Week 8 College Football Rooting Guide, TV and Streaming Schedule and Open Thread

Our friends at the mother ship took great care in pointing out all of the crazy sh*t that went down during Week 7 of the college football season. That list includes:

• Four of ten teams in the AP Top 10 getting beaten
• A team not named Oregon wearing uniforms that caused several fans to self inflict enucleation (look it up)
• A jack-rabbit scoring a TD
• A pair of mascots engaging in a dance off
• A former SEC coach eating grass ... the kind you mow

Really. It was a crazy week. Check out the article here.

Now, are you ready for more?

Husky fans reading this need to know that there is still much to play for. I’ve been looking at the scenarios for the Huskies to reach the playoffs and there are still several lines of sight still in play. I’ll have an article on that once we see how this weekend turns out.

Until then, you’ll want to root for the following outcomes in these selected games.

#19 Michigan at #2 Penn State

Root for: Michigan

There (believe it or not) is an argument for rooting for Penn State here. That argument is based on the idea of eliminating Michigan from contention altogether and then letting Penn State grapple with the two currently undefeated Big Ten teams still on their schedule (@ Ohio State next week, @ Michigan St week after)

The problem here is that we really want Ohio State to win the Big Ten in order to minimize the idea of two Big Ten teams deserving to get in. This is due to Ohio State's one loss being viewed as a “good loss” to Oklahoma. Thus, we want both Michigan and Penn State to end up with two conference losses and out of the championship game altogether.

The best way for that to happen is for Michigan to bring Penn State down to one loss and then let either one of Ohio State (ideally) or Michigan State (if necessary) be the team to stick the Nittany Lions with a second loss. So, go Blue.

#10 Oklahoma State at Texas

Root for: Texas

A two-loss Big 12 champion is going to be immensely useful for UW should they be fortunate enough to get into the playoff discussion at the end of it all. The Longhorns are definitely good enough to beat OKST. We saw how far UT’s D has come in last week’s narrow loss to Oklahoma. If the ‘Horns can keep OKST under 30, look out. Upset city and an important second loss hung on the Cowboys could happen.

Tennessee at #1 Alabama

Root for: Alabama

Right now, the SEC has one team in the playoffs. It is a small point, but the more that Alabama does to reinforce the notion that the SEC is ‘Bama and then everybody else, the less concern one should have about the SEC having two teams in the playoffs. Plus, if UW happens to squeeze in as a #4, why wouldn’t we want ‘Bama again.

That was sarcasm, people.

Syracuse at #8 Miami

Root for: the Cuse

Don’t you want to see this again:

Seriously, could magic strike Syracuse twice in two weeks? A Dawg fan can dream.

Fresno State at San Diego State

Root for: Fresno State

I don’t know if people are paying attention to what Fresno State has done since Washington dismantled them in September. They’ve won every game against teams not named Alabama or UW and they’ve risen all the way to #60 in the S&P. Teams behind them in those rankings include some names you might recognize: Tennessee, Colorado, Nebraska, Arizona State, Cal ... the list goes on.

They already register as the best OOC opponent that the Huskies played this season. If they keep up this pace, they are going to be a factor in strength of schedule calculations. A win over the same SDSU team that beat two other PAC 12 teams would be good for them. And that is good for UW.

#9 Oklahoma at Kansas State

Root for: K-State

I was hoping the Wildcats would give TCU more of a challenge than they did last week. This matchup doesn’t strike me as a very good one for K-State. But, hey, if they can stick a struggling OU team with that second loss, I’m good.

Arizona State at Utah

Root for: Gekko’s Dream “Rematch Scenario”

ASU actually owns its own destiny when it comes to winning the South division. You can thank UW for that.

Obviously, it would be awesome for ASU to win out, take the South and get their asses handed to them by Washington in the PAC 12 championship. That rematch scenario would eliminate any guess work on UW as a playoff contender assuming they got there with no other blemishes.

For now, I’ll just take a win over Utah. Feel the fork, bitches.

Colorado at #15 WSU

Root for: whomever you like

I am still advocating the point of view that whatever allows UW to more quickly win the North is the best scenario. I get that this means WSU still has to lose twice before getting to the Apple Cup and that this seems like long odds. Therefore, why not root for them to be as highly ranked as possible?

I get it. That’s a sound argument. I advise you to pick your poison.

#11 USC at #13 Notre Dame

Root for: USC

The PAC 12 needs a signature win. USC going into South Bend and shoving the Golden Domers face in it would suffice.

Were USC able to pull this off, not only would they get a boost in their own ranking, but they’d enhance the strength of schedule for any team that has played them and any team that will play them. Everybody wins.

With that in mind, I’d like to send a message directly to Sam Darnold:

Friday