College Football Odds Week 8: Early Locks and Best Bets on the Schedule
The Iowa Hawkeyes sit in a tremendous position to end up in their second Big Ten Championship Game in three years.
Kirk Ferentz's team stunned the Wisconsin Badgers in Madison last week to earn a massive advantage on top of the Big Ten West.
Iowa is a half-game ahead of Wisconsin in the standings, but that lead is really 1.5 games because of the head-to-head tiebreaker that was just earned.
The Hawkeyes can solidify their position atop the Big Ten West with a home win over the Minnesota Golden Gophers.
The 5.5-point spread in favor of Iowa suggests it will not blowout the Gophers, but a seven-point victory is not out of question given how well Iowa's defense played this season.
Other teams across the country, like the Missouri Tigers, need to keep winning in Week 8 to be in a position to pounce in case a top-tier team slips up.
The Kansas State Wildcats are also in that position in the Big 12, but they might have trouble putting away the TCU Horned Frogs in what could be a high-scoring affair in Manhattan, Kansas.
Minnesota at No. 24 Iowa (-5.5)
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For the latest lines on these games, go to DraftKings.
Saturday, 3:30 p.m. ET, NBC
Iowa has come away from its rivalry with Minnesota with the Floyd of Rosedale Trophy in each of the last eight seasons.
The Hawkeyes held the Gophers to seven or 10 points in four of those eight meetings, including two of the last three contests.
Any bet on Iowa should heavily factor in its defensive performance since its offense has never exactly been a high-scoring unit.
Iowa's offense only averages 247.4 total yards per game, but it could find some holes in a Minnesota defense that was gashed for 52 points and 432 total yards last week.
Minnesota managed just 169 total yards at home versus Michigan, and it could find some trouble against Iowa.
The Hawkeyes allowed their last three opponents to score a combined 36 points. None of those foes went past the 16-point mark.
Iowa is more than capable of slowing down Minnesota's offense, just like Michigan did last week, and that would allow its offensive unit to score two or three touchdowns to win.
A spread bet on Iowa may not be the easiest one to get over the line, but if you trust its defense, your bet should be in good shape.
South Carolina at No. 20 Missouri (-6.5)
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Saturday, 3:30 p.m. ET, SEC Network
Missouri is playing to be the second-best team in the SEC East.
The Tigers took a nice step to achieving that goal with a road win over the Kentucky Wildcats last week.
Missouri should add to its SEC win total against a South Carolina Gamecocks team that comes into Memorial Stadium off a brutal fourth-quarter collapse against the Florida Gators.
South Carolina also has to contend with some brutal road form. The Gamecocks lost by at least 10 points in all three of their games away from home. The most recent of those three defeats was the worst of them all by 21 points versus the Tennessee Volunteers.
Missouri's offense has the potential to post high yardage totals against a Gamecocks defense that gives up 451.5 total yards per game.
Brady Cook has worked well with wide receivers Luther Burden and Theo Wease to form one of the best passing combinations not just in the SEC, but in the FBS. Burden is one of two wide receivers in the FBS with more than 800 receiving yards.
Mizzou can throw all over the South Carolina defense, and as we have seen in previous road games, Spencer Rattler and the Gamecocks just do not have the talent to keep up with the better teams in the SEC.
TCU at Kansas State (Over 57)
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Saturday, 7 p.m. ET, ESPN2
TCU and Kansas State have two of the most explosive offenses in the FBS.
The Horned Frogs average 488.4 total yards per game, while Kansas State sits at 456 total yards per contest.
Both units could have a ton of success on Saturday night because each defense averages a concession of over 349 total yards per game.
Kansas State's home scoring should provide a huge boost to the over hitting. The Wildcats scored over 40 points in each of their three home games, the last of which was a 44-31 win in Big 12 play over the UCF Knights.
Each of K-State's last three games had 50 or more points, while TCU played in five games with at least 49 points.
Of course, both teams need a little more production to get to 57 points, but it is a good sign that neither team has played in many low-scoring contests.
Each team can move the ball on the ground and through the air. They both average over 184 rushing yards and 241 passing yards per game. The diverse approach from each offense should allow for points to flow on a regular basis.
A win, no matter how it comes, would benefit Kansas State most because it would stay one game back of the Oklahoma Sooners in the Big 12 standings, but a win by TCU and some chaos elsewhere in the conference could keep the Horned Frogs alive as well.
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