Week 8 college football best bets and predictions
The college football season is in full gear and VSiN is pumping out more content for it than ever. All of our college football stories and resources are available at our Week 8 CFB Bet Hub, where you’ll also get best bets from all of my incredibly talented colleagues. But you’ll have to keep reading this one to get my college football best bets every week. After going 6-0 with my picks two weeks ago, I went 2-1 in this best bets column last week. This week, I’m hoping for some more winners. I only have three plays on my card at the moment, but I might add some more picks later on. If I do, they’ll be thrown in at the bottom of this story, so definitely make sure to come back and look for more Week 8 college football best bets throughout the day on Saturday, October 21.
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South Carolina Gamecocks at Missouri Tigers
This game has shootout written all over it. The Gamecocks come into this one after having allowed at least 30 points in each of their last three games, and they have given up 41 points in back-to-back contests. Now, South Carolina’s porous defense has to face a Missouri team that is averaging 33.9 points per game this season. The Tigers have scored at least 35 points in four of their seven games, and I don’t see quarterback Brady Cook (2,054 yards, 14 TD, 3 INT) and this passing game failing to light it up with this type of matchup — especially with this game being played in Columbia. They have scored at least 38 points in each of their last three games, with SEC competition not slowing them down at all.
The Gamecocks should also be able to do their part in helping this Over hit. South Carolina has scored at least 37 points in two of its last three games, and quarterback Spencer Rattler has thrown for seven touchdowns and only two picks in that time. He is really coming on for the Gamecocks and looked especially good playing against Florida after South Carolina’s bye week. Now, I’d expect Rattler to light up a Tigers secondary that has already allowed at least 250 passing yards four times this season. And Missouri has also had a lot of trouble stopping the run recently, meaning this could be a big game for running back Mario Anderson. The senior has rushed for at least 88 yards in each of the last three games, and he’ll likely enjoy even more success against this weak defensive front.
Overall, I just don’t see the defenses having an easy time getting off the field here. There’s a reason these two teams are a combined 9-3-1 to the Over this year. And Missouri has gone Over in each of its last five games.
Bet: Over 60 (-109 – Play to 61.5)
Texas Tech Red Raiders at BYU Cougars
Texas Tech is coming off a bad 38-21 loss to Kansas State last week, but it wasn’t nearly as bad as BYU’s 44-11 loss to TCU. Prior to that game, there was a lot of talk about Cougars head coach Kalani Sitake being unhappy with his team’s overall toughness. Then, after that blowout loss, Sitake openly said that things have to change drastically for BYU moving forward. However, the Cougars are dealing with a slew of injuries right now, with the secondary being especially decimated. That will make it very hard for this defense to get stops, even against a Red Raiders team that is down to either Behren Morton or Jake Strong at quarterback.
The question here is whether Texas Tech can slow down the BYU offense. The Red Raiders did get carved up by the Horned Frogs last week, but the Cougars aren’t nearly as proficient offensively. And I think the Texas Tech defensive line will have a lot more success working against the BYU offensive line. Also, Cougars quarterback Kedon Slovis can make some head scratching throws in the face of pressure. So, I’d expect Texas Tech head coach Joey McGuire to dial up plenty of blitzes to make him uncomfortable in the pocket.
All in all, I think Texas Tech is a much stronger team on both sides of the ball. The fact that this game will be played in LaVell Edwards Stadium should help BYU, but I’d be shocked if it helps enough. I also like that the Red Raiders are 7-3 straight-up and 6-4 against the spread as favorites under McGuire. Meanwhile, the wheels tend to fall off for the Cougars when the going gets tough. Under Sitake, BYU is 3-8 SU and 2-9 ATS when coming off a loss by 17 or more points.
Bet: Texas Tech -4.5 (-110)
Clemson Tigers at Miami Hurricanes
Clemson’s entire season has been defined by a bad road loss to Duke and a close home loss against Florida State. Because of those two performances, people are very down on Dabo Swinney’s group. But this Clemson team is good on both sides of the ball, and the Tigers also happen to be coming off a bye week. Under Swinney, Clemson is 25-7 SU and 18-12-2 ATS when coming off a bye. He clearly knows how to get his team fired up and prepared to play with an extra week of practice. And the Tigers will now be facing a Hurricanes team that is just 1-9 ATS versus ACC opponents over the last two seasons. On top of that, Miami is two weeks removed from one of the worst losses in the history of college football. And the team followed it up with a 10-point loss against North Carolina.
Overall, I just question the mental toughness of this Miami team right now. The loss to Georgia Tech was the type that can swing an entire season. And the defense looked especially miserable last week, giving up over 500 yards of offense against the Tar Heels. That film should give quarterback Cade Klubnik and offensive coordinator Garrett Riley a lot to work with when trying to figure out how to attack Miami. The Tigers had scored at least 31 points in three of their last four games before putting up just 17 in a win over Wake Forest before the bye. So, figuring out the offense was likely a big priority in the bye week, and I’d expect Clemson to come correct here.
Defensively, I don’t have many concerns with this Tigers team. Clemson has allowed 14 or fewer points in three of its last four games, with the one other one being a decent performance against a loaded Florida State offense. Miami will have some successful trips down the field in this game, as the team is just extremely talented offensively. But the Tigers should be able to get off the field a bit more often than the Hurricanes. And that’s all that matters here.
It’s also just a little hard to ignore that Clemson has won four games in a row against MIami, with the average margin of victory being 38.0 points per game. This one shouldn’t be nearly as lopsided, but there will be a mental hurdle for Miami to clear here. And I don’t think that what has transpired over the last couple of weeks will help.
Bet: Clemson -3 (-110 – Play to -3.5)
Added Plays
Wake Forest -1 (-110) vs. Pittsburgh
Navy +10.5 (-110) vs. Air Force
2023 Record: 33-24-1 (+6.08 units)
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