The Solid Verbal: Recapping an unexpectedly weird Week 8

Block out the noise and enjoy the college football season while it lasts.

By Dan Rubenstein and Ty Hildenbrandt Oct 23, 2016, 8:50pm EDT

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Let's talk about Week 8 and attempt to answer the following questions:

• What exactly did Penn State do to hang with Ohio State and find itself in position to beat Ohio State on that blocked field goal and return?

• Just how slim is the margin for error against Alabama, even when a team (like Texas A&M just did) is playing at a superb level?

• Is it time to start worrying about Heisman frontrunner Lamar Jackson after he only scored four TDs in a blowout win over North Carolina State?

• What the hell happened to Houston against SMU?

• In Texas Tech's shootout loss to Oklahoma, did Red Raiders QB Patrick Mahomes just have the ultimate in-a-losing-effort performance ... like, ever?

• Will UCLA ever stop recent retiree Joe Williams and the Utah rushing attack?

• Just how good might LSU and Auburn be after their impressive Saturday wins, and which of the two is a bigger threat to Alabama?

... and much more!

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