College football Week 8 players to watch: Boise State's Dylan Riley could retake the nation's rushing lead against Washington State

NCAAF College Football News, Photos, Stats, Scores, Schedule & Videos...

The second half of the 2026 college football season is here.

Though there are just two games between ranked teams in Week 8, there's plenty of other intrigue across the country. Here are our players to watch.

  • Army at Tulsa (8:30 p.m. ET Friday, ESPN2/DIRECTV)

Hellums has 418 rushing yards over the last two games as he continues to power Army's triple-option attack. In an Oct. 10 win over Tulane, Hellums rushed 38 times for 223 yards and two scores. In a blowout victory over Florida Atlantic in Week 7, Hellums rushed 25 times for 195 yards and five scores while he only needed to attempt two passes. After rushing for 18 touchdowns in 13 games in 2025, Hellums already has 13 in just six games.

  • Air Force at Wyoming (9 p.m. ET Friday, The CW/DIRECTV)

With starting QB Liam Szarka out for the season, Medders has taken over as Air Force's quarterback and has immediately become the Falcons' best rushing threat. Medders is averaging over 7 yards a carry and has rushed for over 100 yards and five total touchdowns over Air Force's last two games. The Falcons are 5-1 and are real contenders for the Mountain West title.

  • No. 8 Texas Tech at Cincinnati (Noon ET, FS1/DIRECTV)

Yes, the Brendan Sorsby angle to this game is gone, but don't discount Cincinnati's chances of an upset just because the Bearcats have lost two straight games. French is completing over 70% of his passes and has thrown nine touchdowns without an interception while also rushing for six scores. The Georgia Southern transfer could end up coming close to the numbers that Sorsby put up for the Bearcats in 2025.

  • Rutgers at No. 24 Northwestern (Noon ET, Peacock)

If you play Yahoo Sports' College Fantasy Football, you know how good Duff has been this season. Duff has 42 catches for 741 yards and nine touchdowns. No other player on Rutgers' roster has more than 180 receiving yards and Duff has caught 46% of all passing yards by Scarlet Knights quarterbacks. Yes, he basically is the team's pass game. He'll need another big game if Rutgers is going to get a second straight road win.

  • Kansas State at Arizona State (3:45 p.m. ET, ESPN2/DIRECTV)

The senior has emerged as the team's go-to receiver in 2026. After 39 catches for 673 yards and five scores in 2025 at Boston College, Harris has already surpassed last season's catch and touchdown total and will likely surpass his yardage total on Saturday. Through six games, Harris has 41 grabs for 653 yards and eight scores.

  • No. 21 Boise State at Washington State (6 p.m. ET, USA/DIRECTV)

Riley has a great chance to become the nation's leading rusher again after Week 8. The Broncos were off in Week 7 and Riley had rushed for 835 yards and six touchdowns through the first six weeks of the season. After 17 carries for 50 yards in Boise State's season-opening loss to Oregon, Riley has rushed for at least 93 yards in the Broncos' last five games and is averaging 6.6 yards a carry.

  • Virginia Tech at Clemson (7 p.m. ET, ESPN)

Stevens has emerged as one of the best pass rushers in the country after tallying just 17 tackles over the past two seasons combined. And now he's got a real chance to lead the nation in sacks this season with Texas edge rusher Colin Simmons sidelined because of an ankle injury. Stevens has eight sacks through seven games and has recorded at least one sack in six different games. A week ago against Georgia Tech, Stevens had 2.5 sacks.

  • North Dakota State at New Mexico (10 p.m. ET, The CW/DIRECTV)

ESPN teased that its "College GameDay" pregame show would head to Albuquerque in Week 8, but North Dakota State suffered its first loss of the season against UNLV in Week 6. This is still a massive game in the Mountain West title race, however, as New Mexico has the best scoring defense in the country at 10.5 points per game. Humphrey, meanwhile, is the team's leading rusher with 422 yards and eight touchdowns after he had 90 yards and two scores on 15 attempts in a Week 7 win at Hawaii.

More at NCAAF College Football News, Photos, Stats, Scores, Schedule & Videos