The Good, the Bad, the Ugly: Week Eight

Week eight of the college football season has concluded, and the picture is becoming slightly clearer. Let’s revisit the good, bad, and ugly moments of week eight:

The Good:

Fresno State

The Bulldogs did what they needed to do and took care of a bad football team in New Mexico. The Lobos have given their fans a lot of false hope over the first half of the season, but the Bulldogs exposed them. Marcus McMaryion continued to impress, completing 20 of 30 passes for 280 yards and three touchdowns. The running game continues to be a concern for the Bulldogs, but their defense is good enough to overcome some offensive weaknesses.

Brett Rypien

Rypien had his most efficient game of the year, completing 22 of 26 passes for 308 yards and four touchdowns. AJ Richardson deserves some credit as well, with more than 100 yards receiving in the first quarter alone and two highlight reel touchdown catches. Rypien had the best performance of any quarterback in the Mountain West this week, and he looked like the quarterback that Bronco fans saw at the beginning of the season.

Nevada

The Wolf Pack appear to be finding their stride. After losing a close game to Boise State, Nevada responded with a convincing win over Hawaii. It was shades of the old Wolf Pack teams with a dominating run game and an efficient passing game.

The Bad:

San Diego State-San Jose State

This was another boring football game. People who have watched the Aztecs play this year are used to it, and somehow, they keep coming away with a win. The Aztecs are playing with house money and need to figure things out on offense before they head to Reno.

San Jose State, on the other hand, blew another chance. The Spartans have played a few close games this year and were the victims of a missed pass interference call late in the game. But, they also had an odd call on 4th and 2. San Jose State is at least showing glimpses of hope.

Utah State-Wyoming

The Aggies overcame an underwhelming performance from their offense to escape with a victory in Laramie. If it wasn’t for an interception and solid special teams play, the Aggies would have been dealt their first conference loss. Jordan Love finished the game completing 12 of 28 passes for only 53 yards.

Wyoming’s defense had one of their best performances of the year, completely shutting down a Utah State offense that had looked electric in recent weeks. However, the offense gave the Cowboys almost no shot of coming away with a win. Late in the game, Sean Chambers replaced Tyler Vander Waal at quarterback. Chambers looked effective, and the Cowboys offense was able to move the ball down the field. For some reason, on the last drive of the game, Vander Waal was put back in with a chance to tie. Vander Waal missed two wide open receivers, and an opportunity was wasted. Probably not the best decision Craig Bohl has ever made.

The Ugly:

New Mexico

The Lobos were dominated by the Bulldogs. New Mexico football has a ton of uncertainty at the moment; they are running a new offense, and head coach Bob Davie has plenty of controversy surrounding him. I have a hard time seeing the Lobos recovering. It feels like time is running out for Bob Davie in New Mexico.

Colorado State

The Rams have faced plenty of adversity this season, but they continue to be plagued by the same problems from year to year: an offense with plenty of potential that features an electric passing game, that can’t reach it’s full potential because of a Swiss cheese defense. Boise State moved the ball with relative ease on the Rams. It seemed like an afterthought that the Broncos were going to score when they had the ball.

What were your good, bad, and ugly moments of week eight? Be sure to tune in next week, as the conference features some marquee showdowns in week nine.