Week 8 College Football Best Bets, Predictions and Picks from Matt Youmans
Arch Manning was supposed to be a college superstar or a hot young gun in the NFL by now. Steve Sarkisian was expected to be the coaching savior who brought back Texas football. So what went wrong? And can Manning and Sarkisian rebound to make things right?
The most intriguing game on Saturday’s betting board is Mississippi-Texas, and my thoughts about it are all over the board. If you have watched these teams all season, you should like the Rebels +3.5. If you have been betting games for several years and know how this nonsense usually works, your instincts are pulling you to the Texas side of the argument.
Instead of developing into an elite prospect, Manning is trending toward becoming a bust. He’s only 22 and time is still on his side, but time flies and he’s wasting too much of it. Sarkisian should get blamed for poor play-calling and failing to develop quarterbacks, among other things. The Longhorns (4-2) have an embarrassment of riches in terms of resources, but they just suffered back-to-back losses to freefall from No. 1 and another loss would send them to unranked. Manning is on the brink of being benched and Sarkisian is on the proverbial hot seat.
Ole Miss (5-1) is ranked No. 7 and led by one of the most talented quarterbacks in the nation, Trinidad Chambliss. The Rebels just crushed a ranked Missouri team 31-3. The Longhorns’ top defensive player, edge rusher Colin Simmons, is out with an injury and their leading rusher, Hollywood Smothers, is listed as doubtful.
If you listen to VSiN or any other network, nobody likes Texas in this game, yet the line has not budged from 3.5 and that’s mysterious. Most sportsbooks are showing 70 to 80% of the money and tickets are on Ole Miss, so that’s the definition of a public underdog and you rarely want to be on the popular dog. I could write much more about this topic, but that would be a waste of time because I’m passing on a play for now. Here are my college football best bets for Week 8:
Brigham Young (-7) at Central Florida
Bear Bachmeier is the college version of Buffalo Bills star Josh Allen — quarterbacks who run with reckless abandon and take a beating but keep on ticking. Despite taking a brutal hit to the head early in the game, Bachmeier passed for 224 yards and a touchdown and ran for 45 yards and two touchdowns to propel BYU to a 28-24 upset of Notre Dame. The Cougars (6-0) are up to No. 2 in the rankings and riding high.
After a big win, beware of the next game, especially if it’s on the road. The Cougars go to the heat and humidity of Orlando to face a UCF team that’s capable of pulling its own upset. The Knights, off a bye after competitive losses at Houston and Oklahoma State, can move the ball behind quarterback Keyone Jenkins and running back Duke Watson. The situational spot is screaming for a play on the home dog, so let’s see if this follows the script.
Best Bet: UCF +7
Oregon (-9) at Illinois
The Ducks’ quarterback situation is a mess. Dante Moore remains out with an injury, and backups Dylan Raiola and Brock Thomas don’t inspire confidence. Oregon scored exactly 17 points in each of its past two games, a loss to UCLA and a lucky comeback win against Nebraska. The other side of the story is also ugly because Illinois is a lame-duck team. Starting quarterback Katin Houser went down with a broken hand last week and freshman Michael Clayton gets the call. It seems appropriate to fade the Ducks, but this is a tough dog to trust, so I’ll split one unit and expect a low-scoring game.
Best Bet: Illinois +9 and Under 50.5 (half-unit each)
San Diego State (-1.5) at Colorado State
Rams coach Jim Mora demoted his defensive coordinator at halftime of a recent game, but that didn’t solve the problems. Colorado State allowed 716 yards and 66 points last week at Texas State. The positive news is the offense has been decent, and even better news is the return of quarterback Hauss Hejny, who had 10 touchdown passes and one interception prior to an injury. The Aztecs have problems at the quarterback position that won’t get solved this season, and San Diego State is a fragile favorite that has been outgained by 157 yards per game.
Best Bet: Colorado State +1.5
USC (-3) at Wisconsin
Senior quarterback Jayden Maiava has put up outstanding passing numbers (2,045 yards, 68% completions, 18 touchdowns and three interceptions) for the Trojans. The biggest complaint about Lincoln Riley has been the USC coach’s inability to win on the road, but Riley’s offense produced 430 yards — Maiava passed for 310 and three TDs — in a 31-23 win at Penn State on Oct. 10. The Trojans (6-1) are off a bye and have Ohio State on deck. The Wisconsin offense was awful while totaling 214 yards in a 17-7 loss at UCLA. But the Badgers’ defense is legit, quarterback Colton Joseph is now facing a soft USC defense, and I can’t resist taking the home dog in a night game in Madison.
Best Bet: Wisconsin +3
Houston at Utah (-6.5)
The best quarterback in Texas, aside from the Houston Texans’ C.J. Stroud, has been Conner Weigman. The Cougars are well coached by Willie Fritz, and Weigman has 20 touchdown passes with two interceptions. Houston’s only loss was a good one, 28-26 at Texas Tech in mid-September. The Utes, 6-0 and ranked 10th, have faced a soft schedule and will get seriously tested for the first time.
Best Bet: Houston +6.5
Last week: 3-1 against the spread
Season: 26-11-5
For more Week 8 college football best bets and analysis, visit the College Football Week 8 hub, exclusively on VSiN.
SPONSORED
SCOTT RICKENBACH from Doc’s Sports is on fire in football (NFL + CFB) and in the MLB playoffs! He has won 16 of 18 MLB highest-rated (7*/8*) picks for an 89% win rate. His MLB is +19,285 since joining Doc’s in August of 2025 (DOCUMENTED HERE), including +14,650 in 2026!
His hot MLB Run is 13-2 and +5,065 in profit (DOCUMENTED HERE).
Rickenbach won another big play (7*) on Sunday (Packers 23-13) as part of a 3-0 NFL SWEEP! His Football is 39-26 and +4,340 this season (DOCUMENTED HERE)
