College Football Week 8 Expert Picks: Rounding Up Saturday's Top Matchups

Our Sportsbook Review betting analysts have collected their expert college football picks for Week 8. All our college football picks are based on the NCAAF odds from our best sports betting apps, and this page serves as a one-stop shop featuring our top selections for Saturday.

In our expert college football picks for Week 8, we identify the most intriguing matchups of Saturday's packed schedule, with a particular focus on the highly anticipated showdown between the favored Air Force Falcons and the Navy Midshipmen in the Service Academy battle.

Here are our best college football expert picks for Week 8, and don't miss our college football best bets for Saturday (odds via our best college football betting sites; pick confidence based on a 1-to-5-star scale).

College football Top 25 schedule

(Odds via bet365)

• No. 7 Penn State vs. No. 3 Ohio State (-4.5)
• UCF vs. No. 6 Oklahoma (-17.5)
• No. 22 Air Force (-10) vs. Navy
• Washington State vs. No. 9 Oregon (-20)
• South Carolina vs. No. 20 Missouri (-7.5)
• North Texas vs. No. 23 Tulane (-20)
• Minnesota vs. No. 24 Iowa (-3.5)
• No. 8 Texas (-23.5) vs. Houston
• Virginia vs. No. 10 North Carolina (-23.5)
• No. 13 Ole Miss (-6.5) vs. Auburn
• No. 2 Michigan (-24) vs. Michigan State
• No. 16 Duke vs. No. 4 Florida State (-14.5)
• Army vs. No. 19 LSU (-32)
• No. 14 Utah vs. No. 18 USC (-7)
• Arizona State vs. No. 5 Washington (-27.5)
• No. 25 UCLA (-17) vs. Stanford

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College football Week 8 expert picks

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College football Week 8 top picks

Dillon Gabriel Under 308.5 passing yards (-114 via FanDuel) ⭐⭐⭐⭐

Dillon Gabriel has been a prolific passer this season for the CFP-contending Oklahoma Sooners, clearing 300 passing yards in four of six games played. When Oklahoma hosts UCF in Week 8, though, I don’t expect the Sooners to get—or need—as much from their quarterback in the passing game.

UCF has allowed fewer than 200 passing yards per game this season, one of just 28 FBS defenses that can make such a claim. On the ground, however, UCF ranks 130th in the nation, allowing 220.2 yards per game to its opponents. That’s where the Sooners are most likely to exploit the Golden Knights. And with a 17.5-point advantage on the spread, Oklahoma shouldn’t feel compelled to throw much in the second half if the game goes to script.

Gabriel has posted three games in which his passing yards total fell between 285 and 308 yards, so every yard could count when selecting one of our best sports betting apps at which to place this wager. While most books fall at either 305.5 or 306.5 passing yards for Gabriel’s total, FanDuel offers the line at 308.5 with solid -114 odds on the Under.

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–– Brenden Schaeffer (SBR | Twitter/X)

Nathan Carter Over 44.5 rushing yards (-114 via FanDuel) ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐

It may seem blasphemous to bet the Over on anything that opposes a Michigan defense that ranks second in total yards per game allowed (233.1) and first in scoring (6.7 points per game). However, if we were to nitpick anything about the Wolverines' defense, it would be a 10th-ranked rushing defense that allows 91 yards per game on the ground.

Michigan is a rightful college football championship contender, but its statistics are somewhat inflated, considering it has yet to play an opponent ranked higher than No. 52 in SP+ on its way to a 7-0 record. In addition, most teams have had their bye week so far, so playing an eighth consecutive game should make for some heavy and tired legs.

Michigan has been a 21-point or bigger favorite against Michigan State three times in the last 18 seasons, and the Spartans have covered by an average of nearly 14 points, including an outright win in those games. Thus, we expect this contest to be much closer than the 24-point spread indicates, which means Michigan State should not abandon the run game as quickly as one would imagine.

In a heavy downpour last week in new quarterback Katin Houser’s first start, Houser completed his first five passes and led the team to an opening-drive touchdown for the first time all season. The Spartans have been more than competitive with 24-6 and 16-13 leads entering the fourth quarter of their last two games. Thus, we expect them to lean on Nathan Carter all game and for him to eclipse 49-plus rushing yards for the sixth time in seven games this year. 

This is a five-star play, as Carter has run for at least 49 yards in 12 of 14 career games with double-digit carries. We are getting an especially good number at FanDuel, as all of our other best sports betting sites have Carter’s O/U set at 48.5 yards.

–– Mike Spector (SBR | Twitter/X)

Ole Miss Under 31 points (+110 via bet365) ⭐⭐⭐⭐

The Rebels are averaging 489.3 yards and 35.4 points per game. They’ve scored 37 or more points in four of their six games this season. Auburn gave up 48 points to LSU last week, so, the Rebels should have a huge offensive game this week, right?

I don’t think so. At home, the Tigers are a totally different team than they are on the road. Back on Sept. 30, they fell just 27-20 to the Georgia Bulldogs, and they won their two home nonconference games by a combined 77 points.

This season, the defense has allowed more than 27 points just once. The Rebels have played just two true road games this season, and in their last one, they scored just 10 points. Make sure you shop around. As of Friday afternoon, the price at bet365 is significantly better than anywhere else.

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–– Phil Wood (SBR | Twitter/X)

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