Week 8 of the college football season brought us highlights galore and number of surprises that nobody could have predicted earlier this year. While we know who won and lost the games from the box scores, who really came out of Saturday able to hold their heads high heading into Week 9?
Winners
Idaho: The Vandals ended the nation's longest losing streak with a conference (yes, conference) win over Sun Belt foe New Mexico State. Yes, realignment is strange.
Rakeem Cato: The Marshall quarterback set a new FBS record with a touchdown pass in his 39th straight game, passing some guy named Russell Wilson.
Cody Kessler: USC's quarterback tossed a school record seven touchdowns against Colorado. Considering the number of quarterbacks to come out of that school, that's impressive.
Bill Snyder: The Kansas State coach known best for his sideline windbreakers now owns two wins over former pupil Bob Stoops in Norman, Okla.
Minnesota: Big Ten title hopes remain intact for Jerry Kill's squad, who squeaked past Purdue thanks to a big second half. That Week 3 loss to TCU isn't looking that bad either.
Dana Holgorsen: Once thought to be on the hot seat, Holgorsen's West Virginia team earned a top-five upset Saturday and plenty of momentum heading into the rest of the season.
Duke: It might be Midnight Madness time in college hoops, but the Blue Devils' football team looks set to control the ACC Coastal after a win over Virginia, improving to 6-1 on the season.
UMass: From nation's longest losing streak to two-game winning streak after Saturday's win over Eastern Michigan. Not bad, Minutemen.
J.T. Barrett: The redshirt freshman is playing so well for Ohio State, there might be a bit of a quarterback controversy next season. Five touchdowns and another day of 200-plus passing yards with 100-plus rushing yards will do that.
DeVante Parker: Quite the comeback for Louisville's star receiver, catching nine passes for 132 yards to help move the team to 6-2 on the year.
Nick Chubb: Georgia RB Todd Gurley won't get Wally Pipp'd if he ends up coming back, but true freshman Nick Chubb is looking like an issue for SEC teams the next few years after rushing for 202 against Arkansas.
Jameis Winston: After a week of off the field issues, the Heisman Trophy winner delivered with a near perfect second half in a win over Notre Dame.
The Irish: Yes, the call on the goal line was a tough one to stomach, but Notre Dame proved it has the talent to go against the best in the country in its close loss in Tallahasee. No playoff hopes dashed here.
Losers
SMU: The Mustangs were blown out at home by Cincinnati and now own the nation's longest losing streak at eight games. One reason why a new head coach can't come soon enough in Dallas.
Bill Blankenship: Tulsa blew a 20-point lead at home to lowly South Florida to drop to 1-6 on the season. That's the kind of thing that gets coaches fired.
Baylor: An anemic offensive effort against an average West Virginia defense probably cost the Bears a shot at the College Football Playoff.
Kevin Sumlin: Texas A&M didn't give its head coach $5 million to get shut out against Alabama.
Rutgers: The Scarlet Knights have officially had their welcome-to-the-Big 10 moment after getting waxed by Ohio State in Columbus to the tune of 56-17.
Will Muschamp: Florida's head coach lands in this section seemingly every week, but being down 42-0 while surrendering less than a 100 yards of offense to Missouri is an impressive accomplishment.
Utah State: The Aggies had a three-point lead on Colorado State but gave up a long drive for a field goal that tied the game, took just 42 seconds off the clock on the ensuing offensive drive and then gave up a 58-yard drive in less than a minute to allow the Rams to kick the game-winner.
Washington: Another game, another loss to Oregon. Will the streak ever end? Saturday's game had to be especially painful with all the celebration of "The Pick" from 20 years ago.
Iowa State: The Cyclones went 75 yards in under a minute to tie the game up with 28 seconds left at Texas. They lost by three. Brutal.
You can follow Bryan Fischer on Twitter at @BryanDFischer.
