College football scores, rankings, highlights: Ohio State, Texas A&M celebrate massive blowouts

On a day when other top-25 teams held their breath, the Buckeyes and Aggies won with ease

On a weekend when it felt like many College Football Playoff contenders decided to sleep in a little too long, No. 5 Ohio State made a point to anybody who thinks it isn't ready to get back in the conversation. The Buckeyes cruised to an easy 54-7 win over Indiana and quarterback C.J. Stroud reentered the Heisman conversation by throwing for 266 yards and four touchdowns. It was the fifth straight win for the Buckeyes, which have found their rhythm since their Week 2 loss at home to Oregon.

Similarly, No. 17 Texas A&M had no problems with South Carolina, knocking off the Gamecocks 44-14. The highlight was the Aggies defense, which held South Carolina's offense to just 185 yards of offense -- 170 of which came in the fourth quarter. 

Elsewhere, No. 2 Cincinnati survived a scare from Navy, holding on to win 27-20 to stay unbeaten and keep its playoff hopes intact. No. 3 Oklahoma had to come back from a 10-0 halftime deficit to beat Kansas 35-23 while No. 4 Alabama messed around with Tennessee before pulling away with a 28-point fourth quarter to win 52-24.

Not every team in the top 25 got by unscathed, however. No. 8 Oklahoma State lost for the first time this season, falling to Iowa State 24-21. No. 7 Penn State lost to Illinois 20-18 in nine -- yes, nine -- overtimes. And No. 18 NC State fell suffered its second loss of the season in a tight 31-30 battle against Miami. Yet, despite all of that, the best game of the day might've taken place in West Point, New York. That's where No. 16 Wake Forest beat Army 70-56 in what looked like a basketball game on turf. 

CBS Sports was here every step of the way to update you with the latest scores, highlights and storylines throughout the night. 

College football scores, schedule: Week 8

No. 2 Cincinnati 27, Navy 20 -- Recap
No. 3 Oklahoma 35, Kansas 23 -- Recap, takeaways
No. 6 Michigan 33, Northwestern 7 -- Recap 
Illinois 20, No. 7 Penn State 18 (9OT) -- Recap, takeaways
No. 12 Ole Miss 31, LSU 17 -- Recap, takeaways
Iowa State 24, No. 8 Oklahoma State 21 -- Recap
No. 10 Oregon 34, UCLA 31 -- Recap
No. 23 Pittsburgh 27, Clemson 17 -- Recap
No. 4 Alabama 52, Tennessee 24 -- Recap, takeaways
No. 17 Texas A&M 44, South Carolina 14 -- Recap
No. 5 Ohio State 54, Indiana 7 -- Recap
No. 13 Notre Dame 31, USC 16 -- Recap, takeaways
Check out the entire Week 8 scoreboard

Check these out ...

• Overreactions: Pitt is the ACC's new title favorite
• TT25T: Ole Miss vaults into the top 10 after throttling LSU
• Dodd: Winning's never easy for Oregon, which survived UCLA
• WATCH: Mike Leach goes on Halloween candy rant following win
• Hamilton hurt: Notre Dame star DB Kyle Hamilton exits USC game with injury
• D.J. benched: Clemson makes a change at QB vs. Pitt
• Midseason: All-America team | Second-chance expert picks
• Jeyarajah: Upsets happening at record pace in 2021 season

[Oct 23, 2021 at 10:39 pm ET · Barrett Sallee]

Light up the cigars, Alabama

Final: No. 4 Alabama 52, Tennessee 24

The Crimson Tide pulled away from Tennessee in the second half with four touchdowns, including two touchdown runs from Brian Robinson Jr., to win the rivalry showdown with Tennessee and light up the traditional cigars. Quarterback Bryce Young was incredible, throwing for 371 yards, two passing touchdowns, 42 yards on the ground and two more scores in what was his first start on the "Third Saturday in October." It was another impressive performance by a Tide team that is still in control of its College Football Playoff destiny.

[Oct 23, 2021 at 10:06 pm ET · Shehan Jeyarajah]

Texas A&M waxing Gamecocks

END 3Q: Texas A&M 41, South Carolina

South Carolina is putting together one of its worst offensive performances in program history through three quarters against No. 17 Texas A&M. The Gamecocks, amazingly, have just 15 total yards entering the fourth quarter thanks to minus-15 rushing yards for South Carolina as a team. SC has just two first downs and is 0-of-9 on third down. The mark is good enough for fewer than one yard per play. 

