College Football Week 8 Preview

Joey Goodsir

BOOM. Just like that, disorientation has been established in the CFB world. Last week we knew who the teams were, the season could’ve been finished, and the selections could have been written out.

Welcome to Week 8, where even if on time, the stream of chaos leaves us shocked. The opening of opportunity for many more teams, including some new faces to the CFB Playoff, begins this coming Saturday.

Expect teams to perform at their best, star players to live on Heisman Hype and all of that good stuff that adds up to more and more moments that will shape what 2018 means to this sport.

Before we dive into all that lies ahead, there is a lot to look back to….

About Last Week…

WOW. Just WOW. And we thought we had already seen a crazy Saturday.

Week 7 was wild. With not that many ranked battles, eight ranked teams lost, including three unbeatens in Georgia, West Virginia (lost to an unranked team) and Colorado (which I picked not to happen). Unbeaten teams such as UCF (!) and Notre Dame were in serious danger of going down, both to unranked teams.

My picks perfectly reflected that craziness, with my only losing Saturday of the year thus far. I went 2-7 (Only 22.2%!), plunging my overall to 52-23 (69.3%). As I said last week, these few weeks of CFB are not gonna make anything easy for me. It didn’t for Michael either, with his first incorrect pick in this column being the first time he picked against the Michigan Wolverines.

More from him about them below, as we commence the preview!

Noon Game of The Week:
#6 Michigan @ #24 Michigan State

Quick Essentials
When: 11:00 CT
TV: FOX
Rain (Above 40%)? Yes. 50%. Peaks in late afternoon. No storms.
Where: Spartan Stadium (East Lansing, MI)
Series History: MSU 17-14 in 2017 (UM leads 69-5-36 overall)

Like all good Saturdays, this matchup allows for a more than exciting start of the day.

Among all rivalries in CFB, this one takes the cake for most feisty from a talking standpoint. This week just lives on quotes from coaches and players of one school directed towards the other, and for good reason. This backyard brawl resonates, no matter the level of #respekt/#disrespekt.

Michigan State returns back home from Happy Valley with jubilation that was unexpected for many on a national scale. The Spartans got a thrilling mega-win over Penn State, counteracting dismal lows of this season, including losses to Northwestern (at home) and Arizona State (in Tempe).

This team has become a story stubborn losers, sticking around in games until late to pull of an exciting win occasionally, but just as occasionally being unable to fully make it out of the hole. The blitzy defense is responsible in many cases for the positive result, and low quality offensive play with grassroots in a poor offensive line showing responsibility for the negative ones.

Michigan enters this game with a major win as well, defeating the Wisconsin Badgers during the national primetime slot at The Big House last week, and in a less bipolar way, they have a similar comparison offense/defense wise, with a defense that puts opposing offense into shutdown mode by the second quarter, along with an offense that has shown more promise but remains shakey. Although this cause has originally been awful play at the line, it has evolved into an inability for QB Shea Patterson to connect with his receivers, both with bad throws and dropped balls.

This game is going to depend entirely on the Spartans’ ability to get points on the Michigan defense in any way, especially during their more vulnerable moments early on.

Although UM seems like a reasonable favorite, expect chaos, a new playbook and absolutely everything from MSU. No matter their season results and resume, this is their Super Bowl more than Michigan’s, and they will play that way. If the Wolverines get this win, they are going to earn it, and a Michigan State victory will most likely be due to ensuing and taking advantage of any chaos/mistakes.

There is my preview and keys to the Battle for the Paul Bunyan Trophy. For unbiased definitive predictions (GO BLUE, BEAT STATE!!), I turn it over to The Forest Scouts’ NFL Previewer (and at this point Regular Guest/Michigan Game Picker) Michael Raupp:


Michigan finds themselves in another highly contested Big Ten showdown. After defeating the #15 ranked Wisconsin Badgers in a sizeable fashion, they will head to East Lansing. Michigan undoubtedly is the better team on paper; their defense clicked last week, and quarterback Shea Patterson has the offense running like a well-oiled machine. However, the good times will end this week. Michigan State head coach Mark Dantonio knows how to get the best out of his players in big games, especially against Michigan– he has an overall 8-3 record against Michigan. Riding high after a convincing win vs. Penn State, Michigan State is back in the top 25 and will spoil Jim Harbaugh in getting possibly his biggest win in his tenure at Michigan.

Michigan State Wins, 28-20

Other Noon Games of Note:
11:00 CT:

#9 Oklahoma @ TCU (ABC)

Afternoon Game of The Week:
#16 North Carolina State @ #3 Clemson

Quick Essentials
When: 2:30 CT
TV: ESPN
Rain (Above 40%)? Yes. 60%. Peaks around noon. No storms.
Where: Clemson Memorial Stadium (Clemson, SC)
Series History: Clemson 38-31 in 2017 (Clemson leads 57-1-28 overall)

Out of all the unbeatens across CFB at this point, Clemson has seemed to be most quietly getting the job done and hanging in the top four.

