Best bets: 5 bets to take to the bank in college football Week 8

The best bets in college football Week 8 as we continue to bet big on Alabama, fade Auburn and take on some Big Ten debut action.

We’re inching closer to full college football slates on Saturdays as the Big Ten will debut in the 2020 season for Week 8. But as we’ve been trying to tackle the college football best bets for each week, how much can we bank on a conference that we haven’t seen play in 10 months when there’s so much uncertainty still with teams we have a sample size of this season?

The truth is that it’s probably smart, in most cases at least, to wait until we have a week of action in the Big Ten before we start peppering them into the college football best bets. So while there is one game from the conference in our Week 8 quintet of bets that you can bank on, the rest come out of the SEC and ACC as we’ve simply seen those teams on the field this season.

And as we’ve been watching, there are some principles that we’ve seen developing with throughout the season to this point. We’ll take those principles and apply them as we look at the six best bets for college football Week 8. All odds are courtesy of The Action Network.

College football Week 8 best bets

6. Syracuse at Clemson (-44.5)

Clemson hung 52 points on Georgia Tech in the first half last week and, even as the backups came in, they continued to pour it on. The result was a resounding 73-7 victory for Trevor Lawrence and the National Championship favorites.

Now they welcome Syracuse to Death Valley and the sneaky truth is that the Orange are actually worse than the Yellow Jackets. The only way Clemson doesn’t cover this admittedly massive point spread is if they don’t keep putting points up in the second half with the reserves on the field. But even then, they still might do enough in the first half to cover -44.5.

5. Michigan vs. Minnesota (+3.5)

The lone Big Ten game to appear in the best bets for college football Week 8 also might be the most high-profile game in the conference to open up the season. A matchup between two ranked teams, Michigan and Minnesota, shows up in primetime with the Wolverines favored on the road.

But why is Jim Harbaugh‘s team favored at all? Not only is the defense talented but unproven and the offense a remaining question mark but Minnesota is coming off the best season in program history while Tanner Morgan and Rashod Bateman return to headline the offense. The Golden Gophers are being slept on and that will show on Saturday night.

4. Notre Dame vs. Pittsburgh – Under 44.5

If we learned anything about Ian Book and the Notre Dame Fighting Irish last week, it’s that this offense could be a real problem. They managed only 12 points against Louisville, a team that has been quite bad defensively this season. Now they come into a road game against one of the best defenses in the ACC, Pittsburgh.

The Panthers offense isn’t spectacular by any stretch and that will come to fruition against a Notre Dame defense playing well. But this is a defensive struggle waiting to happen, which is why the Over/Under total has already dropped 5.0 points since opening. The under is still the obvious play, though.

3. Alabama (-21) vs. Tennessee

My only hesitation for taking Mac Jones and the Alabama Crimson Tide at -21 on the road against Tennessee is that I think the line is actually far too low given what these two teams have shown. That makes me concerned that oddsmakers know something I don’t. But even then, you have to back Saban’s group.

Bama’s offense just hung 41 points on the best defense in the SEC, which doesn’t bode well for a Vols team that gave up 34 points to Kentucky. Furthermore, with Jarrett Guarantano‘s struggle, Tennessee is both going to struggle to score and likely give the ball back to the Tide. That’s the recipe for an Alabama blowout win.

2. Auburn vs. Ole Miss (+3.5)

While realizing that Ole Miss is now 1-3 on the season under Lane Kiffin while quarterback Matt Corral is coming off of his worst game of the year, I’m not sure Auburn has earned the right to be a road favorite against a competent SEC team. Bo Nix has been bad, the Tigers offensive line has been worse and the defense just gave up 30 points to South Carolina.

The Rebels will likely come out hungry to bounce back, especially on the offensive side of the ball. With Auburn likely having trouble stopping that, especially with Ole Miss’s weapons, Nix will have to be on his game for the Tigers to cover here. And he’s shown nothing this season to make you believe that will be the case, even against a suspect defense.

1. Georgia Tech vs. Boston College (-2.5)

Because Boston College is coming off of a 40-14 loss to Virginia Tech, the oddsmakers are clearly reacting to that by making them narrow favorites at home in Chestnut Hill against a 2-3 Georgia Tech team. But the Eagles are better than what they showed last week and, naturally, just better than the Yellow Jackets.

Phil Jurkovec isn’t Trevor Lawrence by any stretch but he’s been one of the ACC’s most pleasant surprises this season. He and Zay Flowers should thrive against a porous Georgia Tech secondary, especially at home, and should cruise to at least a one-touchdown victory on Saturday.

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