[Oct 23, 2021 at 9:48 pm ET · Barrett Sallee]

It's a one-score game in T-Town

Start 4Q: No. 4 Alabama 24, Tennessee 17

Things are more interesting than expected in Tuscaloosa as The Crimson Tide only lead Tennessee by a touchdown. The teams exchanged field goals in a defensive-focused third quarter. Crimson Tide quarterback Bryce Young has thrown for 292 yards, one touchdown and one rushing score on the evening. 

[Oct 23, 2021 at 9:14 pm ET · Barrett Sallee]

Buckeyes making a statement

Half: No. 5 Ohio State 44, Indiana 7

Quarterback C.J. Stroud is having a Heisman-like performance on Saturday night. The first-year starter is 16 of 21 for 201 yards and three touchdown passes in an absolute demolition of the home-standing Hoosiers. More importantly, the Buckeyes defense has given up just 54 yards against a team led by backup quarterback Jack Tuttle. That's a great sign moving forward because the defensive front has been underwhelming for the last two seasons.

[Oct 23, 2021 at 9:00 pm ET · Barrett Sallee]

Aggies in cruise control

Half: No. 17 Texas A&M 31, South Carolina 0

Tight end Jalen Wydermyer has three catches for 60 yards and two touchdowns and the Aggie defense allowed just 11 total yards to South Carolina in what was one of their best halves of football all year. The SEC West title is a long shot at this point, but the Aggies are headed straight toward a second straight New Year's Six berth at this rate.

[Oct 23, 2021 at 8:44 pm ET · Barrett Sallee]

Alabama storms back

Half: No. 4 Alabama 21, Tennessee 14

The Crimson Tide got a five-yard touchdown run from quarterback Bryce Young and a six-yard touchdown pass from Young to John Metchie III to give the Tide a seven-point lead at the break. Alabama lost a fumble at the Tennessee nine-yard line late in the first frame which made this one closer than it should be.

[Oct 23, 2021 at 8:18 pm ET · Barrett Sallee]

No. 5 Ohio State up on Indiana early

Late 1Q: No. 5 Ohio State 14, Indiana 7

The Buckeyes are up 14-7 on the Hoosiers late in the first quarter. C.J. Stroud found Jaxon Smith-Njigba for a 32-yard touchdown pass with 2:58 to go in the first to build the lead. Miyan Williams scampered 11 yards to cap off an 11-play drive early in the first quarter to get the scoring started. Hoosiers backup quarterback Jack Tuttle answered back with a touchdown seven-yard touchdown to Peyton Hendershot to even the game at seven. The Buckeyes defense has been suspect this season, and a strong performance against a backup quarterback is needed to give them confidence moving forward.

[Oct 23, 2021 at 8:06 pm ET · Barrett Sallee]

Ainias Smith to the house

Late 1Q: No. 17 Texas A&M 7, South Carolina 0

Texas A&M's first touch of the game went rather well. Smith caught a punt after South Carolina's first possession and promptly took it 95 yards to the house to give the 17th-ranked Aggies an early 7-0 lead on the Gamecocks. 

[Oct 23, 2021 at 7:51 pm ET · Barrett Sallee]

Tennessee up on Alabama

Start 2Q: Tennessee 14, No. 4 Alabama 7

There's an upset brewing in Tuscaloosa. Tennessee quarterback Hendon Hooker has two touchdown passes -- one to Velus Jones Jr and another to JaVonta Payton with 26 seconds left in the first quarter -- to lead the Crimson Tide 14-7. Hooker has lit up this defense to the tune of 144 yards on 8 of 10 passing despite being limited in practice with a knee injury this week.

[Oct 23, 2021 at 6:49 pm ET · David Cobb]

Impressive showing for Ole Miss

Late 4Q: Ole Miss 31, LSU 10

Just a week after Tyrion Davis-Price set an LSU school record for rushing yards in a game and piled up more yards on the ground than any back had against Florida since Herschel Walker, the oft-maligned Ole Miss defense has done an admirable job of slowing him down. Overall, an impressive showing from the Rebels' defense and another big-time showing for the Ole Miss rushing attack. Get live coverage and postgame takeaways at this link.

[Oct 23, 2021 at 6:45 pm ET · Shehan Jeyarajah]

BYU cruises past Pac-12

FINAL: BYU 21, Washington State 19

BYU held off a late run by Washington State to increase its record to 5-2 and move to 4-0 against the Pac-12. Funnily enough, that means that the Cougars are the first team in college football to pick up a fourth win against the Pac-12 – including every Pac-12 team. One week after getting bottled up against Baylor, Tyler Allgeier rushed for 191 yards and 2 touchdowns in the win. Wazzu, which was playing its first game since the firing of Nick Rolovich, got 83 yards and 3 rushing touchdowns from Max Borghi. 

