Lincoln Riley's Future in Doubt and More Overreactions After Week 8 of 2026 College Football Season

For the second consecutive week, chaos ruled.

College football has a knack of normalizing the unthinkable, and the last two Saturdays have showcased how unpredictable the sport can be.

The No. 2 team lost for the second consecutive week, and the top 10 was again completely overhauled thanks to an avalanche of losses. Oh, and the hot seat is suddenly scorching for some.

With Halloween looming, the only guarantee is that more bedlam is coming.

When it comes to overreactions, we have no shortage of topics to work with. From upsets to to standout performances to coaches with cloudy futures, Week 8 had it all.

The Indiana Offense Will Be Its Undoing at Some Point this Year

Quarterback Josh Hoover threw one more pass than you did in the second half of Indiana's game against Michigan. That about says it all.

Yes, the Hoosiers beat the Wolverines. That's the good news. The bad news is that the 13-6 final score didn't inspire a lot of confidence, and the game needed overtime for either team to hit double digits.

In total, Indiana accumulated just 212 yards of offense. And in the last three games, Curt Cignetti's team has failed to eclipse 21 points in a single outing.

Granted, it's been a difficult stretch. Road games at Nebraska and Michigan plus a home game against Ohio State make for quite a gauntlet, and this team deserves credit for grinding out two wins.

But all is not well for this team and the offense. The defense is one of the best in the country, and it will continue to keep it in games. But if and when the defending national champions take on a group with more firepower, it won't go well.

Eventually, it will catch up to this group, in the regular season or beyond.

Malachi Toney Remains (Somehow) Underrated and a Legit Heisman Threat

Over the past few months, we've bombarded you with reasons why Jeremiah Smith is the best player in college football. We've even started the conversation of his standing among the best wide receivers to ever play.

Along the way, we've not talked enough about how good Malachi Toney continues to be.

This is not meant as a reason to compare the two players. Greatness can coexist just fine.

But Smith has undoubtedly engulfed much of the conversation, even while Toney has continued to perform. On Saturday, Toney reminded the world just how incredible he is, hauling in an absurd 16 catches against Pittsburgh in a 52-23 win.

Three of those catches were touchdowns, and Toney totaled 194 receiving yards. In the past two games, he has an unthinkable 27 catches and five touchdowns.

Toney's electric two-week stretch has him back squarely in the Heisman discussion. With Ohio State's quarterback situation foggy, he could close the gap on Smith significantly in the weeks to come.

Either way, we were reminded yet again just how ridiculous he is on Saturday. And more absurdity will likely follow.

Arch Manning's Job Security Isn't Any Clearer, Even After Beating Ole Miss

First, let's give Arch Manning some credit.

With his job on the line, the Texas QB unleashed a handful of beautiful deep balls. Unfortunately, Cam Coleman inexplicably dropped one of those deep balls, although the throw was pristine.

Overall, Manning did a lot of really good things early on in Texas' 34-27 victory over Ole Miss, which was a game the Longhorns absolutely had to win. But Manning also missed reads, held onto the ball too long and finished with multiple turnovers, which has become the norm of late.

It feels like we're back where we were a week ago, when Manning's starting spot was very much up for grabs. Head coach Steve Sarkisian gave backup KJ Lacey Jr. more first-team reps in practice last week, and there's no reason Lacey shouldn't continue getting those opportunities.

For Manning, it's about consistency. The great throws are superb, although there simply aren't enough of those moments. And the reality about Manning remains the same; he is one rough half away from that QB change actually being made.

Oregon State Had One of the Biggest Wins of the Week, and It Didn't Play a Game

While Oregon State enjoyed a bye on Saturday, it still came away with one of the sport's biggest wins of the week. True freshman wideout Jesse Legree announced he would return to the program in 2027, giving the Beavers an enormous boost for the future.

In the era of NIL, things are different. As Legree continues one of the greatest seasons a freshman wideout has ever had, much of the conversation has revolved around his future team.

The assumption has largely been that Legree would leave Oregon State for a bigger conference and bigger program. Given his performance, the conversation, while premature, was understandable.

