We are coming off a tough week with the college football picks, but hope is alive for a huge bounceback this week. Let's look at Week 8 College Football Picks.
The only winning play last week was Tennessee as a touchdown underdog against Alabama. The Volunteers were able to beat the Crimson Tide in the Game of the Year, throwing off 15 years of heartbreak in the process. Unfortunately, the rest of my picks were heartbreaking too, but not in the same way. Temple was completely blasted by UCF after a promising start to their game, and Mississippi State lost outright as a favorite against Kentucky. I was a little unluckier with East Carolina and Kansas as both teams came within a few points of covering, but neither team was able to cover the number.
YTD 12-17-1 ATS
CFB Week 8 Selections
Cincinnati -3 at SMU
This year’s Cincinnati isn’t as good as last year’s edition, but the Bearcats are probably the favorite to win the American. They have started to come together as a team with five straight wins, and Ben Bryant has been a pretty solid passer. The Bearcats are averaging 4.8 YPC, and this offense is ranked 28th in Offensive SP+. The defense is just as strong as ever with Luke Fickell at the helm, and Cincinnati is ranked 15th in Defensive SP+.
Meanwhile, SMU is ranked 46th in Overall SP+. The Mustangs are 3-3 and haven’t been impressive over the last month with their lone win coming against Navy. They allowed 34 points and 510 total yards to Navy, so that doesn’t bode well for SMU’s chances against Cincinnati.
Texas Tech -6 vs. West Virginia
It’s very hard for teams to go into Lubbock and play well. The Red Raiders are 3-0 at home and 0-3 on the road, as the remoteness of Lubbock plays to this program’s advantage. They were able to knock off Texas here a few weeks ago, and they have had two weeks off to get healthy and prepare for West Virginia this Saturday. Donovan Smith seems good to go under center once more, and he can light up a Mountaineers’ defense that is allowing 36.2 PPG and 6.4 yards per play. This WVU secondary is allowing a whopping 9.7 yards per play, so quarterbacks can have a field day against this unit.
Over 72 in Oregon vs. UCLA
This seems too easy. Oregon has scored at least 40 points in five straight games as Bo Nix has thrived out west. Nix has been one of the best quarterbacks in the Pac 12 behind a superb offensive line, and he has showcased his wheels too. Meanwhile, UCLA has scored 40 points in five of its six games this season as former Oregon head coach Chip Kelly has an extremely experienced quarterback in Dorian Thompson-Robinson. DTR has improved every season he has been at UCLA, and he has the Bruins off to a 6-0 start. It’s tough to predict a winner here, but both teams should score 35 or more points.
East Carolina +5 vs. UCF
We saw UCF dominate an outmatched Temple side last week, but John Rhys Plumlee is not that good of a passer. Plumlee is a run-first quarterback that has a hard time progressing through reads if his first option isn’t open, and East Carolina should be able to contain him better than Temple. The Pirates have one of the best run defenses in the AAC, allowing just 3.2 YPC and 114.0 YPG on the ground trough six games. Holton Ahlers is a pretty solid signal caller for East Carolina, so the Pirates stand a good chance of pulling off the outright upset here.
Colorado +23.5 at Oregon State
Oregon State should not be this much of a favorite against another Power Five team. The Beavers are 2-2 in Pac 12 play, and they lost a narrow game to USC and were housed by Utah. Yes, they beat Stanford and Washington State, but those were both close games. Oregon State’s quarterbacks have thrown more interceptions than touchdowns this season, so you can’t count on them to score a ton of points.
Meanwhile, Colorado showed signs of life under interim head coach Mike Sanford last week. The Buffaloes were awful under Karl Dorrell, but they managed to defeat Cal in overtime and that gives this team hope they can keep the final result within 24 points.
Check out the latest College Football Betting Odds at top online sportsbooks.
