College Football Week 8 Odds & Cheat Sheet: Schedule, Injuries, Weather, Betting Notes

Written By Road to CFB | Last Updated October 15, 2024

rThere’s no time to sleep in October! Following a massive weekend of college football, we have yet another blockbuster Saturday worthy of clearing your schedule for. On tap we have No. 5 Georgia at No. 1 Texas, No. 7 Alabama at No. 11 Tennessee (“Third Saturday in October”) and No. 6 Miami (FL) at Louisville. Rivalries fire back up, from the Battle Of The Golden Boot and the Battle Of The Bricks to the Ram-Falcon Trophy and Paul Bunyan’s Axe. The national discussion is beginning to shift to that of parity as top teams fail to separate from others. College football Week 8 odds offer a swath of expected one-score matchups.

Included are the latest odds, notable line movement, matchup history, weather, injuries, trends, and much more. Dig in! Keep up with TheLines all week long for college football betting tools.

College Football Week 8 Odds

Browse college football Week 8 odds below. Click odds anywhere to place a bet.

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Line Movement: College Football Week 8 Odds

Look-ahead lines for Week 8 were posted last week. Check out early movers from those and the opening lines below:

Indiana moved to as high as -6.5 at home vs. Nebraska after opening at -3.5 (both teams were on bye)
South Carolina fell from a +7.5 road underdog vs. Oklahoma to +2.5 by Monday
Notre Dame moved through a key figure, from a -6.5 favorite to -8.5 vs. Georgia Tech
Auburn fell from +10 to +6.5 on the road at Missouri
USC jumped from a -5.5 road favorite at Maryland to as high as -7.5 after a tough battle with Penn State
Though a slight bump, Kansas State moved from -2.5 at West Virginia to -3
This summer, Georgia was a -1.5 favorite at Texas. That reopened Texas -3 and was bet up to -3.5
Arkansas fell from a +6.5 home underdog against rival LSU to +2.5
Iowa State climbed from -10 vs. UCF to -13.5

Opening Lines from College Football Week 8 Odds

Troy was bet down from +13.5 to +11.5 at South Alabama (Tuesday)
Sam Houston State opened a short +1 home underdog but climbed to -3 favorite vs. Western Kentucky (Wednesday)
Marshall climbed from -7 to -9 vs. Georgia State (Thursday)
Purdue took action as a big home underdog against Oregon, falling from +29.5 to +27 (Friday)
BYU moved from -7.5 favorite vs. Oklahoma State to -9.5 by Monday (Friday)
Nevada fell from +4 to key figure +3 vs. Fresno State (Friday)
UConn opened a +4.5 home underdog but flipped to -2.5 vs. Wake Forest by Monday morning
Army opened -13.5 at home vs. East Carolina and grew to -17
UCLA moved through a key figure, from +7.5 to +6.5, at Rutgers
Texas State jumped from -7.5 at Old Dominion to -10
Kent State fell from +24.5 at Bowling Green to +21
UAB fell from +16 on the road at USF to +13.5
Houston opened +8.5 at Kansas but moved to +6.5 by Monday
James Madison opened -4.5 at Georgia Southern and was bet up to as high as -10.5
Baylor moved through a key figure, from +7.5 to +6.5, at Texas Tech
Southern Miss opened +7 and took action to +6.5 vs. Arkansas State
North Texas moved from +12.5 to +10 at Memphis
UNLV was bet up from -4 to -6.5 at Oregon State
TCU moved from +7.5 to +6.5 at Utah

Note line movements through key figures of 3 and 7, like Notre Dame vs. Georgia Tech and UCLA at Rutgers.

Totals Movement

Miami (FL) at Louisville was bet up from 59.5 at open to 61.5 points
Sitting near a key figure (55), Louisiana at Coastal Carolina moved away to 56.5 points
Central Michigan at Eastern Michigan fell off the key figure of 55, down to 54.5
Texas State at Old Dominion rose from 61.5 to 62.5 by Monday
Even opening at 77 points wasn’t enough for New Mexico at Utah State, that total moved to 78.5 by Monday

Midweek College Football Week 8 Odds Rundown

Game	TV (ET)	Opening Odds
Troy at South Alabama	Tuesday, 7:30 p.m., ESPN2	USA -11.5, O/U
Kennesaw State at Middle Tennessee	Tuesday, 8:00 p.m., CBSSN	MTSU -10, O/U
Louisiana Tech at New Mexico State	Tuesday, 9:00 p.m., ESPNU	LAT -11, O/U
Western Kentucky at Sam Houston State	Wednesday, 7:00 p.m., ESPN2	SHSU -3, O/U
FIU at UTEP	Wednesday, 9:00 p.m., CBSSN	FIU -5.5, O/U
Georgia State at Marshall	Thursday, 7:00 p.m., ESPN2	MAR -9, O/U
Boston College at Virginia Tech	Thursday, 7:30 p.m., ESPN	VT -6.5, O/U
Florida State at Duke	Friday, 7:00 p.m., ESPN2	DUKE -3, O/U
No. 2 Oregon at Purdue	Friday, 8:00 p.m., FOX	ORE -27, O/U
Oklahoma State at No. 13 BYU	Friday, 10:15 p.m., ESPN	BYU -9, O/U
Fresno State at Nevada	Friday, 10:30 p.m., CBSSN	FRES -3, O/U

Midweek Betting Notes

Troy, Middle Tennessee, and New Mexico State are a combined 4-14 ATS this season
Troy covered and won the last six meetings against rival South Alabama
Kennesaw State is the second of three straight opponents coming off a bye for Middle Tennessee
Kennesaw State may bench QB Davis Bryson
WKU-Sam Houston State will move Conference USA odds dramatically – consider betting either team’s future as opposed to the full-game odds for a bigger (albeit, more risky) payout
Mike MacIntyre is 2-11 straight up coming off a bye week (0-3 at FIU, Panthers come off bye at UTEP)
New Mexico State has a new offensive playcaller, offensive line coach Andrew Mitchell. Under his direction, the Aggies didn’t improve on their season-long scoring average, failing to score a touchdown outside of garbage time in a 54-13 blowout loss to Jacksonville State
Bill O’Brien came into this season 8-1 straight up off a loss and is 1-0 off a loss this year. Boston College fell to Virginia before heading on bye
Florida State is 20-0 vs. Duke all time (plus two wins vacated) and have covered the last eight meetings
BYU made some changes on the offensive line. Third-string center Bruce Mitchell is now snapping the ball after starting at right guard in Week 4
BYU is also 6-0 ATS this season
Nevada is 5-2 ATS this year and upset Oregon State (+3, down from +8.5) last week

Coaching & Matchup Notes for College Football Week 8 odds

Nebraska at No. 16 Indiana, Saturday (12:00 p.m., FOX)

Indiana leads the all-time series, 10-9-3, but the teams met just three times since 1978
This is the first of four straight opponents played off a bye for Nebraska (three on the road, two rest disadvantages)
Matt Rhule is 2-20 straight up against ranked opponents (0-4 at Nebraska). The latest game was a 31-24 overtime loss at home to Illinois at -9.5 favorites. Notably, Rhule has coached four-plus seasons at Power Conference schools
Curt Cignetti is 14-5 ATS against conference foes at James Madison and Indiana (3-0 this year)
This is just the second road game for QB Dylan Raiola. Last time (at Purdue), Raiola and the Nebraska offense scored zero points in the first half and led just 7-3 heading into the fourth quarter

No. 6 Miami (FL) at Louisville, Saturday (12:00 p.m., ABC)

Miami leads the all-time series, 11-4-1, but Louisville is 4-2 since 2006 and 3-2 since joining the ACC
Starting left tackle Jalen Rivers will return for his first action since Week 1 for Miami
Miami comes off a bye but is 0-2 ATS against ACC foes, both games coming down to the final play (beat Virginia Tech 38-24, Cal 39-38)
At Miami, Mario Cristobal is 0-2 straight up coming off a bye, games included the infamous Georgia Tech fumble (-20 favorites) and a 27-24 loss to North Carolina as -3 favorites
Since climbing inside the AP Top 20, Louisville is 0-3 ATS (1-2 straight up)
This is Louisville’s only home game between Week 7-12
The last four meetings between these two teams (2019, ’20, ’23) averaged 76 points

Arizona State at Cincinnati, Saturday (12:00 p.m., ESPN+)

First meeting between these two teams as Big 12 foes (third overall)
These teams were picked 16th and 14th in the preseason media poll, respectively, and have combined for a 9-3 record
Arizona State is 5-1 ATS, including an outright upset of Utah (+6) last week
Sun Devils haven’t played in the Eastern Time Zone since 2009 (at Georgia) and in Ohio since 1980
Four of Cincinnati’s five games against Power Conference teams this season finished within one score

Ohio at Miami (OH), Saturday (3:30 p.m., ESPN+)

Battle Of The Bricks!
Miami (OH) leads the series, 55-42-2, which dates back to 1908 and is the second-oldest rivalry in the MAC
The last seven winners of this rivalry also covered and there have been four outright upsets in the last five meetings
The Redhawks scored 38 in a win over Eastern Michigan last week but previously had not cracked 21 points in regulation
Miami returns home after playing three road games in four weeks and two consecutive opponents off bye
Over 10+ seasons, Chuck Martin covers against MAC teams about 61.5% of the time (1-1 this year)
Since taking over as head coach, Tim Albin has a 18-9 ATS record against the MAC (1-1 this year)

No. 7 Alabama at No. 11 Tennessee, Saturday (3:30 p.m., ABC)

Check your calendars, it’s the Third Saturday In October!
Alabama leads the all-time series, 59-39-7, and has won 17 of the last 18 meetings
The lone Tennessee win came in 2022. Vols were +9 underdogs and tossed the goalposts in the Tennessee River following the upset win
These two teams are a combined 0-4 ATS in the last two weeks
Against SEC competition, Tennessee’s offense scored 18.3 points per game in regulation
Conversely, Alabama has surrendered 33 points per game against SEC teams this year (1-2 ATS)

No. 24 Michigan at No. 23 Illinois, Saturday (3:30 p.m., CBS)

Michigan leads the all-time series, 72-23-2, with five 42+ point wins since 1969
In Champaign, Michigan is an astounding 23-2-1 since 1959
Michigan is 1-5 ATS this season, lone cover came over USC (+4.5) in Week 4
Conversely, Illinois is 4-1-1 ATS with an outright upset over Nebraska (+9.5). Last week was the Illini’s first loss to the number, edging out Purdue, 50-49, at home

No. 8 LSU at Arkansas, Saturday (7:00 p.m., ESPN)

The Battle For The Golden Boot comes from the shape of neighboring Arkansas and Louisiana
LSU leads the all-time series, 44-23-2
Each of the last three meetings were decided by exactly three points each
Sam Pittman is 20-8-1 ATS as an underdog at Arkansas with eight outright upsets, including against No. 4 Tennessee two weeks ago
Pittman is also 6-5 ATS against top-10 opponents
Hogs come off a bye and this game is homecoming for Arkansas

No. 5 Georgia at No. 1 Texas, Saturday (7:30 p.m., ABC)

Texas leads the all-time series, 4-1, but the only meeting since 1958 came in the 2019 Sugar Bowl (Texas won, 28-21)
Longhorns come off a 34-3 win over arch-rival Oklahoma (-14.5)
Georgia closed its game against Mississippi State, 34-24, but failed to cover a large -33.5 spread
Dawgs are 1-5 ATS against the closing number this year. The only cover came in a 34-3 Week 1 win vs. Clemson

