The Scarlet and Gray

[toysoldier00]

Ton of offense in the fourth. Dominated them boys

Jeremiah and Julian went nuclear in the 4th

didn't expect a loss but maybe more of a challenge there

Looks like guys were looking ahead to Penn state and took a little bit to get going here. But a win is a win.

Breaking it open took just long enough for me to start thinking it might not happen. But once it happened, it was beautiful

[toysoldier00]

Week 8 Recap: Georgia’s Miracle Rally, Miami’s Collapse, and an SEC Race That Just Got Messier

Marissa Bleday
October 19, 2025


Week 8 didn’t just reshuffle the rankings, it changed the tone of the season. Georgia authored a comeback that felt impossible until it happened, Miami watched an unbeaten run disintegrate in the span of one quarterback injury, Alabama survived another fourth-quarter knife fight, and Vanderbilt officially stormed into the national conversation by beating LSU the old-fashioned way: lining up and outplaying them.

#4 Ole Miss Rebels 38 at #7 Georgia Bulldogs 41
It started in Athens, where Georgia and Ole Miss played a game that looked like it was about to become Lane Kiffin’s signature road win, until Gunnar Stockton refused to let it stay that way. Ole Miss led 38–27 with nine minutes left, having done two things almost no one does to Kirby Smart’s teams: it took away the run game and it kept Georgia’s defense on the field long enough to score in bunches. Georgia finished with just 61 rushing yards.

Ole Miss ran for 135 and controlled the rhythm. And yet Stockton turned the night into his personal highlight reel, throwing for 475 yards and four touchdowns as Georgia stormed back to win 41–38. Senior receiver Colby Young caught both fourth-quarter touchdown passes, part of a nine-catch night, and when Ole Miss finally needed one stop to close it, Georgia’s passing game simply didn’t allow it.

“We had to win it through the air,” Stockton said afterward. “We trusted it, and we kept swinging.”

#24 Louisville Cardinals 34 at #5 Miami Hurricanes 20
In Coral Gables, Miami’s season didn’t fade, it flipped. The Hurricanes were up 20–3 on Louisville when quarterback Carson Beck left with a concussion in the third quarter, and everything that followed felt like a cautionary tale about thin margins and thinner depth.

Backup Emory Williams struggled mightily, and Miami’s offense turned into a turnover machine: four giveaways in the second half, three interceptions from Williams, and a 31-point avalanche from Louisville that ended in a 34–20 Cardinals win. Keyjuan Brown scored three rushing touchdowns, but the story was how quickly the game’s gravity shifted.

“We lost control,” Miami coach Mario Cristobal said. “That’s on all of us.” Louisville, down and nearly out, suddenly looks very much alive in the ACC race.

#14 Tennessee Volunteers 15 at #6 Alabama Crimson Tide 18
In Tuscaloosa, Alabama and Tennessee played the kind of game that makes you wonder how one team can dominate so many elements and still lose. Tennessee ran for 199 yards and hunted the quarterback all night, Dominic Bailey posted 2.5 sacks, but the Vols couldn’t get into the end zone. Five field goals kept them ahead, but it also kept the door open.

Alabama walked through it late, scoring both touchdowns in the fourth quarter and winning 18–15 on a final-minute drive capped by Ty Simpson’s touchdown pass to Germie Bernard with 15 seconds left, followed by a two-point conversion.

Simpson threw for 347 yards and two touchdowns, and Ryan Williams and Isaiah Horton churned out chunk plays when Alabama needed them most. “We stayed in it,” Simpson said. “In the fourth quarter, we believed we’d finish.”

#16 USC Trojans 6 at #18 Notre Dame Fighting Irish 12
South Bend gave the sport a different kind of drama: a defensive fistfight. Notre Dame beat USC 12–6 in a game that felt like it belonged in another era, one where every yard was negotiated. The Irish led 6–3 entering the fourth quarter and never let USC’s offense find oxygen, holding the Trojans to 226 total yards despite turning the ball over twice.

Linebacker Drayk Bowen was everywhere (13 tackles, three tackles for loss, a sack), and Notre Dame leaned on Jeremiyah Love’s steadiness to survive. USC quarterback Jayden Maiava threw for 160 yards on 43 attempts, and Notre Dame essentially erased receiver Makai Lemon from the game.

“That’s how we have to win right now,” Notre Dame coach Marcus Freeman said. “With toughness and defense.”

#8 LSU Tigers 29 at Vanderbilt Commodores 36
The biggest statement outside the traditional powers came in Nashville, where Vanderbilt beat LSU 36–29 and did it without gimmicks. Diego Pavia looked like a real Heisman contender, throwing for 310 yards and three touchdowns while adding timely runs, and Vanderbilt seized control with a third-quarter surge that turned a 26–22 deficit into a lead it never gave back.

LSU quarterback Garrett Nussmeier threw for 321 yards and two touchdowns, but LSU couldn’t run, couldn’t get stops when it needed them, and now has two SEC losses, the kind that can erase title hopes before Halloween.

“They beat us,” Brian Kelly said flatly. “They were more physical when it mattered.”

