College Football Chaos Continues At Midway Point Of Wild Season | Barrett Sallee

I hope you like chaos, because the second half of the college football season season is headed toward the most chaotic finish the sport has seen in at least a generation.

Week 8 provided some wild games, unexpected upsets and statements that were made by some of the biggest programs in the country.

No. 1 Texas? It fell at home to No. 5 Georgia, which put up the first 23 points of the game. No. 6 Miami? The ‘Canes survived an onslaught of offense from home-standing Louisville. No. 7 Alabama? They lost in Neyland Stadium for the second straight time to 11th-ranked Tennessee in a ridiculously sloppy and awesome game that ended with Vols fans storming the field.

What did we learn this week?

The SEC is a hot mess

Texas’ 30-15 loss to Georgia ended the conference’s quest to put an undefeated team into the College Football Playoff. That’s only part of the story, though. Not only has the prospect of a perfect season disappeared, but it puts LSU and Texas A&M at the head of the pack in the race for the SEC Championship Game. Just as we all expected before the season, right?

AUSTIN, TEXAS - OCTOBER 19: Arch Manning #16 of the Texas Longhorns runs the ball during the second quarter against the Georgia Bulldogs at Darrell K Royal-Texas Memorial Stadium on October 19, 2024 in Austin, Texas. (Photo by Alex Slitz/Getty Images)

The post-Nick Saban era isn’t going very well for Alabama, either. The Crimson Tide’s 15 penalties and horrendous play along the offensive line has the natives restless. Losses to Vanderbilt and their bitter rival Tennessee won’t sit well. Is first-year coach Kalen DeBoer coaching for his job? Of course not. But this kind of ineptitude is unacceptable.

Coaches on the hot season? They’re playing musical chairs too. Florida and coach Billy Napier smoked Kentucky 48-20, while Auburn coach Hugh Freeze fell to 2-5 with a loss to Missouri and Oklahoma under Brent Venables couldn’t muster up any offense after giving up 21 points in the first six minutes of the game in the loss to South Carolina.

What’s going to happen for the rest of the season? It’d be easy to get on here and make emphatic statement. The truth is that I have no freaking idea. It’s going to be a lot of fun, though.

Iowa State and Indiana? Really???

Yep, those two teams are not only in the College Football Playoff hunt, it’s fair to say that they are part of a group including Georgia, Oregon and other powerhouses as likely participants.

BLOOMINGTON, IN - OCTOBER 19: Indiana Hoosiers RB Justice Ellison (6) celebrates following a college football game between the Nebraska Cornhuskers and Indiana Hoosiers on October 19, 2024 at Memorial Stadium in Bloomington, IN (Photo by James Black/Icon Sportswire via Getty Images)

Iowa State’s last-minute comeback win over UCF will undoubtedly sit well in the board room in suburban Dallas when the College Football Playoff selection committee begins to meet in a few weeks. Indiana is 7-0 for the first time since 1967 after its emphatic 56-7 win over Nebraska, and will likely be favored in every game except the Nov. 23 showdown at Ohio State between now and the end of the regular season.

How many of us thought the Cyclones and Hoosiers would be legit playoff contenders heading into late October? (Put your hand down … no you didn’t)

Army vs. Navy … twice???

The two service academies are unblemished and, since Army joined the American Athletic Conference this year, can meet in the AAC Championship Game on Dec. 6. Wait, that’s one week before the actual Army-Navy game, right? Yep. The traditional Army-Navy Game that takes place the second weekend of December is a non-conference game as agreed-upon when Army joined the AAC, so it’s feasible that the two will play in consecutive weeks AFTER one of them wins the conference championship.

What happens in the College Football Playoff race, though? The rankings are released on Dec. 8 - two days after the AAC title game, and that date won’t change as the traditional matchup will not be taken into consideration by the selection committee.

Make sense? Only in college football, because it is the most beautifully dysfunctional sport on the planet.