Army never trailed and led by as much as 20-0 before Air Force kicker Matthew Dapore made a 30-yard field goal late in the second quarter. 

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Both the Black Knights and Falcons were shut out in the second half, and despite the loss, Air Force outgained Army 259 yards to 253 including 133 yards to 80 in the second half. 

Daily’s 170 yards on the ground are a career-high, and he finished 4-of-9 for 40 passing yards. His longest run of the game went for 62 yards on his first touchdown run of the game. 

READ: No. 7 Texas keeps CFP hopes alive, outlasts Kansas State in OT

Air Force quarterback Zac Larrier went 9-of-22 for 93 yards and two interceptions. Army defensive back Bo Nichols-Paul had both picks alongside five tackles. 

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There are four ranked matchups scheduled for Saturday when Week 8 commences, and it will be headlined by another top-10 matchup this time taking place in the Big Ten Conference. 

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Among the other contests on tap for Week 8 includes eight ranked teams playing on the road, including No. 2 Michigan traveling to Michigan State. 

Here are several games to watch this week. 

No. 22 Air Force at Navy 

Air Force entered the Associated Press Top 25 Poll for the first time this season, checking in at No. 22 which is its highest ranking since the 2019 season. 

A battle between service academies will take place on Saturday, as the Falcons travel to face Navy in a series that dates back to 1960. Both teams enter on winning streaks since the Midshipmen have won their last two games and the Falcons have won 11. 

Air Force will be without its starting quarterback as Zac Larrier deals with injury, and head coach Troy Calhoun projects Larrier will be out “a while.” 

Navy averages 20.3 points per game on 335 yards of total offense. The Midshipmen shut out Charlotte 14-0 in Week 7. 

Calhoun said aside from the in-game competition, he looks forward to the march-ons of the service academies and pregame traditions. 

“It’s always a big deal,” Calhoun said. “We came in the other day from pregame and you look all the way up that tunnel and you see all those cadets. It just moves you beyond football too, and again, just you have future service members that have made a commitment to do everything they can to make our country a better place, and I think that’s awesome. And I keep thinking at some point, I’d like to go watch one of these games also to see the flybys but hopefully that’s a ways out.” 

No. 17 Duke at No. 4 Florida State 

This Atlantic Coast Conference matchup should be a fun one. 

The Blue Devils fell just short of an upset win over Notre Dame earlier in the season, dropping the game 21-14 and seeing quarterback Riley Leonard deal with ankle injury. 

READ: Big Board: Week 8

Florida State, meanwhile, is out to its first 6-0 start since the 2015 season. The Seminoles are led by fifth-year quarterback Jordan Travis who is tied for second in the ACC with 13 passing touchdowns and fourth with a 154.1 passing efficiency rating. 

Duke’s defense will present a challenge to the Seminoles, as the Blue Devils lead the ACC in total defense allowing 164.7 yards per game. It’s a tough enough team that stands out to Florida State head coach Mike Norvell. 

“You watch film and you see really good players,” Norvell said. “They’ve done everything they needed to do. They were one play away in that Notre Dame game that you just, I mean, you kind of felt for them for how it all played out but I mean this is a very, very talented team and it’s one that you don’t need to give a motivational speech to any of our guys because they know the challenge that’s ahead and it’s going to take our best game and I’m looking forward to continuing the week of preparation.” 

No. 7 Penn State at No. 3 Ohio State 

This week’s top-10 bout will take place in Columbus, Ohio. 

The Buckeyes and Nittany Lions are plenty familiar with one another, and Ohio State has won nine of the past 10 matchups. 

This time around, the stakes are high and the competition will be up to the level of a top-10 game. Both teams enter near the top of the Big Ten in total offense and defense. 

Penn State is No. 1 in total defense allowing 193.7 yards per game. That provides a dramatic challenge to the Buckeyes offense which tops the Big Ten at 443 yards per game. 

READ: Quotables: Week 7

The battle will remain in the trenches as both teams offer dynamic run offenses, with the Nittany Lions atop the conference behind an average of 203.3 rushing yards per game to Ohio State’s 135, and the Buckeyes could be without running back TreVeyon Henderson due to injury. 

A contest between two undefeated programs will take place at Ohio Stadium, and Buckeyes head coach Ryan Day said he hopes to see the fans in the stands early. 

“I know I talked to Gene (Smith), about this, and one of the biggest things that he mentioned to me was getting everybody in the stadium early,” Day said. “We want to do that. We’ve done that in the past just to set the tone. But this is one of those games that we’ve got to really create a hostile environment for Penn State, in particular their offense. When we’re really loud in the stadium, anytime that their offense has the ball, it makes it very difficult to operate the communication, the snap count, all of those things and so the louder we can be, it doesn’t matter whether it’s third down, red zone, short yardage, if they’re operating and they’re on the field, the louder we can be, the more hostile that we can be, advantage Buckeyes.” 

