2023 NFL Draft: Week 8 Stock Report

Another week is in the books. Who keeps rising our stocks and who has come back down to Earth?

As conference schedules are starting to heat up, we saw many hotly contested games, some of which became real battles. With so much disparity throughout college football this season, we have been spoiled with how many great matchups we get every week. 

Every week there has been a matchup of undefeated, or at least a few top-25 matchups. It’s been a long time since we have seen so many teams still in the mix at this point in the season, and that is great to see because it keeps excitement for the season going around the country and not just in a few areas. 

We got to see an extremely hard-fought battle between Clemson and Syracuse. The Big12 had a huge week with multiple matchups of top 25 teams. We saw some new names appear by taking over games and coming up huge in their team’s wins. Can UCLA and TCU stay undefeated? 

So many questions are still to be answered, but things are getting cleared up. Now let’s see what the ledger says today.

Big Gains

RB Will Shipley, Clemson:

One of the week's biggest games was undefeated Clemson taking on the surprising undefeated Syracuse, which lived up to the hype. Syracuse led the game for three and a half quarters, and their stars came to play. Unfortunately, the depth of Clemson put them over exhausting Syracuse. 

Syracuse lost, but there is much to be happy about for the future because they looked like the better team. It can't be understated how much of a difference it makes when you have fresh bodies that can play all game long. 

That being said, as the game went on, Shipley delivered body blow after body blow and ran his team to victory. On 27 carries, he gained 172 yards and two touchdowns, but he was getting five yards every play in the second half. 

Shipley has had his fair share of struggles this year, but he looked like his best self this week. He is an all-around very talented running back, so if this game was any indicator, he could be in for a massive second half of the season and can run Clemson right into the playoffs. 

RB Cam Peoples, Appalachian State:

The first game back from injury, Peoples and his team were hesitant to use him in the first half, which made you think they would slow play him back into the lineup. 

However, that philosophy completely changed when Georgia State jumped to a fast 14-0 lead, and Peoples took the game over in the second half. He ran the ball down their throat the entire second half, and there was nothing the Georgia State defense could do. 

Peoples showed all the attributes that scouts salivated over before his injury and ran the ball like a grown man, powering through the opposing defense. With all the power he showed, the speed he also has makes him special. 

Though it was only a half of football, he gained 168 yards and two touchdowns, one of which was a 41-yard dash into the end zone. He looks fully healthy now, so look for Peoples to have a big end to his season. 

RB Kendre Miller, TCU:

This game was a real test for TCU, they were coming off a big victory over Oklahoma State, and their opponent Kansas State was not an easy team to handle. Kansas State came out hot and jumped out to a double-digit lead. 

Unfortunately, lingering injuries took their toll, leading to TCU's comeback. 

Miller and the rest of the TCU jumped at the first sign of weakness and ended up running away with the victory. Miller had 153 yards and two touchdowns, but he can extend drives that changed the game. 

We hear so much about Duggan and Johnston, and rightfully so, but Miller has been the unsung hero of this offense. He has been the workhorse that isn't afraid of doing the dirty work and gets all the necessary yards, which allows the other weapons to make big plays as things open up on the field. 

This was TCU's third straight and fourth consecutive win against a ranked opponent. A game that was a real character win for the Horned Frogs; they showed a lot of toughness in the process. If they keep playing at this level, could we see the first appearance of the Big12 in the College Football Playoff? 

Rising Tide Of Green:

A game about the team as a whole now puts Tulaneat 7-1 and is winning games in an extremely impressive fashion. 

Outside of their one loss, Tulane has overwhelmed opponents with a tough and physical brand of football. They play sound, disciplined football on both sides of the ball and win because of it. 

Offensively they aren’t going to wow anyone, at they also aren’t going to give a game away. Michael Pratt is a smart and technical quarterback who can make plays with his arms and legs but also knows what is needed at any time of the game. 

Their best player on offense is running back Tyjae Spears. He is the motor that keeps everything moving, and so far, he seems very hard to slow down. 

The American Conference has gotten more attention and is only improving, but Tulane has been a forgotten team. Now they are in a position to win the conference while everyone else is scratching their head, wondering how it happened. 

In The Red

Kansas Losing Streak:

For the first quarter of the season, no team turned more heads than the Kansas Jayhawks. 

In recent memory, Kansas has been nonexistent in the world of football, so when they started the season 5-0, it had people noticing. They were scoring over 30 points a game and played good enough defense to win. 

Unfortunately, they must have clipped a wing because they had come to a crash landing. In the three losses, opponents have scored a minimum of 35 points, and the offense seems to have lost its juice. 

You knew they would return to Earth at some point, but losing like there are is getting to a problematic point. 

The season should be considered a success if they end the year with a winning record. However, we are getting close to a tipping point that could have us all asking what happened in the end. 

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