NCAA football Week 8 recap

The GIST: While Saturday’s Week 8 matchups ended three more undefeated seasons, six teams’ perfect records still remain. Let’s check in on the dominos that fell and the squads that pushed them over. Spoiler alert: None of it was accidental.

No longer in stealth mode: The LSU Tigers spent the first half of the season flying below the radar, notching fairly predictable wins (that is, after their Week 1 loss to Florida State). But after handing then–No. 7 Ole Miss their first loss of the season in a 45–20 come-from-behind victory on Saturday, the Tigers are back in everyone’s minds and the Top 25, re-entering at No. 18.

• After dropping to 17–3 early, quarterback (QB) Jayden Daniels led LSU on a 42–3 run to win the game and set up a spicy SEC West battle against Bama in two weeks.

Orange you sad?: Due to a sleepy second half, the now–No. 16 Syracuse Orange saw their 11-point lead evaporate as the No. 5 Clemson Tigers grabbed a messy 27–21 dub. Why messy?

• Clemson turned the ball over four times and, consequently, benched starting QB D.J. Uiagalelei (pronounced oo-ee-ANH-gah-leh-lay) in the third quarter, but somehow still cobbled together a whopping 38th straight home victory — an ACC record.

Just keep quacking: It’s official — Oregon’s massive Week 1 loss to Georgia was merely the first pancake. In their 45–30 win, the now–No. 8 Ducks gave the UCLA Bruins both their first L of the season and the boot from the Top 10, claiming the Pac-12’s lead spot in the process. Delish.

Frogs…or princes?: Holding tight to the Big 12 crown? The now–No. 7 TCU Horned Frogs. Despite trailing or being tied in the second half of their last three games, TCU has eked out wins each week, and they extended their streak with a 38–28 dub against now–No. 22 Kansas State on Saturday.

• After going down 28–17 in the first half, TCU put up three unanswered TDs to become the second-ever Big 12 team to beat four straight ranked opponents. Pucker up — these Frogs might be royal.

Highlight of the week: In what may be the best start to a game in college football history, South Carolina Gamecock Xavier Legette returned a 100-yard kickoff for a TD. The Gamecocks went on to beat Texas A&M 30–24, but that play alone is worth their shiny No. 25 ranking this week.