College football risers and fallers: Utah surges as two CFP contenders come crashing down

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College football risers and fallers: Utah surges as two CFP contenders come crashing down

College football risers and fallers: Utah surges as two CFP contenders come crashing down

Austin Curtright, USA TODAY NETWORK

Tue, October 27, 2026 at 8:47 AM UTC ·

5 min read

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The Big 12 looked on its way to potentially placing three teams in the College Football Playoff after Week 7. Upset losses for BYU and Texas Tech could potentially change that outcome, though.

The No. 2 Cougars lost to UCF 39-31 in double overtime after taking down then-No. 2 Notre Dame in Week 7, while Texas Tech was thrashed by Cincinnati 37-24 on Saturday, Oct. 24. Utah now sits in the driver's seat for a Big 12 championship berth after being tied with BYU and Texas Tech for first place heading into Week 8.

Week 8 winners, losers: Big 12 flop, Texas fight back

Playoff Predictor: NIL era killed the superteam. CFP chaos is the payoff

Elsewhere, a pair of two-loss SEC teams Texas and LSU still look like contenders following big performances in Week 8. The SEC is wide open in 2026, with numerous teams still in contention for the conference title.

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College Football Week 8's biggest moments, reactions and celebrations

Week 8 of the college football season brought pivotal conference showdowns, statement wins and memorable moments across the country.

Above, Malik Hartford of the UCLA Bruins celebrates with Scooter Jackson after making an interception during the second half against the Michigan State Spartans at the Rose Bowl Stadium on October 24, 2026 in Pasadena, California.

(Jayne Kamin-Oncea, Getty Images)

Kyler Kasper of the BYU Cougars reaches for the ball in the first half of the game between the UCF Knights and BYU Cougars at Acrisure Bounce House on October 24, 2026 in Orlando, Florida.
(Dustin Markland, Getty Images)

Fans celebrate after a football game between the South Carolina Gamecocks and the Tennessee Volunteers at Williams-Brice Stadium on October 24, 2026 in Columbia, South Carolina.
(David Jensen, Getty Images)

TJ Metcalf of the Tennessee Volunteers celebrates with Tevis Metcalf and Amare Campbell after an interception during the first half of a football game against the South Carolina Gamecocks at Williams-Brice Stadium on October 24, 2026 in Columbia, South Carolina.
(David Jensen, Getty Images)

Christian Abney of the Illinois Fighting Illini dives in for a touchdown during the second half against the Oregon Ducks at Memorial Stadium on October 24, 2026 in Champaign, Illinois.
(Michael Hickey, Getty Images)

Ashton Stamps of the Arizona State Sun Devils celebrates after a defensive stop against the Kansas State Wildcats during the second quarter of the game at Sun Devil Stadium on October 24, 2026 in Tempe, Arizona.
(Christian Petersen, Getty Images)

Naiim Parrish of the Minnesota Golden Gophers tackles Braeden Jackson of the Iowa Hawkeyes in the first quarter at Huntington Bank Stadium on October 24, 2026 in Minneapolis, Minnesota.
(David Berding, Getty Images)

Jelani McDonald of the Texas Longhorns intercepts a pass intended for Caleb Odom of the Ole Miss Rebels on the last play of the game at Darrell K Royal-Texas Memorial Stadium on October 24, 2026 in Austin, Texas.
(Tim Warner, Getty Images)

Running back Dilin Jones of the LSU Tigers stiff arms safety Eric Winters of the Auburn Tigers during the first half of an NCAA football game at Jordan Hare Stadium on October 24, 2026 in Auburn, Alabama.
(Stew Milne, Getty Images)

PJ Williams of the SMU Mustangs celebrates a touchdown during the first half against the California Golden Bears at Gerald J. Ford Stadium on October 24, 2026 in Dallas, Texas.
(Ron Jenkins, Getty Images)

Nathan Knapik and Collin Dixon of the Illinois Fighting Illini celebrate a touchdown during the second half against the Oregon Ducks at Memorial Stadium on October 24, 2026 in Champaign, Illinois.
(Michael Hickey, Getty Images)

Linebacker Tyreese Fearbry of the Wisconsin Badgers celebrates after a sack in the first half against the USC Trojans at Camp Randall Stadium on October 24, 2026 in Madison, WI.
(Matthew Holst, Getty Images)

Landen Chambers of the UCF Knights celebrates his touchdown in the first quarter of the game between the UCF Knights and BYU Cougars at Acrisure Bounce House on October 24, 2026 in Orlando, Florida.
(Dustin Markland, Getty Images)

Keyone Jenkins of the UCF Knights reacts after a touchdown in the second half of the game between the UCF Knights and BYU Cougars at Acrisure Bounce House on October 24, 2026 in Orlando, Florida.
(Dustin Markland, Getty Images)

Arch Manning of the Texas Longhorns reacts after a long run in the second quarter against the Ole Miss Rebels at Darrell K Royal-Texas Memorial Stadium on October 24, 2026 in Austin, Texas.
(Tim Warner, Getty Images)

Bear Bachmeier of the BYU Cougars scores a touchdown in the first half of the game between the UCF Knights and BYU Cougars at Acrisure Bounce House on October 24, 2026 in Orlando, Florida.
(Dustin Markland, Getty Images)

