CFB South: Week 8 Review
In-State
There was one in-state game during Week 8.
North/Central Texas neighbors Baylor and TCU matched up against each other and the Horned Frogs walked away with a +6, 42-36, win. It was a pretty even contest from a high level with the total offensive output being 439-427, in favor of Baylor. The passing yard split was 318-231 in favor of the Bears but they also finished the day with three thrown interceptions and one lost fumble, compared with TCU’s one lost fumble. Those kind of details end up making all of the difference.
TCU is now 5-2 overall and 2-2 against Big 12 opponents. Baylor drops to a 4-3 overall record but they are also 2-2 against conference opponents.
Regional
There were four regional games played during Week 8.
Alabama walked away with the biggest regional win. The Crimson Tide dealt the Tennessee Volunteers a +17, 37-20, blow. The loss drops Tennessee to a 5-2 overall record and a 2-2 record against SEC competition. And Alabama continues on its revenge tour for last season’s overall disappointment and the Florida State loss in this season’s opener. They’re 6-1 overall and have knocked off all four of the SEC teams they’ve played up to this point.
Vanderbilt is on a different type of revenge tour. They emerged as something more than a joke in the SEC last season with their win over Alabama. The Crimson Tide beat them last weekend 30-14 for their first loss of the season but the Commodore’s took out their hurt on LSU in Week 8. The Commodores served a +7, 31-24, loss to the LSU Tigers and they are now 6-1 overall and 2-1 against SEC opponents. Vanderbilt outproduced LSU 399-325 in total offensive yards and 239-100 in rushing yards. The folks from Baton Rouge are now 5-2 overall, 2-2 against SEC opponents and rumors are spreading that fans are lining up to host crawfish boil fundraisers to support Brian Kelly’s buyout.
Texas A&M eked out a +3, 45-42, win over Arkansas. The Aggies’ fortunes continue to flow in abundance and they are 7-0 overall with four SEC wins. The opposite is true for the Razorbacks. Arkansas is 2-5 overall and 0-3 against SEC competition heading out of Week 8. It wasn’t as much of a blowout as expected and Arkansas outproduced Texas A&M 527-497 in total offensive yards. But you can’t argue with undefeated records, especially this deep into the season.
Texas also pulled off a slim victory during Week 8. They finished with a +3, 16-13, win over Kentucky. That victory bumps the Longhorns’ overall record up to 5-2 and their conference record up to 2-1. Their 2025-26 season is pretty backloaded so we’ll see how things fare out for the program through the stretch. It’s a wash of a season for the Kentucky wildcats who are now 2-4 overall, with all four of those losses coming against SEC opponents.
Out-Region
Four Southern programs played out-region games during Week 8 and only one walked away with a win.
Houston pulled off a slim, +3, 31-38, win over Arizona. The Cougars are having a solid season and are now 6-1 overall and 3-1 against Big 12 opponents.
Texas Tech suffered its first loss of the 2025-26 season. Arizona State dealt the Red Raiders a -4, 22-26, loss at home in Tempe. Texas Tech was outproduced 276-394 in total offensive yards and 167-319 in rushing yards. They’ll now head into the season’s final stretch with a 6-1 overall record and 3-1 record against Big 12 opponents.
I’m pretty sure Auburn is ready for the 2025-26 season to be in their rear view. They are on a four-game losing streak following their -6, 17-23, loss to Missouri. The Tigers started the season with sizeable wins over Baylor, Ball State and South Alabama. But they’ve faced a gauntlet of ranked Oklahoma, Texas A&M, Georgia and Missouri and don’t have anything positive to show for their efforts. They are heading into the final weeks with a 3-4 overall record and 0-4 in-conference record.
Oklahoma State is probably having the worst go of things in the region. They dropped a whopping, -32, 17-49, loss this week to Cincinnati. The Cowboys are now 1-6 overall and 0-4 against Big 12 opponents. They have Texas Tech, Kansas, Kansas State, UCF and Iowa State left and there’s a very real chance they don’t see another win before they can close out this 2025-26 nightmare.
Southeast
Five teams played opponents located in the Southeast.
Oklahoma pulled of a +19, 26-7, win over South Carolina. That brings them to 6-1 overall and 2-1 against SEC teams. Things get treacherous with Ole Miss, Tennessee, Alabama, Missouri and LSU left on the schedule so the jury is very much still out on the Sooners.
SMU walked away from Week 8 with a big +11, 35-24, win over Clemson. The Mustangs are 5-2 overall but have beaten all three of the ACC teams they’ve faced up to this point. Clemson unfortunately drops to 3-4 overall and 2-3 against conference competition.
Louisville claimed the biggest upset of the week with a +3, 24-21, win over #2 Miami (FL). The win brings them to 5-1 overall and 2-1 against ACC competition. And while Miami (FL) is 5-1 overall their in-conference record is now only 1-1. There’s a strong possibility that Louisville could win out this season and emerge as a serious ACC contender.
Mississippi State dropped a close, -2, 21-23, game to Florida in Week 8. It’s hard to make heads or tails of what a win or loss to Florida means in 2025-26. This win helps to bring the Bulldogs to 4-3 overall but still 0-3 against SEC opponents. The Gators are 3-4 but 2-2 against SEC teams.
Ole Miss took its first loss of the 2025-26 season in Week 8. They dropped a -8, 35-43, game to Georgia. It was a pretty resounding defeat and the Bulldogs outproduced the Rebels 510-351 in total offensive yards. And most of that disparity is attributed to Georgia putting up 221 yards on the ground and Ole Miss only logging 83 rushing yards. They’re 6-1 overall and 3-1 against SEC opponents, with the odds favoring them winning out through the stretch.
