College Football Picks: ACC, Pac-12 Showdowns Lead Week 8

From Clemson-Syracuse to Oregon-UCLA, our experts predict this weekend’s games.

As college football comes down from the peaks of its loaded Week 7—which, of course, included Tennessee taking down Alabama—the attention turns to Week 8.

Saturday will bring five matchups pitting top-25 teams against one another, with half of those 10 teams bringing in an undefeated record. Two of those teams are No. 5 Clemson and No. 14 Syracuse, who will meet in a critical ACC showdown (12 p.m. ET, ABC) at Memorial Stadium. The surprisingly unbeaten Orange are nearly two-touchdown underdogs, but they’ll be gunning for a big upset.

In the 3:30 p.m. ET slate, No. 9 UCLA will travel to No. 10 Oregon (Fox) in a game with serious Pac-12 implications, plus No. 11 Oklahoma State will host No. 20 Texas (ABC) looking to avoid a second straight loss.

At night, No. 6 Alabama can bounce back from the Tennessee loss when it welcomes No. 24 Mississippi State (7 p.m. ET, ESPN), while undefeated (and No. 8) TCU hosts No. 17 Kansas State in yet another high-stakes Big 12 clash. 

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By the way, if you’re looking for the Vols fresh off their big win, you won’t find them among Saturday’s best games. They host in-state Tennessee-Martin in a break from SEC play. In the meantime, our picks are below for 15 of Week 8’s top matchups. 

Standings to Date:

Ross Dellenger: 72–34
Pat Forde: 71–35
Molly Geary: 71–35
Richard Johnson: 71–35
John Garcia: 70–36

Plus, some betting insights from SI Sportsbook: