College Football Cheat Sheet: Week 8

We’ve reached the bye week portion of the college football schedule. The slate is somewhat light in Week 8, but that does not mean we are in for a boring Saturday. One game in the noon window happens to stand out above the rest as October winds down.

Everyone’s eyes will be on Penn State-Ohio State in a battle for supremacy in the Big Ten. However, this is not the only interesting matchup on the card. We’ve got some rivalry games, a conference championship rematch, the Dillon Gabriel Bowl, and an under bettor’s under.

Let’s dive in.

The Slate

SMU at Temple	7:00pm ET (Friday)	ESPN
Memphis at UAB	Noon ET	ESPN2
No. 22 Air Force at Navy	Noon ET	CBS
Mississippi State at Arkansas	Noon ET	ESPN
No. 7 Penn State at No. 3 Ohio State	Noon ET	FOX
Rutgers at Indiana	Noon ET	Big Ten Network
Boston College at Georgia Tech	Noon ET	ACC Network
Baylor at Cincinnati	Noon ET	ESPN+
UCF at No. 6 Oklahoma	Noon ET	ABC
Western Michigan at Ohio	Noon ET	CBS Sports Network
Charlotte at East Carolina	2:00pm ET	ESPN+
ULM at Georgia Southern	2:00pm ET	ESPN+
Akron at Bowling Green	2:00pm ET	ESPN+
Central Michigan at Ball State	3:30pm ET	ESPN+
Buffalo at Kent State	3:30pm ET	ESPN+
North Texas at No. 23 Tulane	3:30pm ET	ESPN2
Eastern Michigan at Northern Illinois	3:30pm ET	ESPN+
Washington State at No. 9 Oregon	3:30pm ET	ABC
Oklahoma State at West Virginia	3:30pm ET	ESPN
Pittsburgh at Wake Forest	3:30pm ET	ACC Network
Wisconsin at Illinois	3:30pm ET	FS1
USF at UConn	3:30pm ET	CBS Sports Network
No. 17 Tennessee at No. 11 Alabama	3:30pm ET	CBS
South Carolina at No. 20 Missouri	3:30pm ET	SEC Network
Northwestern at Nebraska	3:30pm ET	Big Ten Network
Minnesota at No. 24 Iowa	3:30pm ET	NBC
No. 8 Texas at Houston	4:00pm ET	FOX
Toledo at Miami (Ohio)	4:00pm ET	ESPNU
UTSA at Florida Atlantic	6:00pm ET	ESPN+
Hawai’i at New Mexico	6:00pm ET	Mountain West Network
Virginia at No. 10 North Carolina	6:30pm ET	The CW
No. 13 Ole Miss at Auburn	7:00pm ET	ESPN
TCU at Kansas State	7:00pm ET	ESPN2
Texas Tech at BYU	7:00pm ET	FS1
Appalachian State at Old Dominion	7:00pm ET	NFL Network
Coastal Carolina at Arkansas State	7:00pm ET	ESPN+
Colorado State at UNLV	7:00pm ET	Mountain West Network
Utah State at San Jose State	7:00pm ET	CBS Sports Network
Army at No. 19 LSU	7:30pm ET	SEC Network
No. 2 Michigan at Michigan State	7:30pm ET	NBC
No. 16 Duke at No. 4 Florida State	7:30pm ET	ABC
Georgia State at Louisiana	8:00pm ET	ESPNU
Clemson at Miami	8:00pm ET	ACC Network
No. 14 Utah at No. 18 USC	8:00pm ET	FOX
Nevada at San Diego State	9:00pm ET	FS2
No. 25 UCLA at Stanford	10:30pm ET	ESPN
Arizona State at No. 5 Washington	10:30pm ET	FS1

Top 10 Games

1. No. 7 Penn State at No. 3 Ohio State
2. No. 17 Tennessee at No. 11 Alabama
3. No. 16 Duke at No. 4 Florida State
4. No. 14 Utah at No. 18 USC
5. No. 13 Ole Miss at Auburn
6. Clemson at Miami
7. Oklahoma State at West Virginia
8. No. 8 Texas at Houston
9. Toledo at Miami (Ohio)
10. TCU at Kansas State

College Football Gambling Corner

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Monstrous opportunity for Penn State

James Franklin might have his best team in year 10 at Penn State. The Nittany Lions are off to a 7-0 start with blowout power conference wins against West Virginia, Illinois, Iowa, and Northwestern. Second-year defensive coordinator Manny Diaz might have the best defense in college football. Drew Allar is playing good football at quarterback. This is a legitimate College Football Playoff contender.

But the Lions must get by Penn State.

Franklin is 1-8 outright against the Buckeyes since arriving in State College and has lost six in a row. Penn State has not won in Columbus since 2011. This national championship pedigree program has one final hump to get over and this feels like their best opportunity in a few years.

Ohio State has taken a step back this season and is dealing with some injuries. Penn State has the better defense, might have a better quarterback, and appears to have more high-end pros on the roster. Franklin and his program have a chance to deliver a message on Saturday afternoon. Will that happen?

Wide receiver play is a huge question mark for Penn State, and in premium college football matchups, quite often, perimeter players need to win tough one-on-one battles to get their team over the top. We know Ohio State has those guys. We’re not sure Penn State does.

A massive playoff implications is on the slate in Week 8. Buckle in early for the game of the weekend.