Check out the full rundown of Georgia at Texas odds here

TCU at Utah, Saturday (10:30 p.m., ESPN)

Former Mountain West and WAC rivals (1996-2000, 2005-10)
Utah leads all-time series, 5-3, but TCU won the last two (2009, ’10)
Horned Frogs are 1-3 in their last four, including blown 25-point lead vs. UCF, allowing 66 to SMU, and losing 30-19 to Houston, who had not yet scored a point vs. Big 12 opponents
Utah has lost its last two against both Arizona schools, once with Cameron Rising and once without
Utes averaged 18.5 in their first four Power Conference games, TCU has not allowed fewer than 27 points vs. FBS foes
Rising is out for the season after attempting to return last week

Impact Injuries On College Football Week 8 Odds

All kick times below are listed in ET.

UCLA at Rutgers, Saturday (12:00 p.m., FS1)

Rutgers was without several key defenders in a 42-7 blowout loss to Wisconsin. Most notably, star linebacker Tyreem Powell missed the contest; top linebacker Mo Toure is already out for the year after tearing his ACL in camp. Starting corner Robert Longerbeam missed Week 7, as well. Longerbeam led the team in pass breakups heading into the contest. Running back Sam Brown left the game.

QB Ethan Garbers did return to the lineup for UCLA, however, he was down top receiver Rico Flores. It was Flores’ second straight missed game. Starting defensive tackle Keanu Williams left Week 3 with an injury and hasn’t played since.

Colorado at Arizona, Saturday (4:00 p.m., FOX)

Perhaps the most notable injury of the weekend, Heisman frontrunner Travis Hunter exited Week 7 with an undisclosed injury and did not return. He played 43 snaps against Kansas State before leaving after averaging over 130 so far this season. Receiver Jimmy Horn missed the contest, as well. However, safety Shilo Sanders returned from a broken forearm suffered a few weeks ago.

Arizona running back Jacory Croskey-Merritt still has yet to play a snap since the school encountered an eligibility issue after Week 1. He awaits a ruling from the NCAA – one that may not come this year.

No. 8 LSU at Arkansas, Saturday (7:00 p.m., ESPN)

Arkansas quarterback Taylen Green is day-to-day, but did have the bye week in Week 7 to recover and return to the field. Based on the +3 spread assigned to the Hogs, Green likely suits up. However, watch for that line to change in relation to his status. Other Arkansas starters to have missed significant time and may not suit up in Week 8 include corner Jaylon Braxton (has not played since Week 2) and offensive lineman Patrick Kutas (has not yet played this season).

LSU hopes to return two receivers, Chris Hilton (has not played this year) and C.J. Daniels (missed Week 7). On the season, LSU is without star linebacker Harold Perkins (torn ACL), defensive tackle Jacobian Guillory (Achilles), and running back John Emery (ACL).

No. 5 Georgia at No. 1 Texas, Saturday (7:30 p.m., ABC)

Watch for significant names on Georgia’s side for this game. Star edge rusher Mykel Williams returned to the field but was limited each of the last two outings with a sprained ankle. All-America guard Tate Rateledge underwent tightrope surgery on his ankle following a Week 3 injury and could return any week now. Transfer WR Colbie Young is still facing charges and missed last week.

Quinn Ewers returned without issue for Texas last week. However, the Longhorns lost WR Isaiah Bond mid-game and he did not return, although the injury is not believed to be serious, per Steve Sarkisian. Sarkisian also announced starting safety Derek Williams Jr. would be out for the remainder of the season with an injury sustained against Oklahoma. Jaydon Blue continues to be the top running back in place of star RB C.J. Baxter, who was lost for the season due a knee injury suffered in camp.

Kentucky at Florida, Saturday (7:45 p.m., SEC Network)

Florida’s Week 7 loss at Tennessee cost them more than a tick in the L column. Starting QB Graham Mertz went down with a likely season-ending injury, according to a Monday report. Top running back Montrell Johnson also left the game with an injury. Starting Gators safety Asa Turner has not played since Week 1.

