College Football Week 8 Best Bets: Ohio State, Alabama and More

With all the changes in college football, it’s nice to have an amazing slate of games to take our minds off the dumb decisions happening in the sport. There are six ranked games this week, and I’ll be giving out picks for all of them. Here are this week’s best bets.

#4 Ohio State (-3) @ #5 Indiana Total: 50.5

This game is the easiest of the week for me. Indiana is nowhere near the team they were last year, and they’re still being treated like it. Ohio State is going to up the tempo on offense and put heavy pressure on Indiana’s mediocre linebacking corps. Unless Indiana’s defensive line can take over, which I don’t think they can, Ohio State wins by at least two scores.

Pick: Ohio State -3 and u50.5

#16 Mississippi State @ #22 LSU (-15.5) Total: 57.5

Okay, I’ll be the idiot that walks right into this trap game, but there’s no way that LSU should be more than a 2-touchdown favorite, even if Kamario Taylor is injured. This bet is strictly about LSU. The Tigers’ defense is terrible, Sam Leavitt is so inconsistent, and their run game is non existent. Until LSU faces Arkansas in their season finale, nobody left on their schedule should ever be 15.5 point underdogs to them.

Pick: Mississippi State +15.5

#6 Alabama (-7.5) @ #14 Tennessee Total: 50.5

Tennessee’s best win this year was a close loss to Texas. When people complain about how overrated the SEC, it starts and ends with teams like this. Tennessee was in one score games with Auburn and Arkansas the last two weeks, and that’s the team they are. On the other hand, Vegas is still catching up with how much Alabama is exceeding expectations. Keelon Russell is the first quarterback with a pulse on Tennesse's schedule, and he’s going to light up a very average defense.

Pick: Alabama -7.5 and o50.5

#13 Missouri @ #9 Ole Miss (-7.5) Total: 58.5

Missouri picked a massive ranked win in conference play, something they’ve struggled to do since joining the SEC. Unfortunately, they’ll now have to deal with the best player in the conference in Trinidad Chambliss. Kewan Lacy was eased back into the Ole Miss gameplan in a blowout win over Vanderbilt, but I expect a much heavier dose of RPO attacks involving him this week. I think Ole Miss’ performance against Florida was more of an outlier than what they are. I’m still very high on this Rebels offense and think they can still win the SEC.

Pick: Ole Miss -7.5

#2 Notre Dame (-10.5) @ #8 BYU Total: 46.5

Nothing about BYU is a top-10 team. They have a solid defense, but one that isn’t particularly elite at pass rush or creating turnovers. The only way they’re going to beat Notre Dame is making CJ Carr play off schedule, and I just don’t see how they can make that happen. My only concern is Notre Dame’s run game. During the Marcus Freeman era, they’ve always had elite run games they can lean on, and I’m just not sold they’ll be able to do that in their first test against a competent defense. I’d lean Notre Dame covering, but I think this game stays low scoring regardless.

Pick: u46.5

#18 Oklahoma State @ #20 Houston (-4.5) Total: 62.5

I might be one of the only Houston defenders left in the country, but I just think they’re so consistent. They were a missed two-point conversion away from pulling off the upset win at Texas Tech, and since then, they’ve continued to find ways to win. Oklahoma State is one of the most fun teams in the country, and I hate betting against Drew Mestemaker, but I’m going to keep betting Houston if they keep winning.

Pick: Houston -4.5 and u62.5