Now, the Tigers have their biggest matchup in over a month, taking on fellow ACC unbeaten NC State. The Wolfpack stand unbeaten, and probably remain slightly under the radar because of having a game cancelled due to the fallout of Hurricane Florence.

They have been likewise getting the job done, not in as exciting fashion, but getting the job done nonetheless, and they head into nearby Death Valley inspired by upsets last week, ready to join the list.

The Clemson Tigers feature a now solidified playmaker in Trevor Lawrence (their starting quarterback) and have an offense that can take advantage of a weak defensive secondary on a relatively solid overall defense. Expect shots downfield from Clemson for them to get an edge on the Wolfpack.

On the other side of the ball, an explosive Tigers defense will look to make explosive plays. However, NC State has proven to have success offensively this year, lead by a great offensive line. In contrast of Clemson’s necessary offensive plan, NC State needs to establish a ground gave that moves the ball effectively, steering them to victory.

This might steal the show for most entertaining game of the day. It will be very competitive, but in the end, the hosting Clemson Tigers will seek out their advantage in a playmaking quarterback. Trevor Lawrence will enter the list of players receiving Heisman Hype. Not as an exciting or explosive player, but as a productive one.

Clemson Wins, 38-23

Other Afternoon Games of Note:
2:30 CT:

#1 Alabama @ Tennessee (CBS)
#18 Penn State @ Indiana (ABC)

Night Game of The Week:
#12 Oregon @ #25 Washington State

Quick Essentials
When: 6:30 CT
TV: FOX
Rain (Above 40%)? No!
Where: Martin Stadium (Pullman, WA)
Series History: Wazzu 33-10 in 2017 (Oregon leads 49-7-41)

College Football lives and breathes on tradition, and one of which is coming to an emotional climax this coming Saturday.

For over 280 filmings of ESPN’s “College GameDay”, CFB’s nationally famous pregame show, no matter the location, there has been a familiar presence of “Ol’ Crimson”. Alumni and fans of Washington State have flown two WSU flags every single week, a plea to the show to one Saturday come to a game in Pullman.
Now, years and years later, they’re finally coming, and it will be an absolutely fantastic morning with the show.

However, the reason why GameDay is making an appearance is for the game that night, in which the Oregon Ducks will be coming to town to take on the Cougars in a crucial PAC 12 North battle.

Oregon comes off an important rivalry win over the Washington Huskies, and experience a large turnaround of two huge games in a row. The Ducks of course feature quarterback Justin Herbert, who has proven successful in a major rebuilding run since major disappointment against Stanford.

They however will be walking into one of the wildest environments of the year, and up against a Wazzu team that just had a bye week, giving head coach Mike Leach another week to prepare any maniacal plans for this game. He is finally getting center stage in a “Biggest Game of the Week” situation, and his endlessly fascinating (and flat-out hilarious) character will not fail to show up, especially in his air raid offensive play calling.

This game is practically a gift to the Cougars in terms of setup. They remain a slight favorite, but are still under the radar. Oregon just came off a huge win, and is ready for battle, but it’s gonna be on the road, and this factor will be as crucial as it gets. Chaos reigns successful for Mike Leach and Wazzu in this one, and they get the national respect to cap off a day of legendary status in Pullman. The Ducks win the majority of hypothetical games, but that doesn’t mean they win the real one.

Washington State Wins, 45-38

Other Night Games of Note:
6:00 CT:

#22 Mississippi State @ #5 LSU (ESPN)
6:30 CT:
#2 Ohio State @ Purdue

Late Game of The Week:
Arizona @ UCLA

Quick Essentials
When: 9:30 CT
TV: ESPN2
Rain (Above 40%)? Never.
Where: Rose Bowl (Pasadena, CA)
Series History: Arizona 47-30 in 2017 (UCLA leads 24-2-16 all-time)

Unlike essentially all the previous editions of “PAC 12 After Dark”, this one is the first unapologetically underwhelming battle. While I am providing this preview as football lovers will just want to consume a full day of football, and quality of matchup will make no severe difference to them, I would not struggle to go to sleep earlier Saturday night if I were you.

The Rose Bowl is the sight of this matchup, with the hosting UCLA Bruins, who will try to put together their first win streak of the season. They take on an Arizona Wildcats teams with likewise struggles, although they are in the process of rebuilding.

Although the teams going into this game look uninspiring, two vastly underwhelming defense will likely give way for an offensive shootout. UCLA simply has all of the advantages here, with a proven success of a coach in Chip Kelly and a very favorable matchup against a depleted Wildcat defense. Kevin Sumlin’s team will have to keep up offensively, and while they will stick in the game for a while, the Bruins will edge things out in Pasadena to end Week 8. Their defense, while also of low quality, is at least headed in the right direction.

UCLA Wins, 51-45

Enjoy your Saturday, everyone!

Weather Source: weather.com, Image Courtesy: Joshua Kelly, USA TODAY Sports