[Oct 23, 2021 at 6:27 pm ET · David Cobb]

Oregon running away with it

The Ducks surge ahead 34-17 in the fourth quarter on a 43-yard run by Anthony Brown. That one was set up in large part by a Kayvon Thibodeaux sack on third down that pushed UCLA out of FG range and into a position where going for it was not plausible. He's impacted this game in a big way, and the Ducks are now in total control of a game they once trailed 14-0. This is the type of performance Oregon needed to remain viable on the national stage.

[Oct 23, 2021 at 6:24 pm ET · David Cobb]

Clemson in trouble

No. 23 Pittsburgh has Clemson on the ropes, leading 27-10 in the fourth quarter. Things have gone so poorly for the Tigers that they have benched D.J. Uiagalelei in favor of Taisun Phommachanh, who is coming off an Achilles injury. Read more on that here. Weird that we've gotten to a point where the Tigers losing to Pittsburgh doesn't even feel like a big deal.

[Oct 23, 2021 at 6:03 pm ET · David Cobb]

Oregon up 11

The Ducks block a punt, and then Travis Dye scores his fourth TD of the game on the ground to put Oregon ahead 28-17 with 8:52 left in the third quarter. UCLA's offense has been nonexistent since the first quarter. Dye's longest run of the game is five yards, but he's racking up the TDs and is on his way to a wonky final stat line. Feels like the craziness in this game isn't over, but the Ducks are in control for now.

[Oct 23, 2021 at 5:25 pm ET · David Cobb]

Wisconsin is back?

Well, let's not get carried away. But the Badgers have finally established the run game like you might expect. Chez Mellussi is just five yards away from joining Braelon Allen in the 100-yard club today. Aside from a fumble returned for a TD that gave Purdue some momentum in the first half, the Badgers have been pretty dominant.

[Oct 23, 2021 at 5:23 pm ET · David Cobb]

UCLA up 3

UCLA tacks on a field goal at the half and leads it 17-14. Travis Dye scored both Oregon's touchdowns but has just 11 yards rushing on six carries. Anthony Brown is 15-of-22 for 167 yards through the air. The Bruins were running the ball well early but have struggled to sustain that. DTR is 13-of-18 through the air with a TD and an INT.

[Oct 23, 2021 at 5:09 pm ET · David Cobb]

Ole Miss looking good

The Rebels close the first half with 17 unanswered to take a 17-7 lead into the break against LSU. The Tigers scored on their first series but turned it over on downs on their second possession. Ole Miss started with two punts but scored on its final three possessions. Matt Corral looks pretty good after some worry about his health following his heavy workload against Tennessee last week. Follow full live coverage at this link.

[Oct 23, 2021 at 5:06 pm ET · Shehan Jeyarajah]

Pokes hold halftime edge

HALF: No. 8 Oklahoma State 14, Iowa State 7

The Cowboys were the first touchdown underdogs as a top 10 team against an unranked team since 1998. So far, Oklahoma State has held its own. Cowboys wide receiver Brennan Presley has four catches for 76 yards and two touchdowns in the first half, while running back Jaylen Warren has 54 rushing yards. Iowa State quarterback Brock Purdy is off to a hot start with 12 of 16 for 103 yards, but star running back Breece Hall has just 21 yards on 11 carries. The defenses are showing out, and Oklahoma State is more than keeping up. 

[Oct 23, 2021 at 4:57 pm ET · Shehan Jeyarajah]

Pickett ties game with beauty

2Q: Pitt 7, Clemson 7

Pitt QB Kenny Pickett added to his All-America case with a tremendous throw to Jordan Addison for a touchdown to tie the game with Clemson.  Pickett has completed 14 of 24 passes for 165 yards and the score with a handful of minutes remaining before the half. 

[Oct 23, 2021 at 4:43 pm ET · David Cobb]

Big 12 battle 

Brock Purdy is 10-of-11 to start the game for Iowa State and just capped a 15-play touchdown drive with a 1-yard strike to Xavier Hutchinson to get the game tied at 7 late in the first half. Oklahoma State's defense has stymied Breece Hall thus far. This one is as expected — lots of defense. Brennan Presley is the only OSU player with a reception, as the Cowboys have run it 14 times versus throwing it only 6.

