College Football Top Against the Spread Bets of Week 8: Expect a Crimson Tide Bounce Back

Five previously unbeaten teams lost in a wild week in college football during Week 7. What is in store this week? Read on for our best ATS bets for Week 8's college football action.

College football underdogs went 33-11-1 against the spread last Saturday, with an average ROI of 42.2%. Will the 'dogs be barking once again this week?

Below, we offer our top ATS bets for Week 8 in college football (odds via BetMGM, Caesars Sportsbook, and DraftKings Sportsbook; pick confidence based on a 1-to-5-star scale).

Top Against the Spread Bets for Week 8

• Notre Dame -24 vs. UNLV (-110 via DraftKings) ★★★★
• Alabama -21.5 vs. Mississippi State (-110 via Caesars) ★★★★
• Kansas State +5.5 vs. TCU (-110 via BetMGM) ★★★★★

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Notre Dame -24 (-110) ★★★★

Notre Dame is coming off a bad loss to Stanford, and with games looming the next two weeks against ranked Syracuse and Clemson teams, this is a game the Fighting Irish need to have.

Notre Dame's poor offensive performance against Stanford was puzzling, considering it had posted 99th-percentile and 92nd-percentile success rates against UNC and BYU the two previous weeks. However, we still walk away from the Stanford game encouraged by how Notre Dame held up in the trenches, holding the Cardinal to just 97 rushing yards on 42 rushing attempts (2.3 yards per rush), despite ranking 119th against the run entering the game. And none of UNLV's quarterbacks strike the fear that future pro, Tanner McKee, does. He came into last week with a 28th-ranked PFF passing grade and torched Notre Dame for 288 yards on 38 attempts.

UNLV's starting quarterback Doug Brumfield was sorely missed last week, as Cameron Friel and Harrison Bailey combined to go 10-for-15 for 118 yards. Now the Rebels are coming off a physical game where Air Force's triple option pounded their defense for more than 43 minutes. It will be tough to rebound against a Notre Dame team looking to take pressure off Drew Pyne and dominate on the ground for a change.

Alabama -21.5 (-110) ★★★★

A Nick Saban team coming off a loss is a scary proposition for Mississippi State this week. Alabama allowed 52 points to Tennessee, the school's most in a game since 1907, versus Sewanee (54), and its 17 accepted penalties were its most in a game under Saban. It sounds like practice will be loads of fun for Crimson Tide players during the week.

Bettors should not lose sight of the fact that before facing Tennessee's unorthodox lightning fast-paced offense led by Heisman hopeful Hendon Hooker, Alabama's defense was playing at an elite level. The Crimson Tide entered last week with a 37.0 pressure percentage (6th-highest), ranked sixth in total defense (251 YPG allowed), recorded 18 sacks (2nd-most), ranked 6th in PPG, and 8th in score rate defense (percentile of drives ending with TD or FG). We trust Saban to get the defense fixed and the Crimson Tide to bounce back with a huge victory.

Kansas State +5.5 (-110) ★★★★★

While the country was watching TCU beat a previously undefeated Oklahoma State team in double overtime in a nationally televised game on Saturday, Kansas State was enjoying a relaxing bye week. Thus, even though this game is in Fort Worth, a significant scheduling edge goes to the Wildcats.

TCU entered last week ranked in the top five in FBS in points per game, yards per game, and yards per play, then proceeded to drop 43 points and rack up 510 total yards against the Cowboys. But while quarterback Max Duggan leads the Big 12 with 16 passing touchdowns, Kansas State has held five of its first six opponents under its season scoring average (Oklahoma scored 34 on the Wildcats and average 33.9 PPG). Kansas State head coach Chris Klieman has never lost to TCU (3-0) in his tenure, and we like for his Wildcats to cover, if not pull the outright upset.

Where to Bet on College Football ATS Picks

Here are our top-rated sportsbooks:

FanDuel Sportsbook
Caesars Sportsbook
DraftKings Sportsbook
PointsBet
BetMGM

SEE ALSO: All picks, odds, and sports betting news. Be sure to check out SportsbookReview.com’s community forums and betting tools.

College football top ATS bets from 10/17/2022 at 6:11 a.m. ET.