Rare revenge spot for Alabama

Quite frankly, Nick Saban rarely loses games at Alabama. If he does, most of them occur in the postseason. It is very rare when Alabama gets a revenge spot in the regular season, but the Crimson Tide will have two at home over the next three weeks. The first will occur on Saturday afternoon.

However, each team in this year’s Tennessee-Alabama meeting looks much different than expected.

Joe Milton III enters the game with an atrocious explosive pass play rate (12.1%). Jalen Milroe is quickly becoming one of the best vertical passers in college football (19 of 31 for 737 yards and 9 touchdowns on throws of 20-plus air yards). Who saw that coming?

The Vols are winning with defense (No. 4 in tackles for loss per game, No. 10 in yards per play, No. 19 in success rate) and run game (No. 5 in yards per rush, No. 30 in rushing success rate). Josh Heupel is showing some legitimate coaching chops in year three on Rocky Top, but Tennessee is going to try and beat Alabama by playing Alabama football. This typically does not turn out well.

Can Tennessee out-Alabama Alabama at Bryant-Denny Stadium? I have my doubts.

Auburn and Lane Kiffin

As the coaching search got ramped up after John Cohen was hired away from Mississippi State to run the athletics department at Auburn, word quickly leaked out that Lane Kiffin was the top target of the Tigers. At a point in November, it looked like the former Alabama offensive coordinator would work at a third SEC West program in less than a decade.

However, that went away and Kiffin signed a contract extension to remain at Ole Miss. Now the social media star with a 28-14 (16-12) record in Oxford will travel to the Plains for the first time since the coaching carousel. I have a feeling that the environment will be electric on Saturday night.

Auburn (3-3, 0-3) desperately needs a win, and the fan base is going to really want this one. We should get fireworks in this SEC West meeting. Ole Miss broke a six-game losing streak to the Tigers last year. Can the Rebels record two wins in a row in the series for the first time since 1951-52 on Saturday night?

College Football Degenerate Under: Minnesota at Iowa Under 30.5

The sicko mode under cashed with ease in Week 7 as Iowa went into Madison and beat Wisconsin 15-6 thanks to great defense and an offense that limited mistakes. The Hawkeyes again have one of the worst offenses in college football, but they are currently the favorite to bring home another Big Ten West title.

Another trophy game is up for Kirk Ferentz’s program as the winner of Minnesota-Iowa on Saturday will bring home the Floyd of Rosedale trophy. The bookmakers in Las Vegas expect this final result to be one of the lowest scores in college football this season. Most of that is due to how Iowa plays.

Expect punts and some big defensive stops from the Hawkeyes. The 11 Personnel crew is all in on this Under Bowl.

Just because it's idle week doesn't mean the SGP from 11 Personnel is going way. Who is ready for an under party?

Floyd of Rosedale will deliver the goods on Saturday afternoon. Who is ready to sweat?

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— Adam Luckett (@AdamLuckettKSR) October 20, 2023

The rest of the college football card

— We will get the Dillon Gabriel Bowl to begin the day as the Oklahoma quarterback will face his old team and head coach. UCF is off to an 0-3 start in Big 12 play but this offense has had many bright moments and will be getting John Rhys Plumlee back at quarterback. The Sooners’ run fits better be sharp or a shootout could break out in Norman.

— Oklahoma State and West Virginia sit just one back in the loss column in the Big 12. The Mountaineers will host the Pokes in a very important conference game. Mike Gundy‘s program has had a ton of success against WVU in the past, but Neal Brown‘s team keeps finding ways to grind out victories. Saturday’s result could tell us which team might emerge as the top competition for Oklahoma and Texas.

— Oregon is in an obvious letdown spot one week after the brutal road loss to Washington. The Ducks host Washington State on Saturday afternoon at Autzen Stadium and are huge favorites. However, this Wazzu Air Raid offense has posted some big numbers. Could the Cougars put Oregon on upset alert following consecutive double-digit losses to UCLA and Arizona?

— South Carolina (2-4, 0-3) has lost four consecutive games to Missouri. Eliah Drinkwitz is undefeated against the Gamecocks. Shane Beamer‘s program is reeling, and Drinwitz’s program is thriving. A shootout could arrive at Faurot Field in a battle between two of the best quarterbacks in the SEC. A win by the Tigers would continue quite the spiral for Carolina.

— We could be getting a preview of the MAC Championship Game in Oxford on Saturday afternoon. Miami (Ohio) will host Toledo in a battle on one-loss teams. The Rockets have an explosive offense and appear to have a significant on-paper advantage in this matchup, but this line is less than a field goal. The RedHawks are having an excellent season and would record the program’s biggest home win in recent memory if Chuck Martin‘s club can pull off an upset.

— A rematch of last year’s Big 12 Championship will occur in Manhattan on Saturday night. On paper, Kansas State is the third-best team in this conference but needs to win to keep pace. TCU has already dropped two conference games and will be playing a backup quarterback on the road in his first start. This is a game that K-State really needs to win.

— We are all on Riley Leonard watch as Duke travels to Florida State. The Blue Devils are one of the toughest remaining opponents on FSU’s schedule, but Mike Elko‘s team does not appear to be at full strength in Week 8.

— Utah vs. USC will once again be a ranked vs. ranked matchup, but it doesn’t not feel like we will see either program in the Pac-12 Championship Game this season. Utah still does not have quarterback Cameron Rising back in the lineup, and USC’s offense has lost its way the last two weeks while the defense continues to labor. Either the Utes or Trojans will be eliminated from the conference title race on Saturday night.