After an interrupted season last year, NCAA Football is back in full swing, with teams able to compete once more in a full regular season. Many colleges lost top talents in the NFL Draft earlier this year, and whilst some have found adequate replacements, others have struggled. We’ve currently played a full 7 weeks of fixtures, and Game Week 8 has just arrived.
As of the time of writing, we’ve already had two games of college football take place this week. The Appalachian State Mountaineers hosted the Coastal Carolina Chanticleers in a top of the table clash in Group A of the Sun Belt conference, claiming a 30-27 victory. Whilst elsewhere, the SMU Mustangs who sit top of the American Athletic Conference, hosted and comfortably beat the Tulane Green Wave 55-26, leaving them sitting bottom of the very same division.
But what can we expect of the rest of the week’s games of Game Week 8? Well let’s look at the fixtures and pick out some top ties that will be on everyone’s NCAAF picks this week.
Fixtures- Game Week 8
| Home Team | Odds | Away Team | Odds | |
| Navy Midshipmen | +28 -110 | Cincinnati Bearcats | -28 -110 | |
| Penn State Nittany Lions | -23 ½ -110 | Illinois Fighting Irish | +23 ½ -110 | |
| Michigan Wolverines | -23 ½ -116 | Northwestern Wildcats | +23 ½ -104 | |
| Kansas Jayhawks | +38 ½ -110 | Oklahoma Sooners | -38 ½ -110 | |
| Army Black Knights | +3 -109 | Wake Forest Demon Deacons | -3 -111 | |
| Purdue Boilermakers | +3 ½ -110 | Wisconsin Badgers | -3 ½ -110 | |
| Pittsburgh Panthers | -3 -105 | Clemson Tigers | +3 -115 | |
| Ole Miss Rebels | -7 ½ -115 | LSU Tigers | +7 ½ -105 | |
| UCLA Bruins | -1 -110 | Oregon Ducks | +1 -110 | |
| Iowa State Cyclones | -7 -115 | Oklahoma State Cowboys | +7 -105 | |
| Alabama Crimson Tide | -25 -110 | Tennessee Volunteers | +25 -110 | |
| Air Force Falcons | -3 -105 | San Diego State Aztecs | +3 -115 | |
| Louisiana Tech Bulldogs | +6 -113 | UTSA Roadrunners | -6 -107 | |
| Indiana Hoosiers | +21 -110 | Ohio State Buckeyes | -21 -110 | |
| Miami Hurricanes | +3 ½ -105 | NC State Wolfpack | -3 ½ -115 | |
| Notre Dame Fighting Irish | -6 ½ -125 | USC Trojans | +6 ½ +105 | |
| Texas A&M Aggies | -19 ½ -110 | South Carolina Gamecocks | +19 ½ -110 |
The games to watch
Now we know the fixtures, the next question is, what are the games to watch? Well, none of the top ranked NCAA sides face off against each other this week, but there are plenty of tasty matchups we could see that could well impact the hopes of some teams making the postseason fixtures.
The first game that sees Navy (1-5) hosting Cincinnati (6-0), should be an easy one for the Bearcats, after all, they are listed as -28. And they’re currently unbeaten this season. But if they become too complacent, then they could well slip down from their position at No.2 in the rankings.
The Crimson Tide (6-1) are another ranked side who will be hoping to secure their place in the ranked positions as they take on the Volunteers of Tennessee (4-3). Whilst the Tide are favorites at -25, Tennessee will be looking to end a 14-game losing streak against their rivals.
And finally, the also undefeated Michigan Wolverines (6-0) will be looking to climb up from their 6th place ranking, as they face off against the Northwestern Wildcats (3-3). But whilst the Wolverines may be -23 ½ this may not be as close of a tie as many believe. Especially considering that in four of the last five meetings between these two sides, Northwestern have managed to keep the game within one score. So all it might take is one lucky break to ruin the Wolverine’s exemplary record.
But of all the games that take place this week, the big one to watch is the Iowa State Cyclones (4-2) who host the Oklahoma State Cowboys (6-0). The Cowboys are another side with an unblemished record this season, yet have been given odds of +7. Both have very good defensive lineups, and like to play in similar ways, so the sides could well cancel each other out. But taking the records into account and some of the quality players they possess in their offensive lineup, we expect the Cyclones to lose this one.
And there you have it, a compiled fixture list of all the games from Week 8, and our tips on some of the best games to watch, and who to back. Will everything go as planned for the favorites? Will we see any slip-ups along the way? Could we see the making of a future NFL star this week? They are questions that can only be answered in time. So, until the fixtures have run their course and we can see the results for ourselves, the only thing for certain is we’re in for another exciting week of NCAA Football.