Isaiah Marshall of the Kansas Jayhawks is tackled by Garrick Ponder of the Baylor Bears in the first half at David Booth Kansas Memorial Stadium on October 24, 2026 in Lawrence, Kansas.
(Ed Zurga, Getty Images)

Michael Terry III of the Texas Longhorns dives for the end zone in the second half against the Ole Miss Rebels at Darrell K Royal-Texas Memorial Stadium on October 24, 2026 in Austin, Texas.
(Tim Warner, Getty Images)

Quarterback Sam Leavitt of the LSU Tigers is tackled by cornerback Rayshawn Pleasant of the Auburn Tigers and edge rusher Da'Shawn Womack #15 of the Auburn Tigers during the second half of an NCAA football game at Jordan Hare Stadium on October 24, 2026 in Auburn, Alabama.
(Stew Milne, Getty Images)

Running back Ahmad Miller celebrates scoring a touchdown alongside tight end David Clement and tight end Noah Meyers of the Syracuse Orange during the first half of their game against the North Carolina Tar Heels at Kenan Stadium on October 24, 2026 in Chapel Hill, North Carolina.
(Matt Kelley, Getty Images)

The parity in college football has never been better, with plenty to still be figured out with a few weeks left in the regular season.

Utah's win over Houston with ESPN's "College GameDay" on site leads college football risers and fallers after Week 8 of the season. Here's a look:

College football risers after Week 8

Utah

Utah is in the driver's seat for a Big 12 championship berth after its 21-13 win over Houston to improve to 7-0 on the season. Quarterback Devon Dampier was fantastic on the ground, rushing 15 times for 150 yards with two touchdowns despite throwing two interceptions in the win.

Utah's win and BYU's loss sets up virtually a must-win game for the Cougars when the two in-state rivals face off Nov. 7. The Utes potentially have some wiggle room when it comes to the Big 12 title race, although tiebreakers could come into question.

Utah looks like the best team in the conference right now, though.

Texas

Texas' backs were against the wall against Ole Miss after back-to-back losses to Oklahoma and Florida. The Longhorns kept their CFP hopes alive, though, in a 34-27 win over the Rebels at home .

Quarterback Arch Manning still wasn't fantastic, committing three turnovers in the win, although he scored two total touchdowns. Running back Raleek Brown had a breakout game, rushing for 157 yards on 23 carries for a Longhorns' offense that has struggled to find success on the ground this season.

Texas' defense is among the best in the country, and it has three top-20 ranked wins this season against Ole Miss, Tennessee and Ohio State. If it can find some run game success, the Longhorns could be a national title contender.

Toppmeyer: Arch Manning got 'counted out' at Texas. Don't think he didn't notice that

LSU

LSU, like Texas, has two losses this season, both of which have come in conference play against Ole Miss and Kentucky.

The Tigers have looked like an SEC title contender the past two weeks, with quarterback Sam Leavitt playing his best and cleanest football for first-year coach Lane Kiffin. Leavitt has back-to-back turnover-less games for the first time this season, with 676 passing yards and eight total touchdowns in LSU's two wins over Mississippi State and Auburn.

While Mississippi State and Auburn are two bottom-tier teams in the SEC, it's still a step in the right direction for a team filled with talent. LSU is still in contention for a CFP and conference championship game berth.

College football fallers after Week 8

USC

The Lincoln Riley era might be coming to an end at USC . The Trojans were dominated by Wisconsin 24w-7 in Week 8, setting them up for a brutal finish with upcoming games against Ohio State, Indiana and UCLA in three of their final four games.

USC will likely be the underdog in all three of those games, with the lone exception being a home contest against Maryland. Losses in those games would result in a 7-5 season for USC, which would represent a worst-case scenario for a team that had big expectations entering 2026.

The vibes are not good for one team in Los Angeles, while UCLA is one of only three teams still undefeated in Power Four.

USC legend puts Lincoln Riley on blast: 'Tough decisions have got to be made'

Texas Tech

Texas Tech was 6-0 entering its matchup against Cincinnati but was ranked in the bottom-half of both total offense and defense in the Big 12 before the game.

The Bearcats exposed those flaws in Week 8, putting up 427 total yards while averaging 6.4 yards per carry against the Red Raiders .

Texas Tech still controls its own destiny going forward, but with upcoming games against Arizona and Oklahoma State, it can't sleepwalk its way to a conference championship game berth, especially with as many teams still alive in the Big 12 title race.

BYU

BYU made a statement to college football with its 28-24 upset win over Notre Dame in Week 7. That win now looks like an anomaly after being upset by UCF and its backup quarterback in Week 8.

The Knights torched the Cougars for 463 total yards, 328 of which came from quarterback Keyone Jenkins, a first-year transfer from Florida International who scored four touchdowns in the 39-31 double overtime win.

BYU quarterback Bear Bachmeier only completed 50% of his passes while the team averaged 3.2 yards per carry. It wasn't a pretty performance for a team that looked like a dark horse CFP contender in Week 7.

This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: College football risers and fallers: Utah surges as two CFP contenders come crashing down

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