College football: 10 best and 10 worst teams of Week 8 – Stop sleeping on Baylor

We dive into the box scores and explore advanced statistics from each FBS college football game to find the best and worst teams of Week 8.

Coming into the 2019 college football season, there was a feeling of inevitability. Clemson and Alabama were ranked No. 1 and No. 2 in the preseason AP Top 25, respectively, and for good reason. The two heavyweights stood head and shoulders above the rest of the nation in most analytical ratings systems as well, including the preseason CFB Winning Edge Team Strength power ratings published here (though we had Alabama on top).

But then teams started playing games. Both Clemson (with its close call against North Carolina and lackluster play from quarterback Trevor Lawrence) and Alabama (with a suddenly unexceptional defense and an unfortunate ankle injury to quarterback Tua Tagovailoa) both appear vulnerable.

More so, it has become especially clear other teams have legitimate national championship hopes. Ohio State and LSU quickly emerged as College Football Playoff contenders, and there was even a brief feeling Wisconsin could challenge in the Big Ten, though Penn State now appears to be the top contender to the Buckeyes. Meanwhile, with Lincoln Riley calling the shots and Jalen Hurts pulling the strings, Oklahoma has maintained its rightful place atop the Big 12 pecking order.

Or has it? While the Sooners have been unstoppable on offense, and much improved defensively, a new threat has emerged: the Baylor Bears.

Baylor entered the 2019 season unranked and with only modest expectations. However, after beating Oklahoma State 45-27 on the road (and as a four-point underdog) Saturday, Baylor has climbed to No. 14 in the AP Poll. But that might be too low.

After all, the Bears have played like a top 10 team this season. Using CFB Winning Edge Team Performance ratings, which dive into advanced statistics to assign a game grade (using a 60-100 scale) to every FBS team in each contest it plays, Baylor has posted the eighth-best average rating this year. The victory over the Cowboys was the best yet for the team and the best of the week overall.

On that note, we count down the 10 best – and 10 worst – game grades of Week 8:

10 Best Team Performances of Week 8

10. Memphis Tigers, 90.95

Memphis lost its undefeated record and fell out of the AP Top 25 following a (controversial) 30-28 loss to Temple last week, but the Tigers bounced back in a huge way with a 47-17 victory over Tulane. Running back Kenneth Gainwell led all players with 104 rushing yards and 203 receiving yards, becoming the first player in more than two decades to run for more than 100 and gain over 200 receiving yards in the same game, and he scored three total touchdowns.

The Tigers slowed the Tulane rushing attack, a top 10 unit nationally, and held the Green Wave to 146 rushing yards and 4.3 yards per carry. Memphis also won the turnover battle 3-0.

9. Florida Gators, 91.33

The Florida Gators also bounced back from defeat. Playing back-to-back road games, this time in the rain in Columbia, there was plenty of reason to believe Florida would struggle against South Carolina. And early on, the Gators were sloppy. However, quarterback Kyle Trask, who threw four touchdown passes, led Florida to a huge second half in a 38-27 victory.

After being shut out in the sack column for the first time against LSU, the Gators defense sacked Ryan Hilinski three times. Florida is now tied with SMU and Ohio State for second in the country with 29.0 sacks this season. Only Pitt (36.0) has more.

8. UCLA Bruins, 92.78

UCLA has spent most of this season battling Rutgers for the unenviable distinction of worst-rated Power Five program, according to our Team Performance ratings. However, after posting a season-high 92.78 game grade, the Bruins have now played their way up to (checks notes) No. 107, with a 75.42 average rating – well ahead of the No. 120 Scarlet Knights (71.42) and even No. 115 Vanderbilt (74.22).

The UCLA defense came to life in its 34-16 road win over Stanford. The Bruins stuffed Stanford for an average of 3.19 yards per play (only four defenses posted a better average this week) as the Cardinal managed just 1.8 yards per carry and 4.5 yards per pass.

7. Air Force Falcons, 92.88

It’s always difficult to project how well service academies will perform in a given year, and 2019 has been even more challenging given Navy’s resurgence and Army’s troubles. As usual, Air Force has been overlooked among the three, which is a mistake because the Falcons are now 5-2 overall and 3-1 in Mountain West play after beating Hawaii 56-26 on the road.

Third-string quarterback Mike Schmidt replaced injured starter Donald Hammond III early in the game and excelled. Schmidt ran for 120 yards and three touchdowns and connected on five of six pass attempts for 147 yards and a touchdown.

Combined with Hammond, Air Force quarterbacks averaged 24.1 yards per pass, and the Falcons now lead the nation in yards per pass attempt (13.0).  Air Force, which ran for 353 yards and averaged 6.9 yards per carry against the Rainbow Warriors, ranks second in the country in rushing offense (304.57 yards per game), second only to rival Navy (345.00).

6. Iowa State Cyclones, 93.73

Iowa State finally found a running back. After using a committee approach for the first half of the season, true freshman Breece Hall has emerged as the top option for the Cyclones. Hall ran for 183 yards and two touchdowns on 19 carries (Iowa State ran only 24 times) in the 34-24 win over Texas Tech in Lubbock.