Running back Chip Trayanum was supposed to return a couple games into the season after suffering a broken hand in camp, but he has yet to play a snap for Kentucky.

Colorado State at Air Force, Saturday (8:00 p.m., CBSSN)

The battle for the Ram-Falcon trophy will be without several players Saturday. Most notably, Colorado State star WR Tory Horton has dealt with multiple injuries this year. He most recently left Week 7 but returned to the game. Starting left guard Alex Foster hasn’t played since Week 3. His replacement, Tanner Morley, grades out about the same as Foster, per PFF, but those numbers are below average.

Air Force has dealt with cluster injuries all season long. Backs Aiden Calvert and Kade Frew missed multiple games and five defensive starters sat Week 7. Most notable of the bunch is nose guard Payton Zdroik, the unit’s best player. Air Force has yet to win an FBS game and is 0-6 ATS this year.

Other Impact Injuries

Santino Marucci, QB, New Mexico State (OUT Tuesday, replaced starter Awad two games ago)
Frank Peasant, RB, Middle Tennessee (Tuesday)
Jadyn Ott, RB, Cal
Bryant Wesco Jr., WR, Clemson
Ja’Vin Simpkins, RB, Coastal Carolina
Kaden Feagin, RB, Illinois
Nate Noel, RB, Missouri
Grayson McCall, QB, NC State
Bryson Nesbit, TE, North Carolina
Billy Schrauth, OG, Notre Dame
Cam Porter, RB, Northwestern (limited in Week 7)
Jack Olsen, K, Northwestern
Jason Henderson, LB, Old Dominion
Jordan Burch, DE, Oregon
Jam Miller, RB, Oregon State
Hudson Card, QB, Purdue
Tucker Gleason, QB, Toledo
Goose Crowder, QB, Troy
Jacob Zeno, QB, UAB
Ethan Barr, LB, UCF
K.J. Jefferson, QB, UCF
Eric Gentry, LB, USC
Byrum Brown, QB, USF
Jalen Buckley, RB, Western Michigan
Amari Jackson, CB, Boston College (season)
Joey Labas, QB, Central Michigan (season)
Tory Horton, WR, Colorado State (season)
Graham Mertz, QB, Florida (season)
Benjamin Morrison, CB, Notre Dame (season)
Josh Simmons, OT, Ohio State (season)
Kenan Pili, LB, Tennessee (season)
Derek Williams Jr., SAF, Texas (season)
Cameron Rising, QB, Utah (season)
Makai Hart, OT, UTSA (season)

Other Roster & Staff Impacts on College Football Week 8 Odds

Houston at Kansas, Saturday (3:30 p.m., ESPN+)

Houston made a personnel change ahead of the TCU game. QB Donovan Smith was benched in favor of Zeon Chriss, who seemingly fit the Cougars offense much better. After failing to score a point in its first eight Big 12 quarters of the season, Houston scored 30–including 24 in the first half–on TCU. The Cougars notched their first Power Conference win of the year, 30-19, in the game. Watch for a slow adjustment to the improving offense. Houston dropped from a +8.5 underdog at open to +6.5.

Weather Impacts On College Football Week 8 Odds

Weekly college football weather reports will be released later this week as forecasts become more certain. But here’s a few spots to keep tabs on early in the week.

As October progresses, the continental U.S. will see more bursts of arctic air transitioning to winter. Currently, a late-week trough is forecast to move through the central U.S. Although uncertain this far about, the central Plains states (Dakotas to Oklahoma, northern Texas) could see severe weather this weekend. Games potentially impacted by that (and, at this point, very uncertain) include LSU at Arkansas, Houston at Kansas, and North Texas at Memphis.

A cold burst and disturbance could bring the year’s first snowstorm to the Rocky Mountains. Higher elevations are the most likely to see impacts, but keep this in mind when handicapping Oklahoma State at BYU. Current forecasts–which will certainly change later in the week–call for temperatures in the 30s and a potential rain/snow mix Friday, although precipitation is less likely later in the day. This game kicks off at 8:15 p.m. local MT.

