NCAA Football 2019 Week 8 picks

Thurs Oct 17
UCLA Bruins at Stanford Cardinal : Neither team is playing up to their normal standards, but at least Stanford has been close sometimes this season.  UCLA has just been atrocious.  STANFORD

Fri Oct 18
Pitt Panthers at Syracuse Orange : An intense rivalry here, and those games are always unpredictable.  Syracuse has been sloppy after a strong non-conference start, while Pitt has been looking decent.  I'll pick Pitt, but don't be surprised if the Orange get up for this game.  PITT

#1 Ohio State Buckeyes at Northwestern Wildcats : The Wildcats can sometimes surprise, but this Buckeyes team has shown they can take surprises and turn them into advantages.  OHIO STATE

Sat Oct 19
Top 25:
Tennessee Volunteers at #2 Alabama Crimson Tide : This has not been a great year for Tennessee.  This will just exemplify that.  ALABAMA big

#14 Michigan Wolverines at #3 Penn State Nittany Lions : If Michigan can't stop making mistakes on offense, Penn State is going to turn those mistakes into points.  I figure the defense will be responsible for at least 17 points for the Nittany Lions in what is likely to be a fairly one-sided affair.  PENN STATE

#4 Wisconsin Badgers at Illinois Fighting Illini:  Oh, I can't look!  After what Wisconsin did to Michigan State last week, can a FIFTH shut-out be the result?  I hope not, but an Illinois upset is definitely not happening!  WISCONSIN

#5 Clemson Tigers at Louisville Cardinals : Louisville has allowed conference opponents more points than they've scored.  That gap will get bigger after this game.  CLEMSON

#6 LSU Tigers at Mississippi State Bulldogs : Prior to last week, I might have considered an upset possibility here.  Not so now.  LSU

West Virginia Mountaineers at #7 Oklahoma Sooners : If they can prevent a letdown after winning the Red River Rivalry, the Sooners should win easily here.  OKLAHOMA

#9 Oregon Ducks at #17 Washington Huskies : Washington should play the Ducks pretty tough, but I don't think they'll play tough enough to get the upset.  OREGON

#10 Baylor Bears at Oklahoma State Cowboys : Now HERE'S a potential upset.  Despite two losses the Cowboys are still a very dangerous team.  I'll pick the favorite, but watch out for the Cowboys!  BAYLOR

Kentucky Wildcats at #11 Georgia Bulldogs : Georgia should bounce back nicely from their loss last week.  GEORGIA

#12 Auburn Tigers at Arkansas Razorbacks : I don't think Auburn needed an extra week to prepare for the struggling Razorbacks.  AUBURN

#13 Missouri Tigers at Vanderbilt Commodores : Missouri should roll here, maintaining their lead in the SEC East.  MISSOURI

Arizona State Sun Devils at #15 Utah Utes : The Pac-12 has experienced more upsets this season than any other conference, and this one has the makings of the next one.  The Sun Devils can be tricky, and should not be underestimated.  I'll favor the offensive firepower of Utah, but this one could really go either way.  UTAH

Temple Owls at #16 SMU Mustangs : Temple already knocked off one unbeaten team in Memphis.  Can they make it two in a row?  They are strong enough, but the extra week of prep could help SMU.  SMU

#18 Minnesota Golden Gophers at Rutgers Scarlet Knights : Getting to 7-0 won't be difficult for the Gophers.  MINNESOTA

Purdue Boilermakers at #19 Iowa Hawkeyes : Purdue ran off an offensive showcase last week against Maryland, but I don't think they'll do that against one of the toughest defenses in the country.  Since Purdue's defense isn't so great, Iowa will score enough to put this away in the third quarter.  IOWA

Kansas Jayhawks at #20 Texas Longhorns : Texas gets a great chance to bounce back from last week's loss by beating up on the Jayhawks.  TEXAS

#21 Boise State Broncos at BYU Cougars :  BYU isn't much of a threat this season.  BOISE STATE

#22 Florida Gators at South Carolina Gamecocks : After last week's upset, Florida has to be concerned about coming to Columbia to face the currently hot Gamecocks.  This could be a second consecutive upset for South Carolina, but that doesn't happen often, even in the SEC, so I won't pick it.  Watch for it, though.  FLORIDA

Old Dominion Monarchs at #23 UAB Blazers : Old Dominion isn't much of a threat this season.  UAB gets a strong win.  UAB

East Carolina Pirates at #24 UCF Golden Knights : East Carolina, normally a strong defensive team, is struggling this year.  UCF gets a nice "bounce back" win.  UCF

#25 Tulane Green Wave at Memphis Tigers : Tulane gets Memphis at just the wrong time!  The Tigers want a strong win to erase the sting of their loss to Temple last week, and Tulane stands in the way.  Tulane is a strong team, but Memphis is determined.  I'm sorry, Green Wave, this seems ripe for an upset.  MEMPHIS

Big Ten:
Indiana Hoosiers at Maryland Terrapins : Maryland wants to bounce back from last week's embarrassment against Purdue, but Indiana can be a tough team.  Maryland can be tough when they want to be (just ask Texas), and they want to be this week.  MARYLAND

Other Games of Interest:
Iowa State Cyclones at Texas Tech Red Raiders : Another potential upset, but I think the Cyclones have an advantage, as the Raiders got beat up a bit last week.  IOWA STATE

New Mexico Lobos at Wyoming Cowboys : New Mexico is one of the worst teams in the Mountain West.  Wyoming will prove it.  WYOMING

Tulsa Golden Hurricane at Cincinnati Bearcats : Cincy will get another strong win as they battle Temple for lead of the American East division.  CINCINNATI

UL Monroe Indians at Appalachian State Mountaineers : The Mountaineers continue their unbeaten streak by slaughtering the Indians (no political overtones intended).  APPALACHIAN STATE

South Florida Bulls at Navy Midshipmen : The Bulls are another traditionally strong defensive team having a rough year.  Their line will be stretched by Navy, opening up plenty of holes for their runners.  NAVY

Southern Mississippi Golden Eagles at Louisiana Tech Bulldogs : A win here would make the Bulldogs the only team in Conference USA West with an unbeaten conference record.  They should get it.  LOUISIANA TECH

San Diego State Aztecs at San Jose State Spartans : A strong defense by the Aztecs is making up for a struggling offense.  The Spartans are struggling everywhere, so that defense will seal another win.  SAN DIEGO STATE