College football expert picks, Week 8: Predictions for every Top 25 game

Breaking down every Top 25 game in Week 8 with our college football expert picks as we predict each game straight up and against the spread.

It was a wild college football week in the Top 25 last Saturday for a number of reasons. Yes, the most obvious is Tennessee taking down Alabama, but let’s not forget Michigan blowing out Penn State, USC narrowly losing to Utah, TCU coming back and beating Oklahoma State in overtime, Kansas losing to Oklahoma, and many other wild results.

So what’s the encore for Week 8? To be honest, the slate is much lighter this week in terms of the overall number of games, but there are still some incredible matchups (and some not so much) on the docket.

But which teams will emerge from this week with another victory to their credit? Let’s find out as we dive into our college football expert picks for Week 8, including picks both straight up and against the spread for every Top 25 game this week with some brief analysis.

Note: All odds are courtesy of FanDuel Sportsbook. Odds are subject to change with line movement and will update periodically. For more betting content, check out BetSided.

College football expert picks straight up and ATS for every Top 25 game in Week 8

Iowa vs 2 Ohio State

Straight Up: Ohio State | ATS: Ohio State -30

You could not draw up a bigger mismatch of offenses in this game. Ohio State could be the best attack in college football while Iowa might not break 30 points against a good high school team. More importantly, the Hawkeyes defense is good but not great and I think the Buckeyes just lay it on them in Columbus.

UT Martin vs 3 Tennessee

Straight Up: Tennessee | ATS: N/A

There is no spread for this game yet as Tennessee follows up their win over Alabama with an FCS opponent in UT Martin. The Vols shouldn’t have any worry coming out with the win here, but the truth of the matte is that we are also very likely to see players get rest and Josh Heupel just secure the win and then try to start moving onto next week as soon as possible.

14 Syracuse vs 5 Clemson

Straight Up: Clemson | ATS: Syracuse +14.5

One of the marquee games of the week, Syracuse has often given Clemson problems over the years and this could be another chance as the Orange come in as a surprise undefeated squad in Week 8. ‘Cuse is arguably the best offense and defense the Tigers have seen yet, so I think we could see Dabo Swinney’s team tested. I think Clemson wins, but the Orange keep it close, namely within two touchdowns to cover the spread.

21 Cincinnati vs SMU

Straight Up: Cincinnati | ATS: Cincinnati -3.5

I have no feel for this game with Cincinnati coming off of a bye but with their last outing being a near loss to a bad South Florida team. SMU hasn’t been particularly good this season but they do know how to get points on the board. At the end of the day, though, I can’t trust the Mustangs defense enough to make me take them to pull off the upset.

7 Ole Miss vs LSU

Straight Up: Ole Miss | ATS: Ole Miss +1.5

I don’t understand this spread when it comes to this matchup. Yes, it is true that Ole Miss might not be the seventh-best team in the country and LSU is getting better — that still doesn’t mean the Tigers are the better team. The Rebels have enough rushing power from multiple guys to control this game and gash the LSU defense and I still don’t trust Jaylen Daniels against a solid defense. I think they win outright, so they obviously cover as underdogs.

9 UCLA vs 10 Oregon

Straight Up: UCLA | ATS: UCLA +6.5

Since their blowout loss to Georgia to start the season, Oregon has been rolling — but it shouldn’t be overlooked that the Ducks have been doing so against less-than-stellar competition overall. UCLA hasn’t been playing stalwarts but they have been tested more recently. Most importantly, though, I trust Dorian Thompson-Robinson exponentially more than Bo Nix in a big game, so I’m all-in on the Bruins here.

20 Texas vs 11 Oklahoma State

Straight Up: Texas | ATS: Texas -6

Because of how the Longhorns performed against Iowa State last week, this spread might look wild. But that was perfectly positioned for a Texas/Quinn Ewers letdown sandwiched between Red River and then this game. Spencer Sanders doesn’t look 100% for Oklahoma State and that defense is wholly problematic. At the end of the day, I think Texas is just the better team, so I see another statement made by the Horns in Stillwater.

Boston College vs 13 Wake Forest

Straight Up: Wake Forest | ATS: Wake Forest -20.5

There’s a pretty simple analysis here. Despite the fact that the Wake Forest defense isn’t particularly good, we haven’t seen enough from Boston College on offense to think that they’ll be able to keep up with Sam Hartman and a Demon Deacons offense that might just score at will in this game.

Memphis vs 25 Tulane

Straight Up: Tulane | ATS: Memphis +6.5

It certainly appears that this could be a mismatch on paper given that the Green Wave have been a high-quality balanced football team this season while Memphis has been good offensively but awful defensively. Yes, Tulane seems to be in a mildly tricky spot as they moved into the Top 25 as they could slip up. I think they come out with the win and would love if the line was still +7, but I still think Memphis keeps it close enough for the underdog cover.

24 Mississippi State vs 6 Alabama

Straight Up: Alabama | ATS: Alabama -21

After last week, it’s clear that Alabama may not be as good as they have been over recent years. But the fact of the matter is that the Crimson Tide will be motivated to prove something against a Mike Leach Mississippi State team they’ve outscored 90-9 in two Saban-Leach matchups. The Bulldogs just aren’t that good and I think Bama boat-races them in this game.

Minnesota vs 16 Penn State

Straight Up: Minnesota | ATS: Minnesota +5.5

I would feel a lot better about this pick if I knew the status of Minnesota quarterback Tanner Morgan. But even then, I saw Penn State get exposed last week and I’m worried this could be a lesser version of that against the Nittany Lions. Mo Ibraheim should run through the PSU defense in this game and the Golden Gophers defense is good enough to cause Sean Clifford more problems. Give me the upset here.

17 Kansas State vs 8 TCU

Straight Up: TCU | ATS: Kansas State +3.5

Full disclosure, I believe that TCU is the vastly superior team in this game. While that’s the case, though, the Horned Frogs have been running through a gauntlet schedule and now have another unique, difficult test. Kansas State should have success with the Adrian Martinez-Deuce Vaughn rushing attack and might be able to slow Max Duggan and Quentin Johnston down. I think TCU escapes to remain unbeaten but Kansas State keeps it within a field goal to make things sweaty.

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