College football games to look forward to in Week 8
The biggest game on the Week 8 college football slate features the Ohio State Buckeyes hosting the Penn State Nittany Lions in a battle between two unbeaten Big Ten programs. Last week, we saw a similar matchup between the Oregon Ducks and Washington Huskies, and that one fully lived up to the hype. And overall, the Week 7 college football schedule ended up delivering some great games. Hopefully we’ll get more of that in Week 8, which has five matchups that I’m really looking forward to. So, keep reading to see my Week 8 Games of the Week.
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Week 8 Games of the Week
Penn State Nittany Lions at Ohio State Buckeyes (-4.5, 47)
All of the talk in the Big Ten East is about Ohio State and Michigan, but what about Penn State? The Nittany Lions are currently a perfect 6-0 on the season, and they have the second-best scoring defense in college football. Penn State is right behind Michigan in that regard, allowing only 8.0 points per game. Meanwhile, Ohio State sits in third in that statistic and is giving up 9.7 points per game. That just goes to show you how good the defenses in this division are. But it should make for a very interesting clash in Columbus this week. While Ohio State is undefeated and has already earned a big win over Notre Dame this season, it still feels like the Buckeyes offense — especially quarterback Kyle McCord — is unproven. That said, this is going to be a very exciting football game, and we’re going to learn a lot about both teams here. But something to keep an eye on in this matchup is that the Nittany Lions are 6-1 against the spread in the last seven meetings between these two. But Penn State also hasn’t won a road game against Ohio State since 2011, so that will be working against the Nittany Lions in a game with serious College Football Playoff implications.
Tennessee Volunteers at Alabama Crimson Tide (-9, 47.5)
Alabama’s win over Arkansas last week was tougher than it needed to be, with the Crimson Tide earning a 24-21 victory as 19-point home favorites. However, it’s hard to fault Alabama much for that, as the team had covered in three straight games before that lackluster performance. And overall, the Tide have looked like a much better team since turning back to quarterback Jalen Milroe after a miserable 17-3 win over South Florida back on September 16. Milroe has largely avoided making mistakes and is making just enough plays with both his arm and his legs to allow Alabama’s defense to go out and win games. The Tide have the 12th-best scoring defense in the nation, and that will give them a chance against pretty much anyone. With that in mind, this is going to be a very interesting matchup to watch. This Volunteers offense is nowhere near as explosive as it was with Hendon Hooker under center last season, as Joe Milton III just hasn’t looked very sharp at quarterback. So, will the Tennessee offense be able to score enough points to win — or cover — in this game? On top of that, Nick Saban’s team will be looking for revenge in this spot. Last year, the Vols earned a 52-49 win over the Tide, snapping a 15-game losing streak to Alabama. That’s not going to sit well with the Tide, who are suddenly looking like they have a shot to sneak up and win the SEC.
Duke Blue Devils at Florida State Seminoles (-14, 49)
Star quarterback Riley Leonard was unable to play in Duke’s win over NC State last week, and it remains to be seen whether he’ll be out there against Florida State. Leonard’s ankle was heavily taped in pregame warmups last week, but he was walking around and didn’t look too hampered by it. However, it’d be hard to blame Duke if the team chooses to be extra cautious with him. But regardless of whether or not he’s out there, the outcome of this game will be determined by Florida State’s effort level. The Seminoles are the more talented of these two teams, by far. However, the same can be said for most Florida State games, yet this team failed to cover in wins over Boston College and Virginia Tech in two of the last four weeks. The Seminoles don’t always put their foot on the gas and demonstrably beat teams they are better than. Meanwhile, Duke is 14-5 ATS since Mike Elko became the team’s head coach, and he knows how to get his guys up for big games. So, the Blue Devils could potentially put a scare into the ‘Noles if Mike Norvell’s team doesn’t treat this game seriously enough. Florida State is 0-2 ATS as a home favorite of 7.5 to 14 points under Norvell.
Utah Utes at USC Trojans (-6.5, 56)
USC is coming off a blowout loss at the hands of Notre Dame. The Trojans can no longer afford to lose another game if they are going to find a way into the College Football Playoff, but that feels like a pipe dream right about now. USC’s defense is just an absolute disaster, with the team having allowed at least 41 points in each of its last three games. Now, that Trojans defense will need to play well in a meeting with the Utes. Utah likely won’t have Cam Rising in this game, but this Utes team is still 5-1 on the year. And Utah put up 34 points on a decent California defense last week. It was the Utes running game that was unstoppable there, as they got 158 yards and two scores out of Sione Vaki, 94 yards and a touchdown out of Ja’Quinden Jackson and then 50 yards and a touchdown out of quarterback Bryson Barnes. Utah will now look to run on a USC defensive line that can’t stop a nosebleed. And the Utes are going to feel pretty good about their defense keeping Caleb Williams and Co. in check. They have allowed 14 or fewer points in five of their six games this season. And it’s also worth noting that Utah is 6-2 ATS in its last eight games against USC.
Clemson Tigers (-3, 50) at Miami Hurricanes
While both of these programs come into this game with two losses, there’s no denying that this is a matchup between two very good football teams. And even though there will be some help needed along the way in order for either of these squads to get to the ACC Championship Game, it isn’t impossible to think that the winner of this one will win out and have a shot at it. In fact, Clemson already got its Florida State matchup out of the way, and the Tigers will get a crack at North Carolina in Death Valley on November 18. So, Dabo Swinney’s team still has a real shot at this, but the team must find a way to beat Miami in Hard Rock Stadium. But it should be noted that the Hurricanes haven’t beaten the Tigers since 2010. And last year, Clemson beat Miami by 30 points. Also, the Tigers are coming off a bye week, while the Hurricanes are fresh off an emotional loss to the Tar Heels. And under Swinney, Clemson is 25-7 straight-up and 18-12-2 ATS after a bye week. Meanwhile, Miami is just 2-5 both SU and ATS as an underdog under Mario Cristobal. The Hurricanes are also just 5-6 SU and 3-8 ATS at home under Cristobal.
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