers on the board. After a Missouri field goal cut the lead to 28-10, Lacy converted a huge 4th down to move the ball and the clock, then plunged it in from a yard out to end the game.

1. Alabama. The usual ultraviolence: a 42-10 home invasion of Missouri, an utter disregard for human life, and cruelty so abhorrent the weather attempted to intervene with a lightning delay.

2. Oregon. Bye week. Chip Kelly caught up on fives seasons of Breaking Bad in seven hours.

Here are the video highlights of the Oklahoma vs. Texas game.

Update: Complete BCS standings for Week 8 now available right here.

Update No. 2: BCS standings beyond the Top 25.

Here are the highlights.

Notre Dame is now 6-0 on the season. Stanford falls to 4-2.

Here are the highlights of the Texas Tech vs. West Virginia game.

This game was anything but pretty. Coming into this weekend, both Cal and Washington State were 2-4. Last weekend, Cal upset UCLA and were hoping to ride that momentum into Washington. While it wasn’t a commanding win, Cal earned their second straight victory within the Pac-12, 31-17.

After Saturday’s game, Wazzu has now lost four straight games and is 0-4 in Pac-12 play. Head coach Mike Leach and his crew have their bye-week coming up to attempt to work out the multiple issues.

In the first half, it was all Texas A&M. The Aggies took a healthy lead of 39-16 into the locker room. Whatever LA Tech head coach Sunny Dykes said to his team at halftime would send them on a tear to catch up to A&M.

Never giving up, LA Tech tried another onside kick, but A&M was ready for it. The Aggies would recover the ball and win the game 59-57.

The No. 19 Mississippi State Bulldogs fought off a comeback attempt by Tennessee, winning 41-31 at Davis Wade Stadium on Saturday night.

Box Score Hero: Mississippi State quarterback Tyler Russell was 23-of-37 for 291 yards and two touchdowns in a balanced offensive attack by the Bulldogs.

Then, momentum shifted into the Golden Eagles’ direction. Just as UCF had done in the first half, Southern Miss won the second half battle, 17-7.

Rankings Ramifications: This game shouldn’t impact the national rankings at all, but Southern Mississippi is still without a win this season.

The No. 8 Ohio State Buckeyes beat Indiana on Saturday night, 52-49, after a furious comeback attempt by the home-team Hoosiers.

Ohio State would run out the clock on the final possession, preserving the close victory.

Arkansas thoroughly dominated Kentucky, defeating the Wildcats 49-7 in the first ever Razorback game to be called early. There were multiple long rain delays, including one that ultimately ended the game with 5:04 left in the third quarter.

During the game, however, it was all Arkansas. Tyler Wilson led the Razorback offense, going 22-31 with 372 yards passing and five touchdowns. Jonathan Williams led Arkansas receivers with 150 yards and two touchdowns on just three catches. Dennis Johnson paced the rushing game, gaining 82 yards on just 12 carries with two rushing touchdowns.