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          Best of Week 8: Ol' Crimson's time to shine, LSU's color-changing helmets

          • Dave Wilson, ESPN Staff WriterOct 21, 2018, 03:13 AM
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              Dave Wilson is an editor for ESPN.com since 2010. He previously worked at The Dallas Morning News, San Diego Union-Tribune and Las Vegas Sun.
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          Week 8 added a little extra shine, and one flag is flying a little higher today.

          Ol' Crimson is finally flying at home.

          For 15 years, the Washington State flag has flown during College GameDay, no matter what city or campus is hosting. Never once has the show visited Pullman, Washington, its home turf. Until today.

          According to the Ol' Crimson Booster Club, it has traveled to 72 cities, 62 host schools, 34 states and appeared on 216 consecutive shows.

          And fans were certainly prepared. This was quite a scene in the pre-dawn hours as the show kicked off.

          I remember my first cigar ...

          As is tradition, Alabama players pulled out the cigars after they took down Tennessee for the 12th straight year. It just so happens that the guy who was calling the shots at Tennessee for five of those losses now resides on the Crimson Tide sideline. Today, he finally learned how victory on the third Saturday in October tastes.

          Get you a helmet that does both

          LSU keeps it pretty traditional when it comes to their uniforms. But the Tigers are breaking with that tradition in grand style.

          On Saturday night, LSU will be wearing a new color-changing helmet that transforms from purple to gold depending on how the light hits them. According to LSU equipment manager Greg Stringfellow, that's a first for college football.

          The Baton Rouge Advocate reports that Nike designers outsourced the helmet project to a California auto shop that did similar paint jobs on vehicles, and the paint alone cost about $1,500 a gallon. The iridescent paint is meant to look like a Mardi Gras bead.

          Overall, the alternates honor the school's 1918 "Silent Season," when the Tigers didn't field a team to join the World War I effort.

          Army holds the line

          At West Point, after scoring in overtime to make it 31-30, Miami (Ohio) went for the 2-point conversion and the win, and a wild ending ensued.

          Moe Neal, mo problems

          Syracuse running back Moe Neal found a huge hole with one exception -- an official was square in the middle of his path. Advantage: Moe Neal.

          Throwback Saturday

          For the second straight week, Texas Tech is wearing throwbacks that mirror their 1974 uniforms.

          Oregon State is wearing retro Benny Beaver uniforms for homecoming against Cal. The only previous appearance by the old Benny on helmets was in 1973.

          And Southern Miss is getting in on the action.

          Speaking of throwing it back

          In honor of the 20th anniversary of "The Waterboy," Adidas created fauxback jerseys to commemorate the legendary South Central Louisiana State University team and waterboy Bobby Boucher, who showed up at halftime and helped the SCLSU Mud Dogs win the Bourbon Bowl. (We're claiming this as a college football story; just roll with it.)

          On Friday night, University Lab High School in Baton Rouge, Louisiana, transformed from the Cubs into the Mud Dogs with head-to-toe SCLSU uniforms for their game against Mentorship Academy. University High coach Chad Mahaffey even nailed Coach Klein's trademark look and his team played a high-quality game of foosball, claiming a 70-0 victory.

          Keep it moving

          Stanford quarterback K.J. Costello was extremely efficient in a key 20-13 road victory at Arizona State on Friday night.

          Mr. Automatic

          Art ... or prank?

          The appearance of a new statue on the Oklahoma campus sparked suspicions that only a college football rivalry can provoke.

          According to the OU Daily, the statue, titled "Covered Wagon," was created by artist Tom Otterness, a New York sculptor. It features a large cartoonish steer wearing boots (instead of the usual horses) pulling something akin to the Sooner Schooner.

          "I didn't expect the connection with Texas. It wasn't something I was conscious of," Otterness told the student newspaper. "But I'd like to remind people that the longhorns are all strapped up pulling the wagon, and the gal's the one in control. So don't worry about Texas."

          But surprise: Some students are worried about Texas.

          "I really thought this was a college prank from a Texas school," Madeline Hellwig, an OU student said. "Like they came over here and installed it just to mess with us."