College football picks, predictions against the spread for Week 8 games
Week 8 of the college football schedule is here and now it's time to make our betting picks against the spread for the top games
College football Week 8 picks, predictions against the spread
Against the spread picks for college football's Week 8 games
Lines courtesy of SI Sportsbook
Iowa at No. 2 Ohio State (-29.5). Payback time for the Buckeyes, who lost a 55-24 game to the Hawks back in 2017 as a CFP contender. Now, OSU has college football's No. 2 total offense and leads FBS with 48.8 points per game. Iowa is third nationally allowing 9.8 points per game and is the only team yet to allow a play of 40 yards. But it hasn't met the caliber of athlete Ohio State will put out yet. Expect Iowa's impressive defensive averages to tick up after this week. ATS pick: Ohio State by 20, doesn't cover
No. 14 Syracuse at No. 4 Clemson (-13.5). The surprise contender in the ACC, Syracuse is perfect through 6 games thanks to a top 10 defense and two proven skill pieces in quarterback Garrett Shrader and runner Sean Tucker, who has 6 of the team's 12 rushing scores. Clemson is top 5 against the run and has found a rhythm offensively, too, but the Orange has won 5 games out of 6 against the spread. ATS pick: Clemson by 10, doesn't cover
No. 7 Ole Miss at LSU (-1.5). The Rebs are third nationally at 271.4 rushing yards per game and should find some lanes against LSU's front seven, as Florida did last week. Jayden Daniels covered 350 yards in the air in that game, but Ole Miss is top 30 against the pass. There are just enough advantages here to keep the Rebels undefeated. ATS pick: Ole Miss by 6, upsets
No. 20 Texas (-6) at No. 11 Oklahoma State. There's no doubt that Texas is a vastly improved football team with Quinn Ewers at quarterback, but the Cowboys have a physical defense that will get consistent push on the Longhorns protection, and OSU is 5-0 against the spread and 3-2 straight-up as an underdog since last year. ATS pick: Oklahoma State by 9, upsets
No. 9 UCLA at No. 10 Oregon (-6). A pair of surprise Pac-12 contenders both putting up 40 points per game on average, and both with dynamic quarterbacks who can run and are dealing to superb skill threats that can move well in space. Oregon has won 21 straight at home and Autzen is just a very tough place to win, even if the Bruins have the firepower to keep it close. ATS pick: Oregon by 3, doesn't cover
No. 24 Mississippi State at No. 6 Alabama (-21). Will Rogers can move the ball when he has the lanes downfield, but this Bulldog attack has been as inconsistent as it's been productive, 8th nationally throwing the ball, but just 123rd on the ground. Bama is one of 16 teams allowing under 100 rushing yards per game, and has the balance to get past MSU's back seven and dictate terms with Jahmyr Gibbs between the tackles. That's a big line, but the Tide has dominated this series on the scoreboard: 90-9 in their last two meetings. ATS pick: Alabama by 28, covers
No. 17 Kansas State at No. 8 TCU (-3.5). The last undefeated team in the Big 12, TCU owns college football's 3rd best total offense and has the pieces to cover the field, but is 90th in defense and just 55th against the run as it lines up against K-State's 7th ranked rushing attack. The Frogs aren't bad at running the ball, either, 14th nationally with 229.2 ypg. ATS pick: TCU by 13, covers
Other Week 8 college football picks against the spread
Minnesota at No. 16 Penn State (-5). Two B1G teams coming off disappointing losses in which they struggled to move the ball. They will again, but PSU has the edge at quarterback with Tanner Morgan coming off an injury for the Gophers. ATS pick: Penn State by 6, covers
Boston College at No. 13 Wake Forest (-21). Not much has changed from last season, when Wake dominated this game. Plus, the Deacs are 5-1 against the spread. ATS pick: Wake Forest by 24, covers
Memphis at No. 25 Tulane (-7). The line is heading more in the newly-ranked Green Wave's direction, and the home team has won the last 5 in this series. ATS pick: Tulane by 6, doesn't cover
No. 21 Cincinnati (-3) at SMU. It's been close recently for the Mustangs, who have been testing defenses with the AAC's best passing attack, but they're just 1-6 against the spread. ATS pick: Cincinnati by 5, covers
Texas A&M (-3) at South Carolina. The Gamecocks are 12 points better than the Aggies per game this season, but this should be the best defense it lines up against so far. ATS pick: Texas A&M by 10, covers
Purdue at Wisconsin (-2). The Badgers have lost 3 of the last 4 and the Boilers have the speed to find some space on the perimeter. ATS pick: Purdue by 3, upsets
UNLV at Notre Dame (-24.5). ND had trouble executing in a bad home loss to Stanford and its 111th scoring defense and has been outscored 27-6 in the first quarter of games. ATS pick: Notre Dame by 14, doesn't cover
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