10 Bold Predictions for Week 8 of College Football

10. BYU Suffers 1st Loss of Season

I thought BYU’s first loss of the season was coming last Saturday in Tucson, but the Cougars escaped with an overtime victory. BYU gave up five yards per carry to the Arizona Wildcats, and they now have to take on rival Utah and its physical ground attack. The Utes will confuse freshman Bear Bachmeier and win the battle in the trenches, and BYU will fall from the ranks of the unbeaten.

Week 8: Utah (-3.5) at BYU

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2. Minnesota Surprises Nebraska on Friday Night

The Minnesota Golden Gophers were extremely fortunate to beat Purdue last weekend and improve to 4-2. The Gophers were outgained 456 to 262, but they forced four turnovers, including the game-winning pick-six from Koi Perich, and escaped with the 27-20 victory. Winning a game when you play rather poorly can be a catalyst, and I think that is what happens on Friday night in Minneapolis as Minnesota plays its best game and beats Nebraska in a close contest.

Week 8: Nebraska (-9.5) at Minnesota

3. Vanderbilt Bullies LSU

The Vanderbilt Commodores are fresh off a bye week, and Clark Lea’s bunch was able to rest up after losing a close game in Tuscaloosa. The Commodores are averaging a nation-best 6.7 yards per carry, and they take their dominant rushing attack into a matchup with the LSU Tigers. LSU is only allowing 3.3 yards per rush, but that number will likely increase after Diego Pavia and the Commodores are done. Vanderbilt runs for more than 200 yards, and the Commodores win at home over LSU.

Week 8: LSU at Vanderbilt (-2.5)

4. Washington Wins in Ann Arbor

Bryce Underwood gets a lot of the national attention as one of the next big things in the sport, but the best quarterback in Michigan Stadium this weekend will be Washington's Demond Williams. The ultra-talented sophomore had a remarkable game against Rutgers last Friday night, racking up 402 yards passing and 136 yards rushing with four total touchdowns. For those who do not excel in math, that is a total of 538 yards of offense from one player! Rutgers has a bad defense, but come on, that is incredible. Michigan got pushed around by USC, and their struggles with former PAC-12 teams will continue this Saturday as Washington improves to 6-1.

5. Ole Miss and Georgia Play a Classic in Athens

The Ole Miss Rebels and Georgia Bulldogs are playing for the third straight season this weekend. The Bulldogs won 52-17 in 2023, and then the Rebels responded with a 28-10 victory in Oxford last season. The rubber match will be a classic with major stakes on the line. Georgia really cannot afford another loss, and Ole Miss is entering a brutal stretch of their schedule, and losses could mount quickly. Buckle up, this will be a wild one with UGA prevailing in a nail-biter.

Week 8: Ole Miss at Georgia (-7.5)

6. Iowa Prolongs Penn State's Misery

Less than a month ago, Penn State led the Oregon Ducks in overtime and were seconds away from getting a breakthrough victory in State College. Fast forward to mid-October, and the Nittany Lions lost to Oregon, were shocked at UCLA, and then somehow lost at home to Northwestern in a listless performance. Quarterback Drew Allar is now out for the season, and they have fired head coach James Franklin. Life comes at you fast in college football. The Iowa Hawkeyes are playing very well right now, and they will gladly prolong Penn State’s misery with a blowout win in Kinnick Stadium.

7. Ty Simpson Becomes Clear Heisman Favorite

Who could have predicted that Alabama's Ty Simpson would be in this position after the very rough outing in the season-opener at Florida State? Simpson has bounced back and been incredibly impressive throughout the season, and Alabama has gone on a tear with wins over three-straight ranked teams. The Crimson Tide makes it four-straight against Tennessee, and Simpson should have a big day against the fairly pedestrian Vols’ defense. Germie Bernard is having a great season to the extent that Ryan Williams looks like a good No. 2 target, and Simpson will move from second in the odds into a clear favorite after this weekend.

Week 8: Tennessee at Alabama (-9.5)

8. Notre Dame Gets Statement Win

The Notre Dame Fighting Irish lost the first two games of the season. Most knew what would happen next: Notre Dame would improve and take advantage of a weak schedule to start racking up wins and quickly vault up the rankings and back into College Football Playoff contention. The issue for the Fighting Irish is that they lack a quality win. Looking at their schedule, the only game that could really come close to qualifying as one after this weekend is Navy. That means Notre Dame desperately needs to beat USC convincingly, and then they need the Trojans to finish the season strong. Notre Dame can take care of the first part in South Bend (and they will), but will it be enough to get a 10-2 Irish team into the playoff?

Week 8: USC at Notre Dame (-9.5)

9. Auburn Releases Frustration on Missouri

For the second straight week, Auburn feels outraged by the officiating it was subjected to. This past contest against Georgia was particularly egregious, but no matter how bad it was, the standings are what they are. Auburn is 0-3 in the SEC and sits at the bottom of the conference standings, alongside Arkansas and Kentucky. Hugh Freeze cannot afford another defeat, and he knows it. This Saturday’s game against Missouri feels like a do-or-die situation, and I think the Auburn Tigers take out their pent-up frustrations on Missouri, shutting down their running game and keeping the foot on the gas for 60 minutes in a big win that releases some of the pressure on Freeze.

Week 8: Missouri (-1.5) at Auburn

10. BYU Suffers 1st Loss of Season

I thought BYU’s first loss of the season was coming last Saturday in Tucson, but the Cougars escaped with an overtime victory. BYU gave up five yards per carry to the Arizona Wildcats, and they now have to take on rival Utah and its physical ground attack. The Utes will confuse freshman Bear Bachmeier and win the battle in the trenches, and BYU will fall from the ranks of the unbeaten.

Week 8: Utah (-3.5) at BYU

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