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Situational Spots To Watch With College Football Week 8 Odds

Georgia State at Marshall, Thursday (7:00 p.m., ESPN2)

Georgia State hasn’t played away from its home stadium since Week 1. They haven’t left the city of Atlanta yet this season, as Week 1 was a “road” game a mile up the road at Georgia Tech. While both teams come off short weeks, Marshall has the travel advantage playing at home. On the flip side, the Thundering Herd have played four straight opponents coming off bye and the fifth, and while Georgia State doesn’t, this game comes on a short week.

No. 2 Oregon at Purdue, Friday (8:00 p.m., FOX)

Nothing bad has ever happened to a top-three Big Ten foe in West Lafayette, right? Right? RIGHT?! This game marks Purdue’s signature Hammer Down Cancer game and features a blackout at night. That same atmosphere toppled both No. 2 Ohio State (2019) and No. 3 Michigan State (2021). Oregon comes off a massive, emotional win against Ohio State and hits the road for a Purdue team that scored 49 points with a quarterback change. QB Ryan Browne threw for almost 300 yards and three touchdowns on the road and nearly notched the upset of Illinois.

Purdue opened a +29.5 home underdog against Oregon but that number quickly moved to +27.

UCLA at Rutgers, Saturday (12:00 p.m., FS1)

Get ready to learn 9:00 a.m. kickoff, buddy. UCLA wraps up an arduous stretch of games where it alternated home and away games for six consecutive weeks, traveling over 10,600 miles in that span (three road games). As the Big Ten time zone stat ticks on (now 3-10 outright traveling 2+ time zones), UCLA finds itself in a ridiculous situation playing in Piscataway at noon eastern/9:00 a.m. PT. The Bruins have never faced the Scarlet Knights before and haven’t fared all that well against power run teams (98th in run success rate allowed).

Rutgers comes off a 42-7 blowout loss to Wisconsin eager to get back in the win column.

Louisiana at Coastal Carolina, Saturday (12:00 p.m., ESPNU)

Louisiana continues its arduous run of away a games and playing teams off a bye this week. Between Weeks 5-12 (seven games), Louisiana plays on the road four times and a team off a bye five times, three times both instances. Its lone reprieve came last week against App State. This week, the Ragin’ Cajuns travel to play a Coastal Carolina team with an added two days of rest, last having played Thursday at James Madison.

South Carolina at Oklahoma, Saturday (12:45 p.m., SEC Network)

Coming off an absolute beat down against rival Texas, Oklahoma returns to Norman to play South Carolina. On the horizon is a game at Ole Miss off a bye week (a potential spot for Ole Miss in their own right, but we’ll get to that next week). The Gamecocks have never faced the Sooners. Oklahoma is also dealing with a quarterback situation as Michael Hawkins completed just 19 of his 30 passes for 148 yards and no scores. A rushing threat, he was smothered by the Longhorns, rushing 20 times for just 27 yards.

South Carolina played Alabama tough last week and could pull an upset ahead of the bye week. It re-opened a short +2.5 road ‘dog after initially being lined at +7.5

Hawaii at Washington State, Saturday (3:30 p.m., The CW)

Yes, that kickoff time is in Eastern. This game kicks off at 12:30 p.m. PT and, most importantly, 9:30 a.m. in Hawaii. While used to long travel to games, Hawaii alternates home and away games, having played at home vs. Boise State last week. In two-plus seasons, head coach Timmy Chang is 1-13 straight up on the road at Hawaii. The Rainbow Warriors alternate home and away games for the remainder of the season.

Texas State at Old Dominion, Saturday (3:30 p.m., ESPN+)

Old Dominion returns home coming off a three-game road trip to Bowling Green, Coastal Carolina, and Georgia State. The latter two teams both cane off a bye week and a rest advantage. Texas State comes to town for the first-ever meeting between these teams. ODU may head into this game without starting QB Grant Wilson, who missed three of the Monarchs’ last four games. Star LB Jason Henderson hasn’t suited up since Week 1, either. Action seriously favored Texas State early in the week.

