College football Week 8: It’s hard to stop chasing the dragon after last week

There’s no shortage of storylines in this one as Chip Kelly (pictured) visits the school he made a title contender and that got him an NFL coaching gig. The Bruins are the last unbeaten team in a much-improved Pac-12, and this is their biggest test left until they play USC in a month. The Ducks are first in the conference and eighth in the country in yards per game (512.5), while the Bruins are third and 12th respectively (505.7).

Ducks QB Bo Nix (pictured) will get another shot to show us he can actually beat a good team, which is a perception the guy on the other sidelines also has worked hard to dispel. Dorian Thompson-Robinson has been unconscious all season, completing 75 percent of his throws with a 15-2 TD-int ratio.

It’s a 12:30 West Coast start time, and Eugene will be on fire. Factor in Oregon’s pink-tinged “Stomp out cancer” uniforms, and UCLA’s never-not-pretty gold and baby blue threads, and at the very least this contest will be aesthetically pleasing.

Dabo Swinney’s team is a 14.5-point favorite, and there are a few reasons for that, primarily the Clemson run defense against the Syracuse rushing attack. The Tigers are fourth in the country in rushing yards allowed per game (82.7) and fifth In yards allowed per attempt (2.78), and that’s been the Orange’s go-to offense. They run the ball 12 more times a game than they pass. For context, the Tigers also are a run-first team despite all the flowers people have given D.J. Uiagalelei for the strides he’s made passing, and they only attempt five more runs than passes per game.

That said, Florida State did get loose a few times last week, and ended up out-gaining Clemson by nearly 100 yards. The Seminoles repeatedly shot themselves in the foot and had some garbage time scores, but tallied 206 on the ground with a lot of it coming before the game got out of hand. If Garrett Shrader can convert the opportunities FSU QB Jordan Travis couldn’t, this might be a closer game than expected. While I don’t like that it’s in Clemson, it’s a noon kick, and a hot start could stifle a groggy crowd.

Lane Kiffin (pictured) keeps messing around with teams he shouldn’t, and the Bayou Bengals are talented enough to make him regret one of the many irresponsible decisions he’s made over the past three weeks. His quest for points almost cost Ole Miss against Kentucky, and they let an Auburn team in search of season-ending euthanasia almost clip them last week. Even though you could call The Rebels’ W over a seventh-ranked Kentucky team their signature win, the Wildcats lost the next week to South Carolina.

Brian Kelly (pictured) has been bitching about replay ruining the college game, and if he wasn’t always complaining/grandstanding about something I’d agree with him. (Nothing like coming back from a commercial break to learn that the refs are just now getting a notification from the booth to look at a play.) This should be a fun game because these are two evenly matched teams (LSU is a 2-point favorite), it’s the CBS afternoon showcase, and it’s in Baton Rouge.

Like in the ACC or the Pac-12, all someone has to do is win the conference with one loss, and they’re in the College Football Playoff. It’s a lot harder than it sounds, but Oklahoma and Clemson made a habit out of it. However, now you’re seeing what it’s like when the conference bully bleeds.

As is the case when a bunch of rival factions tries to become the new kingpin once Pablo Escobar gets pinched, there’s rarely an easy or peaceful transition of power. All of the contenders just end up knocking off each other until the most opportunistic party gains a toehold for like three seconds. The Horned Frogs did that to undefeated Kansas two weeks ago, and again against unbeaten Oklahoma State last Saturday. And now they’ll try to remain king of the hill.

Quarterbacks Max Duggan (above) and Adrian Martinez are going to be bulldozing around the field, and the running game will determine the winner of this. That’s mostly because K State struggles and/or refuses to pass the ball, but that’s neither here nor there. The 7 p.m. start under the lights should make for a Horned-up crowd, too.

As much as I like Mike Leach and Will Rogers (pictured) they’ve laid two eggs against quality SEC opponents on the road. The Bulldogs managed half of their season scoring average at LSU and at Kentucky, and it’ll be tough out there once again. Nick Saban has only lost back-to-back SEC games once in his tenure at Alabama, and that was during his first season.

Be that as it may, the Tide’s pass defense didn’t look great against Texas when Quinn Ewers was in the game, and we saw Hendon Hooker throw for 385 and five touchdowns last week, with a boatload of wide-open receivers and explosive plays. Alabama was uncharacteristically undisciplined in the Texas and Tennessee games, as well, with 15 and 17 flags against them in those two games.

You know Leach watched the film and is going to try to test that secondary. Rogers might be able to move the ball enough to make Bryce Young work more than Bama fans would like. And more frustrated Saban sideline reaction shots are all we can really ask for because a return trip to Pleasure Town ain’t happening — at least not twice in a span of eight days.