Of course, quarterback Brock Purdy also deserves credit. Purdy was 23-for-32 passing for 378 yards (11.8 yards per pass attempt) and three touchdowns with only one interception. Overall, Iowa State averaged 10.0 yards per play, which was the best offensive output for any team in Week 8. The Cyclones now rank No. 7 in the country in yards per play (7.17) this season.

5. Auburn Tigers, 93.75

Auburn simply outclassed Arkansas 51-10 on the road Saturday. The Tigers allowed just 234 total yards and held the Razorbacks to 4.6  yards per pass attempt and 1.9 yards per carry. The Auburn defense forced four turnovers. Only Fresno State, Cincinnati and Virginia (all of whom had five takeaways in victories this week) had more. Only Fresno State (plus-5) won the turnover battle by a wider margin than the Tigers, who finished plus-3 in turnover margin against the Hogs.

Offensively, quarterback Bo Nix was extremely efficient and completed 12 of 17 pass attempts for 176 yards (10.4 yards per pass) and three touchdowns without an interception. Playing without leading rusher JaTarvious Whitlow, eight Auburn players combined for 51 rushing attempts and 298 yards with Nix, Harold Joiner and Shaun Shivers all scoring.

4. Clemson Tigers, 94.00

While it’s true other teams have looked more impressive than Clemson, on the whole, this season, the Tigers have still posted the fourth-best average game grade (92.25). And, despite two ugly interceptions from Trevor Lawrence, Clemson posted the fourth-best grade of Week 8 while beating Louisville 45-10 on the road.

Lawrence has been inconsistent, but the Tigers rushing attack has picked up the slack. Clemson ranks third in the country in yards per carry (6.39), behind only Oklahoma (7.37) and Louisiana (6.85). Travis Etienne averaged 13.7 yards per carry against the Cardinals while rushing for 192 yards and a TD. The Tigers out-gained Louisville 551-263 overall.

3. Ohio State Buckeyes, 94.08

It’s impossible not to be impressed with Ohio State. After beating Northwestern 52-3 Friday night on the road, and posting the third-best Team Performance game grade of the week in the process, the Buckeyes are now the No. 1 team in the country in average Team Performance rating (93.91) this year.

Ohio State needed just 63 plays to score 52 points (0.83 points per play), but the defense was even more impressive, having allowed a mere field goal in 68 snaps (0.04). As a result, the Buckeyes led all FBS teams in net points per play (plus-0.78) in Week 8.

The Buckeyes surrendered just 2.93 yards per play to Northwestern, including 3.3 yards per carry and 2.0 yards per pass (the Wildcats were 6-for-21 passing for 42 yards and threw two interceptions). Only UAB (2.54) and Utah (2.67) allowed a lower average in Week 8. As a result, Ohio State out-gained the Wildcats by an average of 4.69 yards per play, which was also third-best overall. The Buckeyes rank No. 2 nationally with an average of 3.77 net yards per play.

2. LSU Tigers, 94.53

Following a 36-13 win over Mississippi State, the numbers back up what our eyes have told us all season: LSU is a top-five team and a legitimate College Football Playoff contender. The Tigers rank fifth in Team Performance (92.24) this year, in large part because LSU ranks second in the nation in both scoring offense (50.1) and yards per play (7.87) and passing offense (385.7),

And though the offense has gotten much of the credit, the defense is still one of the most talented units in the country. Combined, the Tigers have out-gained opponents by an average of 3.15 yards per play, which ranks No. 4 nationally behind Oklahoma (4.54), Ohio State (3.77) and Alabama (3.24).

LSU out-gained Mississippi State 413-340 overall, but the Bulldogs gained 90 of those yards on the final drive of the game when the outcome was well in hand. Mississippi State managed just 102 rushing yards and 2.8 yards per carry, and the Tigers won the turnover battle 3-0, having picked off Garrett Shrader twice.

1. Baylor Bears, 95.10

If you haven’t already, it’s time to start paying attention to the Baylor Bears. After posting the best game grade of Week 8 while beating Oklahoma State 45-27 in Stillwater, Baylor now ranks No. 8 nationally with an average Team Performance rating of 89.91. Only Oklahoma (93.56, No. 3) has been better in the Big 12, meaning the Bears are a legitimate threat to the Sooners run of dominance in the conference.

Baylor averaged 9.93 yards per play against the Cowboys, which ranked just behind Iowa State for the best mark of the weekend. And Saturday – in which Baylor out-gained Oklahoma 536-469 overall – was no fluke. The Bears now rank No. 6 in the country in yards per play (7.32) this season. Paired with a solid defense, Baylor ranks No. 10 nationally in net yards per play, having out-gained opponents by an average of 2.42 yards per snap.

10 Worst Team Performances of Week 8

10. UTEP Miners, 68.90

Simply put, UTEP’s 32-17 loss to FIU was an average performance for the Miners. UTEP, which managed just 2.9 yards per run and 4.29 yards per play against the Panthers, now ranks No. 126 Team Performance (69.13).