#25 Utah Utes 37 at #10 BYU Cougars 38
The Big 12 delivered its own chaos. BYU stayed unbeaten by surviving Utah 38–37 in double overtime, getting clutch touchdowns from Bear Bachmeier to his brother Tiger and then watching Utah miss a final two-point conversion.

Arizona State knocked Texas Tech from the ranks of unbeaten with a 34–24 win, fueled by a dominant second quarter and a strong day from Sam Leavitt. Tech’s Behren Morton left in the third quarter, and while the Red Raiders fought, they never fully regained control of the game’s shape.

And the season’s darker spirals continued: Penn State dropped its fourth straight, falling 37–35 at Iowa City; Florida State lost its fourth straight in a 45–16 blowout to Stanford; and Memphis, which had been flirting with the Top 25, was upset by UAB 34–31.

Week 8 didn’t just produce results, it produced consequences. Georgia survived. Miami wobbled. Alabama escaped. Vanderbilt arrived. And the season, once again, feels wide open.

[Soapy]

Backup Emory Williams struggled mightily, and Miami’s offense turned into a turnover machine: four giveaways in the second half, three interceptions from Williams, and a 31-point avalanche from Louisville that ended in a 34–20 Cardinals win

[toysoldier00]

Florida State Fires Mike Norvell After 45–16 Loss at Stanford as Season Unravels

Marissa Bleday
October 19, 2025


Florida State fired head coach Mike Norvell on Sunday, one day after a 45–16 loss at Stanford that marked the Seminoles’ fourth straight defeat and capped a monthlong collapse that turned an early-season resurgence into another crisis in Tallahassee.

Athletic director Michael Alford announced the decision in a statement, citing the program’s trajectory after back-to-back losing seasons and a team that looked overwhelmed, and, at times, disengaged, in Saturday’s loss to a Stanford team that entered the game 3–4.

“This is a results-driven program, and the standard at Florida State is championship contention,” Alford said. “After evaluating where we are and where we’re headed, we determined a change in leadership is necessary. We appreciate what Coach Norvell did for Florida State, but we have to move forward with a clear plan to compete at the level this program expects.”

Offensive coordinator Gus Malzahn will serve as interim head coach. Florida State has a bye week before returning to play Wake Forest in Week 10.

The move comes after a season that began with genuine optimism. Florida State stunned Alabama 54–28 in Week 1, a win that immediately reset the national conversation around the Seminoles after last year’s 2–10 campaign. Florida State started 3–0, and Boston College transfer quarterback Tommy Castellanos quickly emerged as a Heisman candidate, producing at a high level as the offense looked revitalized.

But after September, the wheels came off. Florida State has now dropped four straight, with each loss more concerning than the last. Saturday’s defeat at Stanford felt like the breaking point: the Seminoles trailed early, never mounted a serious response, and were outplayed in every phase. The result pushed Florida State to 3–4, leaving the program staring at another year far removed from playoff relevance.

Castellanos’ season production remained strong on paper, 2,031 passing yards, 281 rushing yards, 22 total touchdowns and just two turnovers, but the momentum and confidence that defined September faded as the losses piled up.

Norvell’s tenure included real highs. He helped lift Florida State back into national contention in 2022 and 2023, and the 2023 team’s 13–0 record, and the devastation of missing the College Football Playoff, remains a defining moment of his era. But the program’s steep regression since then, culminating in a second straight season trending the wrong direction, ultimately forced Florida State’s administration to act.

Florida State will now begin a search for its next head coach, with Malzahn tasked with stabilizing a team that still has half a season left, and a fan base demanding a reset that lasts.

Power Four Head Coaching Vacancies

School	Former Coach	Reason
Stanford	Troy Taylor	Fired
Florida	Billy Napier	Fired
Oklahoma State	Mike Gundy	Fired
Florida State	Mike Norvell	Fired

[djp73]

FSU down bad, hurts my soul

[Caesar]

There is the real LSU under Brian Kelly. Now hopefully he retires as he is prone to do in the game so they can get a new coach

[Soapy]

Florida Billy Napier Fired
Oklahoma State Mike Gundy Fired
Florida State Mike Norvell Fired

We ain't forget about that shirt you wore, Mike Gundy

love to see my opps fail

[ShireNiner]

He’s a man! He's fired!

[toysoldier00]

Backup Emory Williams struggled mightily, and Miami’s offense turned into a turnover machine: four giveaways in the second half, three interceptions from Williams, and a 31-point avalanche from Louisville that ended in a 34–20 Cardinals win

maybe Miami should not rely on transfer portal qb’s.

Btw, as will become clear why soon enough, I hate Miami in this dynasty.

[toysoldier00]

FSU down bad, hurts my soul

can’t recover til you cut out the cancer

There is the real LSU under Brian Kelly. Now hopefully he retires as he is prone to do in the game so they can get a new coach

his time is coming soon enough

Florida Billy Napier Fired
Oklahoma State Mike Gundy Fired
Florida State Mike Norvell Fired

We ain't forget about that shirt you wore, Mike Gundy

love to see my opps fail

He’s a man! He's fired!

bro was not built for NIL