Kent State at Bowling Green, Saturday (3:30 p.m., ESPN+)

Bowling Green has turned in some really good efforts this year without the record to show from it. After losing 17-7 to Northern Illinois at home last week, the Falcons fall to 2-4 on the season with wins only over Akron and FCS Fordham. On tap is a showdown with arch rival Toledo in the Battle of i-75 – a rivalry with wildly entertaining results of late. But before Bowling Green gets there, it must beat lowly Kent State at home. The Golden Flashes look to reclaim the Anniversary Award up for grabs between these two teams.

Perhaps too much stock was put into the Texas A&M and Penn State results, as Kent State took immediate action after opening at +24.5. That fell to +21 as of Monday afternoon.

No. 14 Texas A&M at Mississippi State, Saturday (4:00 p.m., SEC Network)

Despite coming off a bye week, Texas A&M finds itself in a precarious spot. On deck, the Aggies host arch rival LSU for what could be a fringe top-10 showdown and pivotal game for an at-large CFP bid. Before that, A&M travels to Starkville, where it is 1-4 straight up in the last five trips (since 2014). Last time there (’22), A&M lost ranked No. 17 to an eventual 9-4 Mississippi State. Though downtrodden and without its starting QB, Mississippi State is 2-0 ATS against Texas and Georgia in its last two games. In essence, the Bulldogs have nothing to lose.

Ball State at Vanderbilt, Saturday (7:00 p.m., ESPN+)

Vanderbilt garnered AP Top 25 votes after back-to-back upsets of Alabama and Kentucky. Now with three outright upsets and a fourth oh-so-close (lost in overtime at top-10 Missouri), the Commodores are taken a little more seriously. On deck, they host Texas, coming off the Longhorns’ biggest game of the year against Georgia. But, in order to get there, Vandy has to beat Ball State. The Cardinals are terrible, there’s no two ways about it. But so is Georgia State and Vanderbilt lost that game outright (albeit, on the road).

Per our aggregate power ratings, Georgia State ranks 109th in the FBS while Ball State checks in at 128. This is the first-ever meeting between these teams and a much bigger deal for Ball State, who gets nearly four full touchdowns. As a team that slows the pace down, watch for the Cardinals try to muck this game up with the potential Vanderbilt overlooks this MAC foe.

Kentucky at Florida, Saturday (7:45 p.m., SEC Network)

Coming off an emotional overtime loss, Florida must rebound to take on Kentucky. However, it’ll do so without starting QB Graham Mertz, who suffered a season-ending injury in Knoxville. A win over UCF and, potentially, the overtime loss to top-10 Tennessee may have bought head coach Billy Napier some more time in Gainesville. Kentucky comes off a loss against Vanderbilt and fields one of the country’s best defensive lines. Should that defensive front again wreak havoc against a true freshman QB in D.J. Lagway, this loss could get ugly and again start the calls for new leadership for the Gators (3-3, 1-2 SEC).

The Wildcats lost 33 of 34 meetings from 1987-2020 but have won the last three.

SMU at Stanford, Saturday (8:00 p.m., ACC Network)

SMU comes off a bye week to play at Stanford, the third opponent in five weeks to come off a bye for the Cardinal. Further, Stanford returns home from a stretch of three away games in four weeks, all of which to the Eastern Time Zone. Stanford went 1-3 in that stretch, including blowout losses in its last three games. SMU is a team turned fully around after some offensive adjustments under Kevin Jennings. Since the bye, SMU scored 66, 42, and 34 points with wins over rival TCU, Florida State, and ranked Louisville.

Stanford is 11-24 ATS at home since 2018.

These teams last played in the 1936 Rose Bowl.

Best of luck betting college football Week 8 odds!