Week 8 College Football Viewing Guide: What games to follow
Week 8 College Football Viewing Guide: What games to follow
Highlighting five of the week's best games for the upcoming weekend
In Week 8, we will finally see some positive movement at the top of the Big Ten standings. It's something the fans have been waiting for since the season began.
If you look past No. 2 Michigan, No. 3 Ohio State, and No. 7 Penn State, the conference is filled with mediocrity. The two-time defending conference champion will face Ohio State or Penn State in November. Still, the Buckeyes and Nittany Lions will square off Saturday in Columbus in a highly anticipated matchup with significant implications for the College Football Playoffs. That game being played at noon ET should set the tone for an incredible day of college football. There are three other ranked vs. ranked games on tap and a bevy of other potential upsets scattered throughout the day.
(Note: odds from BetMGM)
No. 7 Penn State at No. 3 Ohio State
Time: Noon ET | TV: Fox| Line: Ohio State -5.0
One of the season's biggest games is almost here. Ohio State and Penn State are both undefeated at 6-0 and are looking to pick up a significant win in both the race for the Big Ten and the College Football Playoff picture.
Penn State has not beaten Ohio State since 2016, and the last time the Nittany Lions have even won in Columbus was in 2011. This is a crucial stepping stone for James Franklin as a coach and his program's quest to get to the College Football Playoff.
Conversely, Ohio State is seeking their successive win and looking to return to the College Football Playoff. The Buckeyes beat Notre Dame last month 17-14 and have yet to face stiff competition since. Enter Penn State; they should offer a more formidable challenge as they hold a top-10 defense and have been confusing offenses all season. Ohio State has also been excellent on defense, so the two first-year starters at quarterback (Ohio State quarterback Kyle McCord and Penn State quarterback Drew Allar) will face the most formidable challenge of their young careers. Who is going to have their moment and stamp themselves in legend?
No. 17 Tennessee at No. 11 Alabama
Time: 3:30 PM ET | TV: CBS | Line: Alabama -8.5
Alabama (6-1) has yet to precisely set the world on fire this season and be dominant like they usually are, but somehow, they keep winning. The Rolling Tide have won five straight games after their Week 2 loss to Texas. This weekend, the Tide will have revenge on their minds against Tennessee. The Volunteers snapped its 15-game losing streak to Alabama on a last-second field goal last season in Knoxville.
These two offenses for these teams look incredibly different this year, though the Volunteers' offense last season had the best offense in the country. This year, it has been a different story. The Vols are off to a 5-1 start but have not played a true road game since Week 3 when they lost 29-16 to Florida in the "Swamp." The last time out, the Vols struggled mightily against the Texas A&M Aggies when quarterback Joe Milton completed a paltry 11 of his 22 passes for 100 yards. Milton must be much more efficient if the Vols expect to go into Tuscaloosa and pull off this upset.
Washington State at No. 9 Oregon
Time: 3:30 PM ET | TV: ABC | Line: Oregon -20
The question for this game will be: how will Oregon respond after suffering such a gut-wrenching loss to Washington? The win was there for the taking for Oregon. The determining factor for the game was three failed fourth-down decisions made by head coach Dan Lanning, which proved costly. Now 5-1 on the year, Oregon has to find a way to bounce back and be ready to play a Washington State team floundering after a hot start.
Washington State started 4-0, but things have destructed a bit after back-to-back losses to UCLA and Arizona. There was the 25-17 loss to UCLA, then the drubbing at the hands of Arizona, losing 44-6. The Washington State offense that was setting the world on fire early in the year has turned into a meager offense. Against Arizona, the Cougars could only gain 234 yards and turned it over three times. The Cougars must regain that offensive magic to achieve this tall task of beating Oregon.
No. 16 Duke at No. 4 Florida State
Time: 7:30 PM ET | TV: ABC | Line: Florida State -14
Who would've thought at the beginning of the year that this would be a premier matchup in Week 8 of the college football season? Well, here we are, and we can't count Duke out in this game. The only loss of the Blue Devils (5-1, 2-0 ACC) this season was a heartbreaker against Notre Dame. Their star quarterback, Riley Leonard, has been sidelined since that game with a high ankle sprain. Leonard is one of the best dual-threat quarterbacks in the country, and if he doesn't play in this game, I am hard-pressed to say that the Blue Devils don't stand a chance in pulling off the upset in Tallahassee if he doesn't play.
Meanwhile, Florida State is coming in at 6-0 after two breezy wins. Duke is a much better defensive team than their previous two opponents, Virginia Tech and Syracuse, so the Seminoles will need another strong performance to stay undefeated.
No. 14 Utah at No. 18 USC
Time: 8 PM ET | TV: FOX | Line: USC -6.5
Despite a barrage of injuries, Utah is still in the Pac-12 race. Utah improved to 5-1 (2-1 Pac-12) with a 34-14 win over Cal over the past weekend. It was the bounce-back game they were looking for after the 21-7 loss at Oregon State. Once again, the Utes needed quarterback Cam Rising.
USC is coming off of a horrid road loss to Notre Dame. Caleb Williams, the reigning Heisman Trophy winner, had a miserable outing as he threw three first-half interceptions and later had a fumble returned for a score. Despite the loss, the Trojans sit atop the Pac-12 (6-1, 4-0 Pac-12) and look to rebound at home. Last year, Utah cost USC a college playoff berth and the Pac-12 title to boot. One can wonder if Lincoln Riley will have his team prepared for this matchup with more focus.
If you found this article enlightening, show your appreciation by clicking the “subscribe” icon below!
Thanks for reading, and come back soon for more.