College Football Odds Week 8: Latest Top 25 Picks and Final-Score Predictions
One of the many questions entering Week 8 of the 2018 college football season is where the next upset will come from.
So far this season, the top four teams in the nation survived the carnage that the rest of the ranked teams have experienced, but there's a chance an upset comes out of nowhere Saturday.
Elsewhere, a handful of games hold College Football Playoff implications, including a clash in the Pac-12 in which the higher-ranked team needs to win to keep the conference's playoff pipe dream alive.
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The ACC, Big Ten and SEC also boast Week 8 showdowns between ranked foes that could change the complexion of the playoff conversation.
Week 8 Schedule and Odds (via OddsShark)
All Times ET
Predicted winners against the spread in bold
Saturday, October 20
No. 6 Michigan (-7) at No. 24 Michigan State (Noon, Fox)
No. 9 Oklahoma (-8) at TCU (Noon, ABC)
Maryland at No. 19 Iowa (-9.5) (Noon, ESPN2)
No. 20 Cincinnati at Temple (-3.5) (Noon, ESPNU)
Illinois at No. 23 Wisconsin (-25) (Noon, FS1)
No. 1 Alabama (-29) at Tennessee (3:30 p.m., CBS)
No. 16 NC State at No. 3 Clemson (-17.5) (3:30 p.m., ESPN)
Colorado at No. 15 Washington (-15.5) (3:30 p.m., Fox)
No. 18 Penn State (-15) at Indiana (3:30 p.m., ABC)
No. 22 Mississippi State at No. 5 LSU (-6.5) (7 p.m., ESPN)
No. 10 UCF (-21) at East Carolina (7 p.m., ESPN2)
UConn at No. 21 South Florida (-34) 7 p.m., CBS Sports Network)
No. 2 Ohio State (-13) at Purdue (7:30 p.m., ABC)
No. 12 Oregon at No. 25 Washington State (-3) (7:30 p.m., Fox)
Vanderbilt at No. 14 Kentucky (-11.5) (7:30 p.m., SEC Network)
Score Predictions
Oregon 38, Washington State 27
The Pac-12 North will belong to the No. 12 Oregon Ducks after Saturday.
Although it will be hard to avoid a letdown amid all the commotion caused by College GameDay's first visit to No. 25 Washington State, Justin Herbert and Co. will leave Pullman, Washington, on course to make the Pac-12 Championship Game and be a player in the College Football Playoff discussion.
From an odds perspective. the Ducks are getting disrespected by the oddsmakers for the second straight week, as they enter as an underdog against the Cougars, despite downing Washington at home a week ago.
While Herbert receives most of the attention because of his potential as a high selection in the 2019 NFL draft, the quarterback hasn't been the lone star on offense during the run of three games against ranked foes.
Running back C.J. Verdell eclipsed the 100-yard barrier on the ground in each of the last three games, while Travis Dye has 182 rushing yards in the last two contests.
Verdell and Dye will carve up Washington State's rushing defense that has given up 148.2 yards per game, 12 touchdowns and 3.9 yards per attempt.
With the running attack causing all sorts of problems to the home side, Herbert will be able to open up the Washington State secondary on a few third-down passes to get the Ducks out to a decent lead.
The Cougars, who control their own destiny in the Pac-12 North with a victory, won't go down without a fight, with quarterback Gardner Minshew leading the charge.
Minshew leads the FBS with 2,422 yards in Mike Leach's pass-first system, and he's going up against an Oregon team that ranks 71st in passing defense.
Although the Ducks don't have a superb passing defense, they've picked off nine passes, and they'll add to that total against Minshew.
By closing out the game through Herbert, the Ducks will surge back into the Top 10 and establish themselves as the Pac-12 representative in the playoff conversation.
Ohio State 31, Purdue 28
No. 2 Ohio State has its eyes on a win over Michigan to secure a spot in the Big Ten Championship Game at the end of the regular season and the College Football Playoff.
The Buckeyes have bigger opponents ahead on their schedule, like Michigan, but they'll receive an unexpected test from the Purdue Boilermakers Saturday night.
Jeff Brohm's Boilermakers enter Week 8 with three consecutive wins, and they'll receive an extra boost from playing the Buckeyes at home in a night environment.
Purdue's gained confidence from road wins at Nebraska and Illinois in which quarterback David Blough threw for over 300 yards in each game.
The experienced senior signal caller is consistent enough to keep Purdue in the game, and he'll be able to get the ball to dynamic freshman wide receiver Rondale Moore for a few big plays, including at least one touchdown of over 50 yards.
Ohio State is ranked 83rd in the FBS in passing defense, but it has been able to get to the quarterback with its pass rush, as it sits in a tie for third in sacks with 24.
As long as Blough avoids the pass rush and makes little to no mistakes, he'll put Purdue in contention to win in the fourth quarter.
While the effort from the Boilermakers will be commendable, Saturday presents Dwayne Haskins with a chance to bolster his Heisman Trophy resume, and he'll do so in the second half.
Haskins has thrown for 867 yards and nine touchdowns in the last two games against Indiana and Minnesota, and he'll put up similar numbers as he tries to match the production of the Purdue passing game.
Although Ohio State will eventually pull away for a victory, it won't come close to covering the spread of 13 points, which will make Saturday night in West Lafayette, Indiana, much more interesting than it usually is.
Other Scores
Michigan 31, Michigan State 23
Oklahoma 47, TCU 21
Iowa 41, Maryland 16
Cincinnati 27, Temple 10
Wisconsin 56, Illinois 20
Alabama 35, Tennessee 16
Washington 40, Colorado 13
Penn State 37, Indiana 9
LSU 24, Mississippi State 16
UCF 63, East Carolina 10
South Florida 70, UConn 10
Kentucky 26, Vanderbilt 13
Follow Joe on Twitter, @JTansey90
Statistics obtained from ESPN.com
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