College Football Week 8 Predictions: Clemson/Syracuse, Oregon/UCLA, and much more

College Football Week 8 Predictions

Week 7 Tennessee and TCU, along with various tightly-contested results, set the College Football world on fire. Week 8 features Marquee Matchups in the ACC, PAC-12 and two in the red-hot BIG-12. Check out the top football odds.

Marquee Matchups

#5 Clemson vs #14 Syracuse: This battle of unbeaten’s in the ACC will go a long way for the winner to gain pole position in the Atlantic division. It seems the Tigers have fixed their offensive woes from 2021 and now have a great opportunity to get a victory at home. QB Garrett Shrader and the Syracuse offense has struggled some since a game they barely won versus a quality Purdue squad. Although the spread may seem a little bit wide, Clemson will move to 8-0 with a favorable schedule to close the regular season.

The Pick: +14 Syracuse, but Clemson protects the home field. 

Check out the best odds for betting on Syracuse/Clemson

#9 UCLA vs. #10 Oregon: The only two undefeated teams in conference play go head-to-head in Eugene. Oregon got smoked in week 1 by Georgia but to their credit, the Ducks have strung together 5 straight victories. After many (including this guy) picked against the Bruins in back-to-back weeks it’s fair to say UCLA has the better victories thus far. However, their only actual road game came at a mightily struggling Colorado program. QB Box Nix does have a track record of playing well at home. UCLA head coach Chip Kelly is really good against the spread in these high-profile matchups, but it’s been a while. This one will come down to ball control and redzone success.

The Pick: UCLA +6.5, but look for Oregon to win down the stretch.

Check out the best odds for betting on UCLA/Oregon

Under The Radar

#8 TCU vs #17 Kansas State: How many times can the Horned Frogs go the well before it dries up? The Wildcats are in the familiar role of spoiler and have a slow-motion offense to control the pace and keep that potent TCU offense off the field. The Tulane loss by Kansas State is looking a little better now given where they rank nationally, but it did come at home. TCU has drama-filled back-and-forth wins over SMU, Kansas, and last week’s 17-point comeback in double overtime against Oklahoma State. This College Football junkie believes TCU is the better team, but something’s got to give.

The Pick: +3.5 Kansas State in a relatively low-scoring affair. 

#11 Oklahoma State vs. #20 Texas: Much of the outcome of this game depends on the health of QB Spencer Sanders. Also, how will the Cowboys respond after giving up that big lead and losing in double OT? Texas needed a late score to beat a scrappy Iowa State team and now finds itself a healthy favorite on the road. I lean towards a now healthy Texas QB Quinn Ewers and on the back of RB Bijan Robinson to wear down that Cowboys run defense.

The Pick: -6 Texas Longhorns will win but I will be sweating out those points.

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Saturday Upset Special

Purdue scores a minor upset as a +2 on the road at Wisconsin.

Hardcore Barnburner

#7 Ole Miss vs LSU: We really don’t know how good Old Miss is at this moment because of the weak schedule. We have to give them kudos for beating a good Kentucky team, but the Wildcats had 3 legit drives to win that game and failed. LSU has been spotty, to say the least, and a complete no-show getting steamrolled by Tennessee. Neither team defends the run all that well, and just look at the rush numbers for Ole Miss. This will be a crucial spot for Ole Miss QB Jayson Dart, so let’s see if he avoids making major mistakes. If it does slip up, look for LSU QB Jayden Daniels to make plays with his feet and arm.

The Pick: Ole Miss +1.5

Against The Spread

Kansas can keep it close enough to be a +10 versus Baylor.

(Honorable Mention: #24 Mississippi State +21 versus #6 Alabama)

 Quick Hits Recap

-Vols WR Jalin Hunt caught 5 touchdowns tying a SEC single game record and setting a new school record in Tennessee’s dramatic 52-49 victory Alabama.

-Tennessee earned their first win over Alabama since 2006. Coming into the game the Vols were 0-15 against Nick Saban.

-Michigan scored on 8 out their 10 possession in a 2nd half rout of Penn State 41-17.

-The Nittany Lions had allowed 399 rushing yards in 5 games until the Wolverines piled up 418 yards on the ground adding 4 rushing TD’s.

-Old Dominion RB Blake Watson rushed for a school record 256 yards and 3 TD’s in a win over Coastal Carolina.

Written by Chris Carlson Host of The College Ball Show Podcast available at blogtalkradio.com/ropeadoperadio &

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