9. UNLV Rebels, 68.73

We didn’t get to talk much about Vanderbilt because the Commodores’ shocking win over Missouri resulted in just the 21st best game grade (89.10) of the week, but let’s not forget Vandy lost 34-10 to UNLV last week at home. The Rebels then turned around and lost 56-27 to Fresno State, while losing the turnover battle 5-0 in the process.

8. Stanford Cardinal, 68.15

CFB Winning Edge was dead wrong about Stanford this season. Given the talent on hand, we projected the Cardinal to compete for the Pac-12 title, and though injuries have played a role (Standard started third-string quarterback Jack West behind a patchwork offensive line against UCLA), David Shaw’s squad is now 3-4 overall and 2-3 in conference play.

Stanford now ranks No. 78 in Team Performance (78.55) – making the Cardinal one of the 12 worst Power Five teams this season, on average.

7. Rutgers Scarlet Knights, 68.03

Stanford has struggled mightily, but no P5 program has performed worse than Rutgers. The Scarlet Knights kept a stranglehold on the lowest average Team Performance rating (71.42) for a power conference school and is knocking on the door of the bottom 10 altogether. A 42-7 loss at home against Minnesota, in which Rutgers threw for just 48 yards, 2.5 yards per pass attempt, and three interceptions, didn’t help matters.

T-5. NC State Wolfpack, 67.85

The ACC is wild, man. Though most of the madness has occurred in the Coastal Division, few would have expected NC State to get blasted 45-24 by Boston College. The Wolfpack – which held BC quarterback Denning Grosel (starting in place of the injured Anthony Brown) to 103 yards on 6-for-15 passing – surrendered 429 rushing yards.

NC State also turned to a backup quarterback and Devin Leary could be the third starter for the Wolfpack this year (though because of ineffectiveness instead of injury) after throwing for 259 yards and three scores in relief of Bailey Hockman.

T-5. Old Dominion Monarchs, 67.85

Some Power Five team is going to make a run at UAB head coach Bill Clark, and for good reason. Despite fielding one of the youngest and most inexperienced teams in the country, Clark has led the Blazers to a 6-1 record, including a 3-1 mark in Conference USA, while making opponents look silly.

Saturday, it was Old Dominion’s turn. The Monarchs averaged 4.3 yards per pass and 1.2 yards per carry in a 38-14 loss to UAB. Old Dominion is now tied with Northwestern for last in the nation in yards per play (3.79) this season. Both inept units have averaged nearly half a yard less than No. 128 Miami-Ohio (4.25).

4. Akron Zips, 67.25

Akron played quite well defensively in a 21-0 loss to Buffalo. The Zips allowed just 2.8 yards per pass and held the Bulls to 254 total yards. However, a 4-1 loss in the turnover battle, including a fumble returned for a touchdown, and just 196 total yards (including 21 rushing yards and 0.1 yards per carry) was impossible to overcome. Akron, now 0-7, remains the lowest team in the country in Team Performance (65.72) this season.

3. Toledo Rockets, 67.00

Not long ago, Jason Candle was in the conversation for Power Five coaching jobs. However, following back-to-back losses to Bowling Green and Ball State by a combined 72-21, the Toledo head coach might be lucky to hold on to the job he has.

The Rockets allowed 12.1 yards per pass and 7.5 yards per rushing attempt and were outgained 580-303 overall, in a 52-14 loss to the Cardinals. Toledo was out-gained by an average of 4.67 yards per play, which was the fourth-worst mark of the week behind only West Virginia (-5.71), Texas Tech (-5.27) and Northwestern (-4.67).

2. Hawaii Rainbow Warriors, 66.65

As usual, Hawaii is one of the most difficult teams to project week to week. The Rainbow Warriors beat Nevada 54-3 on the road in Week 5 and posted a 94.46 game grade in the process. This week, Hawaii was blasted 56-26 by Air Force. It was the third time the Rainbow Warriors allowed 50 points this season.

1. Bowling Green Falcons, 66.20

One week removed from a remarkable 20-7 victory over Toledo, Bowling Green is back in more familiar territory. The Falcons lost 38-20 to Central Michigan and were outgained 553-344 overall, and by an average of 1.97 yards per snap.

Top 10 Teams of 2019, average Team Performance

10. Notre Dame, 89.71

9. Wisconsin, 89.84

8. Baylor, 89.91

7. Georgia, 90.33

6. Penn State, 91.03

5. LSU, 92.24

4. Clemson, 92.25

3. Oklahoma, 93.56

2. Alabama, 93.76

1. Ohio State, 93.91

Worst 10 Teams of 2019, average Team Performance

121. Texas State, 71.13

122. New Mexico, 70.94

123. South Alabama, 70.37

124. Connecticut, 70.29

125. Old Dominion, 70.04

126. Rice, 69.41

127. UTEP, 69.13

128. New Mexico State, 67.07

129. Massachusetts, 66.85

130. Akron, 65.72

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