[Oct 23, 2021 at 4:22 pm ET · Chip Patterson]

Clemson leads early at Pitt 

End 1Q: Clemson 7, No. 23 Pitt 0 

Turnovers by both teams (a Clemson interception, a Pitt fumble) prevented too many fireworks from a game that has settled comfortably into a field position battle between these two defenses. DJ Uiagalelei has been a big factor in the Tigers' rushing attack but it's freshman running back Phil Mafah with the lone touchdown of the game. Pitt star quarterback Kenny Pickett has been kept in check for most of the game, with only two completions of longer than 10 yards through the first quarter 

[Oct 23, 2021 at 4:21 pm ET · David Cobb]

Oregon in early trouble

The No. 10 Ducks have their backs against the wall after the first quarter. Oregon can't get it going in the run game, and the Bruins are clicking on offense. A loss here for Oregon would end the Pac-12's playoff hopes but merely add to the insanity of what's been another parity-filled year for the league. Say what you will about Anthony Brown at QB, but he hasn't been the problem so far in this game for Oregon.

[Oct 23, 2021 at 4:17 pm ET · David Cobb]

Overtime insanity

Final: Illinois 20, No. 7 Penn State 18 (9 OT)

Penn State and Illinois play a record number of overtimes for a college game. Granted, this one happens under the new overtime rules that dictate alternating two-point conversion attempts after the second overtime. But still, that was nuts. It's akin to a PK shootout in soccer in some ways, and it made for wild ending. Brandon Peters came in for the injured Art Sitkowski and threw the game-winner.

[Oct 23, 2021 at 4:15 pm ET · David Cobb]

Purdue's defense

The Boilermakers learned a thing or to on their trip to Iowa last week. They've got the lead on Wisconsin because of this defensive TD. It's a good thing, too, because Purdue has managed to get very little going offensively thus far. Wisconsin's found something in the run game, it appears and is doubling up the Boilermakers in yards per play at this point.

[Oct 23, 2021 at 3:51 pm ET · David Cobb]

Purdue-Wisconsin tied

Purdue is riding high off its upset of Iowa, and the Boilermakers are coming for the Big Ten West's other supposed power this afternoon. The Badgers have been far from powerful this season, though, and a win here would put the Boilermakers on strong footing in the league title race. Wisconsin's offense has looked better early in this game than at any point this season.

[Oct 23, 2021 at 3:37 pm ET · Chip Patterson]

Wake Forest improves to 7-0 with a 70-burger

FINAL: No. 16 Wake Forest 70, Army 56

Sam Hartman threw for five touchdowns, ran for another and accounted for 478 yards of offense as Wake Forest's offense put on an explosive performance at Army. The game itself just as crazy as the final score suggests, with seven touchdown plays of 40-plus yards and at one point a sequence that included 21 points in 48 seconds. What was for the most a back-and-forth game hinged towards Wake Forest on a 14-point swing in the third quarter. 

Army had nearly executed a perfect fake field goal, one that would not only get the first down yardage but could have been a touchdown, when Wake Forest DB Traveon Redd came darting across the field to intercept the pass and return in 80 yards the other way for a touchdown. 

[Oct 23, 2021 at 3:34 pm ET · David Cobb]

Oklahoma...

It wasn't pretty. In fact, it was a performance that would have gotten them beat against basically anyone else on their schedule other than Western Carolina. But the Sooners survive an upset bid from Kansas. There were some growing pains and heroics for Caleb Williams, but he never ceded the QB gig to Spencer Rattler at any point. For full live coverage and postgame takeaways, check out this link.

[Oct 23, 2021 at 3:25 pm ET · David Cobb]

Cincinnati survives

Final: No. 2 Cincinnati 27, Navy 20

Navy gave the Bearcats a better game than anyone else in the AAC has so far this season, but the Midshipmen fall short. Offensively, there will be some things for Cincinnati to work on after this one. Aside from a 43-yarder, Jerome Ford was mostly held in check. Navy recovered an onside kick with less than a minute to go. But the lack of a downfield passing game doomed them from there, as Cincinnati's Arquon Bush intercepted his third pass of the game to clinch it.

[Oct 23, 2021 at 3:06 pm ET · David Cobb]

Double upset alert

Kansas and Illinois -- two fan bases that surely had given up entirely on football season in anticipation of hoops -- are taking top-10 opponents down to the wire in the noon window of what was supposed to be a boring start to the day. Between that and Texas Tech-K-State going down to the wire, we've got some intrigue here.

[Oct 23, 2021 at 2:55 pm ET · Tom Fornelli]

Penn State, Illinois tied late

Early 4th: Illinois 14, Penn State 10

Illinois has passed for only 30 yards, is -3 in turnover margin, and just tied No. 7 Penn State 10-10 early in the fourth quarter. The Nittany Lions have not been able to get anything going offensively aside from a couple of big plays in the first half, and have turned those three Illini turnovers into only one field goal. Meanwhile, the Illini have rushed for 292 yards as a team, as Chase Brown has 190 yards rushing and Josh McCray has 114.