Week 8 showed college football fans some major surprises. Four of the top five SEC powers fell to lower SEC opponents, and the doubted Buckeyes kept the longest win streak in the country intact.
SEC Powerhouses Fall
It is heavily questioned and debated whether or not a one loss SEC team should get the nod to play for the championship game against an undefeated Buckeye squad if that’s how the end of the season shook out. Those thoughts were put to rest after four of the best SEC teams lost this past Saturday. LSU was the highest ranked one loss team who lost to unranked Ole Miss on a game-winning 41 yard field goal from Andrew Ritter. The next SEC team to fall was Johnny Autograph against a barely ranked Auburn team which gave the Aggies their second loss. Sitting at the eleventh place spot, the Gamecocks fell to an abyssmal Volunteer team from Tennessee. Last but not least, the banged up Georgia Bulldogs took the loss to the Vanderbilt Commodores. Alabama was the only elite SEC squad that came out and dominated. Missouri also remained perfect who is slowly creeping into the national championship conversation.
Roll Hyde, Roll
The Buckeyes welcomed a tough and physical Hawkeye team to Columbus, and while the game kept the Buckeye faithful on the edge of their seats, the Buckeyes pulled out the hard earned victory. The past three games for the Buckeyes have been too close for comfort for Big Ten skeptics and Ohio State haters to change their minds about the undefeated Bucks. Fortunately for OSU, Carlos Hyde has been an absolute beast on the ground the past three games racking up 402 yards combined. Hyde ran for 149 and two touchdowns against the Hawkeye defense, who keep in mind hadn’t allowed a rushing touchdown all season long until then. Contrary to popular opinion, the Buckeyes are the best team in the country at this point in time. OSU is third in the country in total offensive production, and they arguably have one of the best defenses in the country to accompany their high powered offense.
The Verdict
While the Buckeyes ‘squeaked’ out another victory, they remain unbeaten while the SEC top dogs fell. Every team has tough games. Every team has a week or multiple weeks in which they are heavily tested. Texas A&M was tested and lost to Auburn. LSU was tested and lost to Ole Miss. South Carolina was tested and lost Tennessee. Georgia was tested and lost to Vandy. Ohio State was tested, but they still pulled out the victory. Winning in the clutch is what seperates the men from the boys. Whether SEC fanboys and ESPN analysts like it or not, the Buckeyes dating back to last season have a nineteen game win streak. Nineteen games is longer than an NFL season. The Buckeyes have shown consistency throughout all their games under former SEC coach Urban Meyer. They have beaten and blown out the teams they were supposed to blow out, and they’ve won the games that have been close. What more than a nineteen game win streak in a BCS conference says number one in the country?
