Ultimate viewers guide to college football Week 8: What to watch, when, and where

Five ranked-on-ranked battles highlight an impressive Week 8 college football schedule. As usual, it's time to review what's on where and when so that every viewer-- from hardcore couch potato to finnicky one-game types can find his or her heart's content. Here's Week 8's schedule and TV rundown for the top gridiron action.

Friday action

Carson Beck and Miami have a big Week 8 game against Louisville | Melina Myers-Imagn Images

With a pair of ranked teams in Friday action, there's a pair of prime picks even before Saturday. Louisville will travel to No. 2 Miami for a 7 PM Eastern (all remaining times discussed will be Eastern) kickoff on ESPN. An hour later, No. 25 Nebraska kicks off against 4-2 Minnesota in a FOX showdown. There's also the floundering Bill Belichick experiment at UNC going against Cal on ESPN at 10:30 for night owls.

Early treats

It doesn't take long on Saturday for big games to start. No. 10 LSU travels to No. 17 Vanderbilt for a noon ABC kickoff, with the Commodores as a slight home favorite. Not quite as highlighted, but still interesting are No. 12 Georgia Tech traveling to 4-2 Duke as an underdog at noon on ESPN and 5-1 Washington traveling to 4-2 Michigan at noon on FOX in something of a Big Ten elimination game.

There are some other good under-the-radar games like 4-2 Arizona at 5-1 Houston at Noon on FS1 and 4-2 Baylor and 4-2 TCU facing off on ESPN2 at noon.

If the early slate gets dull, No. 14 Oklahoma faces South Carolina at 12:45 on the SEC Network in a game with some possible switch-over energy.

Afternoon action

The big afternoon game is the showdown of No. 5 Ole Miss at No. 9 Georgia. The Rebels are 6-0, but the Bulldogs are favored by around a touchdown at home in the 3:30 ABC kickoff. Frankly, there's not a ton of competition against this game. A pair of Big Ten heavy hitters play at 3:30, with Ohio State traveling to Wisconsin on CBS and Michigan State going to Indiana on Peacock. Neither seems likely to be very competitive. For those keeping an eye on the national picture, No. 7 Texas Tech's kickoff with Arizona State comes at 4 p.m. on FOX.

Prime-time highlights

QB Ty Simpson and the Alabama Crimson Tide will host Tennessee in a massive Week 8 showdown. | Reese Strickland-Imagn Images

The big games come in the evening, with No. 11 Tennessee playing at No. 6 Alabama at 7:30 on ABC. That SEC rivalry figures to impact the CPF pecking order. The other big matchup of the late games is No. 20 USC at No. 13 Notre Dame, also at 7:30 and on NBC/Peacock, which looks to be a potential CFP elimination game. But don't sleep on the third of the impressive ranked-on-ranked trilogy with an 8 PM kickoff for No. 23 Utah at No. 15 BYU on FOX.

There's no super-late action, but the determined can stay up for the 10:30 kickoff of Florida State at Stanford on ESPN to see if Mike Norvell's squad can stop its slide.

The game to see

If there's one game to see, it's probably the Ole Miss/Georgia showdown, but for fans who love a good rivalry, any of the late trio of ranked-on-ranked battles could be a good alternative. It's a good week for a doubleheader for SEC folks, with either the Vandy/LSU game early or the Tennessee/Bama game late going well with the Rebels and Bulldogs.

The underrated game of the week

4-2 Mississippi State heads to 2-4 Florida for a 4:15 SEC Network kick. There's a good chance this is Billy Napier's last game and if it's a loss, there's an even better chance.