College Football Picks Week 8: Predictions for Top 25 Games on Upcoming Schedule – Bleacher Report
After a wild Week 7 in which seven members of the AP Top 25 went down, the college football rankings got a significant shakeup.
The Week 7 upsets opened the door to a number of new entrants to the Top 25, most notably some Group of Five schools. The poll now features four teams from the Group of Five, with Memphis leading the way at No. 18.
Ohio State still sits atop both the AP and the coaches poll, with Baylor as Bleacher Report’s No. 1 team.
The three polls are featured below in their entirety along with the Week 8 schedule and odds.
Time (ET) | Matchup (Spread) | TV | ATS Pick |
Thurs. Oct 22 | |||
7 p.m. | No. 22 Temple at East Carolina (-2.5) | ESPN2 | Temple |
9 p.m. | No. 20 California at UCLA (-3.5) | ESPN | UCLA |
Fri. Oct 23 | |||
8 p.m. | No. 18 Memphis (-11) at Tulsa | ESPN | Tulsa |
Sat. Oct 24 | |||
12 p.m. | No. 6 Clemson (-5.5) at Miami FL | ABC | Clemson |
12 p.m. | No. 25 Pittsburgh (-7) at Syracuse | ESPNU | Pittsburgh |
12 p.m. | Iowa State at No. 2 Baylor (-36.5) | ESPN | Iowa State |
12 p.m. | No. 21 Houston (-20.5) at Central Florida | ESPNEWS | Houston |
3 p.m. | No. 19 Toledo (-13.5) at Massachusetts | ESPN3 | Toledo |
3:30 p.m. | Texas Tech at No. 17 Oklahoma (-15) | ESPN | Texas Tech |
3:30 p.m. | Indiana at No. 7 Michigan State (-16.5) | ABC | Indiana |
3:30 p.m. | No. 23 Duke at Virginia Tech (-3.5) | ESPNU | Duke |
3:30 p.m. | Tennessee at No. 8 Alabama (-14) | CBS | Alabama |
4:30 p.m. | Kansas at No. 14 Oklahoma State (-33.5) | FS1 | Kansas |
7 p.m. | No. 15 Texas A&M at No. 24 Ole Miss (-4) | ESPN | Texas A&M |
7 p.m. p.m. | No. 9 Florida State (-6.5) at Georgia Tech | ESPN2 | Florida State |
7 p.m. | Western Kentucky at No. 5 LSU (-15) | ESPNU | LSU |
7:30 p.m. | No. 3 Utah at USC (-3) | FOX | Utah |
8 p.m. | No. 1 Ohio State (-21) at Rutgers | ABC | Ohio State |
10:30 p.m. | Washington at No. 10 Stanford | ESPN | — |
Spreads from OddsShark.com
Note: Due to injury to Washington QB Jake Browning, the Washington-Stanford game is currently off the board, according to OddsShark.com. No ATS pick has been made for this game.
Notable Games
No. 20 California at UCLA
Tony Avelar/Associated Press
With both teams coming off losses, this game has lost some of its potential luster, but it remains one of the more intriguing Thursday night matchups of the season.
Jared Goff and Josh Rosen are the Pac-12’s premier quarterbacks, and both have the potential to light up the scoreboard.
Josh Rosen is already good and he’s going to become scary good sooner than you think.
— The Solid Verbal (@SolidVerbal) October 16, 2015
While the quarterbacks are the stars of this matchup, the key to this one may be the running game.
UCLA has allowed 502 rushing yards over its past two games against Arizona State and Stanford, both losses.
Cal’s Bear Raid offense doesn’t feature a consistent rushing attack, however, as carries have been split between Vic Enwere, Khalfani Muhammad and Daniel Lasco this season.
If UCLA is able to contain the running game while focusing on Goff, the Bruins may be able to get back on the winning track.
No. 6 Clemson at Miami (FL)
Tony Avelar/Associated Press
Clemson has reached the point of its schedule where it’s already proved its worth as a top-10 team. However, the team has a few weeks to kill before the game the Tigers have circled on their calendars against Florida State.
Does that make this a trap game for Clemson?
This is the first meeting between Clemson and Miami since 2010, so there is very little familiarity between the teams.
The key to a Miami upset will be the performance of quarterback Brad Kaaya, who is having a strong sophomore campaign.
Brad Kaaya is on pace for 3,890 yards, 22 touchdowns and 2 picks this season.
— Josh Baumgard (@joshbaumgard) October 18, 2015
Kaaya has been playing his best football over the past two weeks, throwing for a combined 701 yards and five touchdowns against zero interceptions.
If the Hurricanes offensive line can keep Kaaya upright against Shaq Lawson and a formidable Clemson front seven, this matchup has the potential for an upset.
No. 15 Texas A&M at No. 24 Ole Miss
LSU sits atop the SEC West as the only undefeated team in the division, but both Texas A&M and Ole Miss are still alive. In fact, Ole Miss still controls its own destiny due to its victory over Alabama and the fact that LSU remains on the schedule in late November.
Since both teams have an SEC loss already, this is effectively an elimination game in the division race, and therefor an elimination game for the College Football Playoff as well.
The loss would be even more crippling for A&M, as the Aggies would have head-to-head losses against two teams in the division (Ole Miss and Alabama).
Washington at No. 10 Stanford
Stanford will be the favorite in this one, and for good reason given how dominant the Cardinal has looked in recent weeks. But the success of Pac-12 road teams this season makes this a somewhat intriguing matchup.
Washington has lost six of its last seven against Stanford, but the Huskies appear to be making some strides this year despite their 3-3 record.
The Huskies have played particularly well on the road, nearly knocking off Boise State in a tough 16-13 loss to open the season and upsetting USC two weeks ago.
They key to this game, however, might simply come down to the health of Washington quarterback Jake Browning.
Coach Pete said that all he knows is that Jake Browning had some shoulder pain, so KJ Carter Samuels had to play.
— Elise Woodward (@EliseMWoodward) October 18, 2015
Browning was taken out of the game on the final drive against Oregon due to a shoulder injury, but there has been no update on his status as of Sunday night.
Washington’s talented freshman quarterback is coming off his first turnover-free game in Pac-12 play this season and could be a candidate for a breakout game against Stanford if he’s healthy.
This entry passed through the Full-Text RSS service – if this is your content and you’re reading it on someone else’s site, please read the FAQ at fivefilters.org/content-only/faq.php#publishers.