By Matt Hayes

updated 9:51 p.m. ET Oct. 22, 2009

Matt Hayes

Weighing in on the five biggest story lines of Week 8:

1. Upsets, upsets, upsets
We see it every season: What looks like a relatively uneventful weekend evolves into something that shapes the race for conference championships and the BCS title game.

This is your weekend, everyone.

You want potential upsets? We've got a barrel full.

Ranked teams in danger this weekend include No. 2 Florida (at Mississippi State), No. 7 Iowa (at Michigan State), No. 10 TCU (at BYU), No. 11 Georgia Tech (at Virginia), No. 12 Oregon (at Washington), No. 13 Penn State (at Michigan) and No. 24 Kansas (vs. Oklahoma).

The next question: Who's most vulnerable?

• Florida still hasn't proven it can throw the ball downfield and is dinged up on defense. Former Florida offensive coordinator Dan Mullen knows the Gators' personnel and their tendencies. If the Bulldogs can run effectively with Anthony Dixon, this will be a fourth-quarter game.
• Iowa has been living off second-half comebacks and already has proven it can win on the road in the Big Ten (at Penn State, at Wisconsin). Michigan State, though, is more multiple on offense than any team Iowa has faced, and the two teams that have given Iowa trouble this fall (Northern Iowa and Arkansas State) threw the ball efficiently.
• For BYU, it's simple: Motivation from last year's humiliation at TCU is the foundation. And QB Max Hall, whose senior season has been a struggle (10 INTs), is due for a breakthrough game.
• The reality is, Georgia Tech should beat Virginia by 30. But this is the ACC, where absolutely nothing makes sense – least of all, Virginia's annual October run to save coach Al Groh's job. The Cavs have given up 19 points combined in the last three games and a measly 247 yards rushing (2.91 yards per carry). Uh-oh.
• Oregon QB Jeremiah Masoli still is trying to get on the field with a gimpy knee, and despite heady play from backup Nate Costa, the Ducks' offense gets bogged down when the quarterback isn't part of the run game (and Costa is not a runner). Masoli had better play in this bitter rivalry game with the Huskies, because Oregon will have to score in the 30s to win.
• There's a reason Michigan is 5-0 at home and 0-2 on the road: Freshman quarterbacks make mistakes on the road. Michigan has seven turnovers in two games away from Ann Arbor, and the offense simply plays with more precision at home. That could make things tough for Penn State on Saturday.
• Who here really thinks Oklahoma isn't one of the top 25 teams in the nation? The BCS voters/computers don't, despite the fact that the Sooners took No. 3 Texas to the last minute of last week's Red River Rivalry. It's only a matter of time until OU busts out on offense; why not now against Kansas?

2. Feeling orange
Let's all put our hands together for Lane Kiffin. The dude just flat-out refuses to back down.

When the first-year Tennessee coach was asked earlier this week about Alabama, Kiffin offered up that at least one of the polls got it right when it ranked the Tide No.1. Zzzing at you know who in Gainesville.

Unfortunately for Kiff, he still has to deal with the Nicktator — the same guy he took verbal swipes at in the offseason after hiring Lance Thompson away from Tuscaloosa. My editor, for whom I have great respect and admiration, emailed me earlier this week to boldly proclaim that Tennessee is pulling the upset.

It'll be an upset, all right — if Alabama doesn't win by three touchdowns.

3. The life of Terrelle
So now we hear that LeBron James is mentoring Ohio State quarterback Terrelle Pryor — or, as James said, trying to get Pryor through "life in the spotlight."

Meanwhile, Ray Reitz, Pryor's high school coach, once again has become a source of (mis)information on the uber-talented one, and he's pushing Pryor farther into the (negative) spotlight. Reitz says Ohio State is "misusing" Pryor and that the Buckeyes need to utilize him more in the zone-read run game.

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I've got a novel idea: How about, you know, hiring someone who actually has a history developing quarterbacks to coach your quarterbacks? Not next year, next week. Ohio State isn't misusing Pryor; it's mis-coaching him.

Watch how dicey Saturday's game against Minnesota gets — a game Ohio State should win comfortably. We've gone beyond Xs and Os with Pryor. He has been so poorly coached — he and Juice Williams are battling for the biggest regression award — that he's way over-thinking things and is mentally unsure about every step he takes. That's coaching, everyone.

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