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It’s still early to sort out the pretenders from the contenders, especially since the calendar has yet to flip to October, but it’s still worthwhile to take stock in the first four games for many teams around the country.

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Missouri, Kansas and Fresno State entered the Associated Press Top 25 Poll this week, and all three programs are off to 4-0 starts. 

The Bulldogs are on a 12-game winning streak, behind only the Georgia Bulldogs for longest in the country. Quarterback Mikey Keene is completing 67.5% of his passes and averaging over 301 passing yards per game. 

Here are several players and notes to keep a tab on in this week’s Big Board. 

Are Ryan Day and the No. 4 Buckeyes for real? 

Ryan Day made his statement known after the game last Saturday in South Bend, Indiana. 

Day emphasized Ohio State’s “toughness” and its will to gain one more yard in order to come up on the winning side of a 17-14 tilt with then-No. 9 Notre Dame. 

But after a top-10 win of this magnitude, can the Buckeyes maintain it and build from it? 

Through the first three games of the season, Ohio State’s offense didn’t exactly resemble the explosive offenses of years past. It’s worth noting that Kyle McCord, who won the starting quarterback competition over Devin Brown, was settling into his role as starter. 

The Buckeyes averaged 474.7 yards per game through their first three games, and their defense captured most of the early talking points shown in the strides taken over the offseason. 

Explosive plays have cost Ohio State in recent years, notably in its two losses to Michigan and its College Football Playoff semifinal loss to Georgia. It seems the Buckeyes are being rather stingy on defense, and they have the No. 2 scoring defense holding opponents to 8.5 points per game.

READ: Quotables: Week 4

After a bye week this week the Buckeyes will face 4-0 Maryland which hung around in last season’s meeting trailing 33-30 with as few as six minutes left in the fourth quarter before Ohio State pulled away 43-30. 

This version of Ohio State is different, yet, it is out to a 4-0 start with a top-10 victory under its belt. We’ll see how the Buckeyes fare in October when they host the Terrapins and No. 6 Penn State and travel to Purdue and Wisconsin. 

No. 1 Georgia holds top spot firmly, but has more to be desired 

The Bulldogs have held firm at the top of each week’s Top 25. They’ve yet to lose a game this season and are riding a 21-game winning streak, the longest in the country. 

Georgia has the No. 11 passing offense in the country, its run game is No. 64 and its total defense is No. 17. Those are notable positions when jockeying with other programs, but let’s take a look at which teams are ahead of the Bulldogs in those categories. 

No. 7 Washington holds the top spot in passing offense. Quarterback Michael Penix Jr. has made an early Heisman Trophy campaign leading the Huskies behind an average of 467.2 yards per game. 

Air Force far and away has the rushing offense that is most productive. The Falcons average 340.5 yards per game on the ground — almost 70 more yards than the No. 2 rushing offense — and does so behind Emmanuel Michel and mobile quarterback Zac Larrier. 

The top total defense goes to Penn State, which is holding opponents to 219.5 yards per game. The Nittany Lions are giving up 81.5 rushing yards and 138 passing yards per game, which is rather stout, and have 11 players with at least one sack.

READ: Stat Pack: Week 4

The Bulldogs have yet to face stiff competition compared to their competitors. Their opposition this season has a combined record of 7-9. 

That should change on Saturday when Georgia travels to Auburn for its first road game of the year, and the Bulldogs haven’t lost away from home in a true road game since falling at Alabama in 2020. Head coach Kirby Smart will have greater tasks ahead of him in order to hold the top spot in college football. 

Bo Nix, Oregon 

Bo Nix is a returner to the Big Board. 

And he and No. 9 Ducks made a statement victory last weekend over Colorado. 

Oregon trounced the Buffaloes, handing Deion Sanders and Colorado their first loss of the season. Nix largely played catalyst for an explosive Oregon offense that put up 35 points in the first half. 

Nix himself is getting into position to be among the country’s premier quarterbacks, and a possible Heisman contender. He’s completing passes at a 79.4% rate, good for second in the NCAA. 

Nix also stacks up with other quarterbacks in other statistical categories. He’s averaging about 26 completions per game, seventh-most in the country, and he’s No. 13 in passing efficiency with a rating of 180.53.

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He’s no stranger to college football. The fifth-year quarterback has played in big games at Auburn where he spent the 2019-21 seasons and is settling in well in Year 2 with the Ducks. 

Nix’s Heisman odds are +1000 according to FanDuel Sportsbook, and his odds are better than his +2000 position a week ago. He’s an interesting contender on a CFP-caliber team, and it’ll remain interesting to see how Nix and Oregon can build on their momentum. 

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