Legree entered the week leading the country with 1,040 receiving yards and 14 touchdown catches. Despite not playing this week, he remains No. 1 in both categories.

While the timing surrounding his decision to stay was perhaps unique, that doesn't change its significance. From recruiting and general program momentum, Legree's commitment is enormous for many reasons.

It's also a reminder that in the era of NIL, things are much different than they once were.

Up until this week, USC had avoided catastrophe.

One could argue the loss to Oregon was just that given the Ducks' current state, although USC has kept its season afloat. On Saturday night, it finally felt like things fell apart.

On a night Wisconsin totaled just 200 yards of offense, USC lost 24-7 to the Badgers in Madison. It was turnovers, it was penalties, it was a mix of everything one needs to do to lose a football game in this fashion.

For the Trojans, this was just the second loss of the year. That's the good news. The bad news is that USC still plays Ohio State, Indiana and UCLA before the end of the year.

With Riley now in his fifth season at USC, a 7-5 regular season remains a real possibility. After the Trojans failed to win 10 games in each of the previous three seasons, it's fair to wonder whether patience with the head coach is starting to wear thin.

Given what we've seen—and better yet, what we haven't—how could it not?

Oregon's Season is One of the Most Disappointing in Recent Memory

They began the season ranked No. 2 in the country and one of the most popular picks to win the national championship. They will head into Halloween with three losses and their playoff hopes hanging by a thread.

The Ducks lost outright to Illinois as a double-digit favorite in Week 8. It's the third time this year Oregon has lost as a double-digit fav, which is somewhat remarkable given the conversation in August.

Yes, the injury to Dante Moore certainly hurt. Losing a quarterback of that caliber has taken a sizable toll.

But the issues with this team were far greater than Moore. The defense has been disappointing, the offense never quite clicked and the changes at coordinators seemed to hamper this team from the start.

On Sunday, the team parted ways with offensive coordinator Drew Mehringer. Expect more changes to follow.

The good news for Oregon? It has company. This broken season mirrors what we saw from Penn State a season ago, and the outcome will be the same.

Lane Kiffin Was Worth the Drama and the Money

Lost in the hyperbole and the viral quotes and a nasty departure, Lane Kiffin has somewhat quietly done a superb job in rebuilding LSU.

The loss to Kentucky was ugly; the loss to Ole Miss was emotional. LSU hasn't been a dominant football team by any means. But given where this program was a year ago—essentially a team in absolute turmoil—Kiffin deserves credit for assembling and essentially rebuilding this program in his first year.

Why are we overreacting over a win against Auburn? For starters, it was a suffocating 38-17 performance over a team that just beat the No. 1 team in the sport a week ago.

More importantly, LSU heads into a bye at 6-2, squarely in the mix, with a home game against Alabama on deck.

The schedule isn't kind from this point forward, although that thought works both ways. Kiffin has done largely an excellent job under extraordinary circumstances, whether we want to admit it or not.

The Big 12's Unpredictability Could Hurt It in the Long Run

We spent the week outlining the Big 12's sudden football resurgence. On Saturday, the conference's two highest-ranked teams lost outright, leaving the conference with only one unblemished squad.

BYU's dramatic win over Notre Dame a week ago gave way to a 39-31 double-OT loss to Central Florida. Texas Tech's stumble at Cincinnati was far less dramatic; the Red Raiders were dominated throughout, losing 37-24 to the Bearcats.

Utah ultimately toppled Houston 21-13 in an ugly game, although the win kept the Utes unbeaten and in the driver's seat for a playoff spot.

The competition for this spot will be significant. Arizona, now 6-1, is in the picture. As is Oklahoma State, which has one of the best offenses in the sport.

How many other conferences can say there are legitimately six teams that could be its best team on a given day? Given what we've seen over the past few weeks, it feels like we've arrived here.

"Exciting" and "dominant" are two very different terms, however, and the volatility of the conference could ultimately limit the conference's playoff potential.

Perhaps more directly, it feels like we're inching closer to a more straightforward reality. The winner of the conference will be in the playoff. Beyond that, if this trend continues, additional at-large bids within the conference could be hard to come by.