Week 7 was another wild one in college football with seven top-25 teams losing to unranked opponents. There are only eight undefeated teams remaining with the Big 12 and the Pac-12 now seeming wide open following plenty of surprises through the first few weeks. The focus now shifts to Week 8 with several highly anticipated games that will help shape the perception of the Big 12, Pac-12 and Big Ten. Here is a look at the top four televised games for Week 8 of the college football season.
#10 Oklahoma State Cowboys @ Texas Longhorns
Saturday, 12:00 PM ET – ABC
One week after improving to 5-1 with a lopsided win over Baylor, the Cowboys enter a critical stretch in their schedule with a pair of road games at Texas and West Virginia before returning home to host Oklahoma. Oklahoma State can score points in bunches and they can move one step closer to a Big 12 title game with another big win on the road against a Big 12 rival this weekend. The Longhorns are in the midst of a tough stretch of their own but they appear to have found a viable quarterback in Sam Ehlinger. With Ehlinger performing at a high level, the Cowboys can’t afford to let their foot off the gas this week at Texas. Look for them to cover the touchdown and maintain their standing as the second-best team in the Big 12.
Pick: Oklahoma State -7
#19 Michigan Wolverines @ #2 Penn State Nittany Lions
Saturday, 7:30 PM ET – ABC
Penn State head coach James Franklin mentioned that the bye week came at the perfect time for his team. The Nittany Lions will face a brutal schedule matching up against Michigan, Ohio State and Michigan State over their next three games so the extra week of preparation should be beneficial heading in to this Saturday’s showdown with Michigan. If Penn State can run the table over the next three weeks then they should be in excellent position to contend for a spot in the College Football Playoff. Meanwhile, the Wolverines are gunning for the upset on the road but they don’t have the same potent offense that made them so dangerous a year ago so there is that much more pressure on their defense to carry them. Michigan has enough talent to push the Nittany Lions in what could end up being the most entertaining game of Week 8. Look for the Nittany Lions to win but for the Wolverines to cover the spread.
Pick: Michigan +12
#11 USC Trojans @ #13 Notre Dame Fighting Irish
Saturday, 7:30 PM ET – NBC
The Trojans’ 28-27 comeback win over Utah pushed them to 6-1 and put them back on the map in terms of the national title picture. USC’s win over Stanford is one of the best in the conference and the only real blemish to their record is a three-point loss at Washington State on a short week. The Trojans can make another statement on the road against a Notre Dame team that is coming off a bye week with a chance to climb in to the top-10 in the national rankings this week. The Fighting Irish will be rested and focused as four-point favorites in a game with major implications for both teams in prime time on NBC Saturday night.
Pick: USC +4
Colorado Buffaloes @ #15 Washington State Cougars
Saturday, 10:45 PM ET – ESPN
The Cougars were smacked in the mouth in last week’s loss to California but there were extenuating circumstances that contributed to that defeat. Washington State was playing on a short week and looked completely out of sync on both sides of the football in that game. Now the Cougars get an opportunity to bounce back at home against a Colorado side that narrowly avoided disaster last week with a 36-33 win over Oregon State. Washington State should bounce back after just about everything that could go wrong did go wrong for them last week. Quarterback Luke Falk will be looking for redemption following last week’s five-interception performance so expect a strong outing from the senior quarterback in the late game on Saturday night.
Pick: Washington State -10.5
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