College Football Picks Week 8: Predictions for Top 25 Games on Upcoming Schedule
Week 7 of the 2022 college football season brought a ton of thrilling action, with six matchups featuring a pair of ranked teams. And Week 8 should offer similar excitement.
Saturday, there will be five games featuring two ranked schools. Those include a battle of undefeated ACC teams (No. 5 Clemson vs. No. 14 Syracuse), a top-10 Pac-12 matchup (No. 9 UCLA vs. No. 10 Oregon), another ranked SEC clash (No. 6 Alabama vs. No. 24 Mississippi State) and two intriguing Big 12 contests (No. 8 TCU vs. No. 17 Kansas State, No. 11 Oklahoma State vs. No. 20 Texas).
No. 1 Georgia won't be in action, as the Bulldogs will have their bye week, but both No. 2 Ohio State and No. 3 Tennessee will look to continue their unbeaten starts. The Buckeyes will host Iowa, while the Vols are set to host UT Martin.
Here's a look at the full top-25 schedule for Week 8, along with picks for each game.
Week 8 Top 25 Schedule, Picks
Saturday, Oct. 22
Iowa at No. 2 Ohio State, noon ET, Fox
Tennessee-Martin at No. 3 Tennessee, noon ET, SEC Network
No. 14 Syracuse at No. 5 Clemson, noon ET, ABC
No. 21 Cincinnati at SMU, noon ET, ESPN
No. 7 Ole Miss at LSU, 3:30 p.m. ET, CBS
No. 9 UCLA at No. 10 Oregon, 3:30 p.m. ET, Fox or FS1
No. 20 Texas at No. 11 Oklahoma State, 3:30 p.m. ET, ABC
Boston College at No. 13 Wake Forest, 3:30 p.m. ET, ACC Network
Memphis at No. 25 Tulane, 3:30 p.m. ET, ESPN2
No. 24 Mississippi State at No. 6 Alabama, 7 p.m. ET, ESPN
Minnesota at No. 16 Penn State, 7:30 p.m. ET, ABC
No. 17 Kansas State at No. 8 TCU, 8 p.m. ET, Fox or FS1
Picks in bold.
Clemson Should Handle Syracuse with Ease
Only two teams in the ACC are still undefeated this season. Unsurprisingly, Clemson is one of them, but Syracuse has also gotten off to a hot start, which sets up an intriguing matchup between the two on Saturday.
Clemson has been tested a bit more, having been on the road three of the past four weeks. During that stretch, the Tigers have notched a pair of quality wins over Wake Forest and NC State while also taking down Boston College and Florida State.
Syracuse has played five home games during its 6-0 start. Now, the Orange will face their biggest challenge of the season in going on the road to play at Clemson, which won the ACC title every year from 2015-20.
This may not end up being that close of a game. The Tigers are a stronger team, and junior quarterback DJ Uiagalelei (1,665 yards, 17 touchdowns and two interceptions this season) should help their offense excel against a solid Orange defense.
Expect Clemson to win this contest handily.
Oregon Will Win Pac-12 Thriller Against UCLA
No. 9 UCLA and No. 10 Oregon are the two highest-ranked teams in the Pac-12, and both have a chance to reach the conference championship game this season.
However, we won't have to wait that long to see the Bruins and Ducks face off, as they're going head-to-head this Saturday in Eugene.
UCLA is the only undefeated team remaining in the Pac-12, having won each of its first six games. The Bruins own victories over Washington and Utah, and they've scored 40 or more points five times this season.
Oregon began the year with a disappointing 49-3 loss to No. 1 Georgia, but the Ducks have won every game since then. They've been facing some lighter opponents, though, so UCLA represents their biggest test since the season opener.
However, Oregon should be up to the task, especially because it will be playing at home. Senior quarterback Bo Nix (1,526 yards, 12 touchdowns and three interceptions this season) has been playing well for the Ducks, which have scored 41 or more points in each of their five wins.
This should be a high-scoring, back-and-forth affair, but count on Oregon to come out on top.
Texas Can Keep Momentum Going on Road
Texas got off to a disappointing start to the season, going 2-2 after its first four games. The Longhorns lost 20-19 to Alabama in Week 2, so that wasn't a bad defeat. But in Week 4, they fell 37-34 in overtime at Texas Tech.
In recent weeks, Texas has gotten back on track, though, winning three straight games to climb back up to No. 20 in the AP Top 25 poll. It beat West Virginia, Oklahoma and Iowa State while relying on the stellar play of junior running back Bijan Robinson.
The 20-year-old has rushed for more than 100 yards in each of Texas' past five games, scoring eight touchdowns over that span. For the season, he has run for 780 yards and scored 11 total TDs.
If the Longhorns are going to take down No. 11 Oklahoma State on the road Saturday, they'll need to lean on Robinson again. Considering the Cowboys are allowing 437.3 total yards per game (including 136.3 on the ground), they may struggle to stop him and the Texas rushing attack.
It should be a competitive game, but the prediction here is that the Longhorns pick up a fourth straight win by outlasting Oklahoma State on the road.