Week eight is in the books, and more dominos continue to fall across the CFB landscape. Conference races are starting to take shape and contenders are firmly starting to establish their placehold. And on the other side of the standings, seats continue to get hotter.

In South Bend, in what could be the last annual rendition of the Notre Dame/USC rivalry, the Irish brow beat USC on the ground en route to a 34-24 victory. The win keeps playoff hope for the Irish alive. For USC, while hope remains, they once again show that they have not outgrown poor performances on the road against teams decidedly more physical than them.

On Friday night in Minneapolis, Minnesota delivered a blow to Nebraska's playoff hopes with a 24-6 victory. The Huskers could not protect QB Dylan Raiola, nor could they shut down Gophers RB Darius Taylor. Now at 5-2 ...