Weekly Recap: Week 8
LSU stayed in the championship discussion with a key win over Texas A&M in Week 8.
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Kristina Taylor | Staff Writer
www.orangebowl.org
After weeks six and seven featured a number of top five, the standings held strong this weekend as there was only slight jockeying for position among the top-ranked teams. There are a dozen undefeated teams left past the midway point of the 2012 college football season, with Notre Dame, Oregon State and Rutgers are among them.
No. 5 Notre Dame 17, BYU 14
Notre Dame’s win over BYU may have not had the excitement and drama of the goal-line stand against Stanford or exhilaration of its last-minute win over Purdue. However, the Fighting Irish found a way to win another close game defeating Brigham Young 17-14. The Fighting Irish (7-0) continues its best start in a decade.
No. 6 LSU 24, No. 18 Texas A&M 19
After a sleepy start because of an 11:00 a.m. kickoff, LSU shook off the cobwebs and woke up late in the second quarter. Trailing 12-0, the Tigers found their groove by forcing five turnovers while providing just enough offense to defeat the Aggies 24-19 at Kyle Field. A 47-yard TD run from Jeremy Hill gave the Bayou Bengals just enough breathing room for their second consecutive win against a ranked opponent.
No. 17 Texas Tech 56, No. 23 TCU (3OT) 53
Texas Tech silenced all the doubters this weekend. A week after the impressive five-touchdown victory over then-No. 5 West Virginia, the Red Raiders overcame an early 10-point deficit to take down TCU in triple overtime, 56-53. After blowing a 10-point lead late in regulation, Seth Doege stepped up and threw a touchdown in each period in overtime and finished with a career-best seven TDs.
Duke 33, North Carolina 30
Duke is the overwhelming story of the ACC weekend, having become bowl-eligible for the first time since 1994 after its thrilling 33-30 win over arch rival North Carolina. With 13 seconds remaining, Sean Renfree threw a 5-yard TD pass to Jamison Crowder on fourth down to lift the Blue Devils past the Tar Heels. Renfree converted on three third-and-longs during that game-winning 87-yard drive.
With eight weeks in the books, quarterbacks such as Kansas State’s Collin Klein became a household name, while No. 1 Alabama still looks like the team to beat. The Crimson Tide have not been tested yet in their quest to win back-to-back national championships, but this may be the test when the Tide take on No. 11 Mississippi State in Tuscaloosa.
Another game to keep your eye on is No. 8 Oklahoma hosting No. 5 Notre Dame. The Irish defense will be put to the test against Landry Jones and a potent Oklahoma offense. No. 2 Florida and No. 10 Georgia will face off in the annual “cocktail party” in Jacksonville. A trip to the SEC Championship Game could be on the line when the Gators and Bulldogs square off.
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