College Football’s Contenders, Pretenders To Be Determined In Week 8

Welcome to The Slate, your home for college football picks at NESN.com. Here you can find our best bets to follow across (mostly) Saturdays in the fall. Welcome to Week 8.

We’ve got some fun matchups in Week 8!

This weekend will present four matchups between ranked teams, with all of those games serving as conference matchups. We’ve got the Pac-12, Big Ten, ACC and SEC all represented, with teams almost guaranteed to be eliminated from contention in their conference with a loss.

These are big matchups, so let’s try to make some money while watching a fun slate. Here are some picks for you fine folks, with all odds coming from DraftKings Sportsbook.

Ohio State (-4.5) vs. Penn State
(Saturday, 12 p.m. ET on FOX)

There are three undefeated teams remaining in the Big Ten, and one of them is going to suffer their first loss this weekend. Michigan will have an opportunity to bully Michigan State, while Ohio State and Penn State battle things out at the ‘Shoe.

The Buckeyes have some injuries that have kept this line close, but the expectation is that Emeka Egbuka and leading rusher TreVeyon Henderson will return after missing last week with injuries. If they return, expect a revamped OSU defense and rushing attack to lead the way in a statement victory.

The Pick: Ohio State -4.5

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Alabama (-9) vs. Tennessee
(Saturday, 3:30 p.m. ET on CBS)

Alabama has been disappointing this season, which has allowed us to make some money off them throughout the season. Tennessee still might be the most disappointing team in the SEC, though.

The Volunteers only have one loss, but it came against a bad Florida Gators team. They’re now entering a gauntlet, starting with a team that we’re 4-0 betting this season. Nick Saban finds ways to win, and this should be a comfortable one at home.

The Pick: Alabama -9

Florida State (-14.5) vs. Duke
(Saturday, 7:30 p.m. ET on ABC)

It’s hard betting on Duke, who has looked like a great team with Riley Leonard at QB but might not have him available this weekend. Florida State, on the other hand, has looked like one of the best teams in the country all season. These offenses combine to average more than 75 points per game this season, so we’re rocking with the suspiciously low Over.

The Pick: Over 49.5

USC (-7) vs. Utah
(Saturday, 8 p.m. ET on FOX)

USC can’t continue looking this bad, right?

The Trojans lost to Notre Dame last week in South Bend, Ind. They nearly lost to a bad Arizona team the weekend before. This week, Utah has a chance to bury their title hopes by handing them a second loss. The Utes are without their two best players, though, and are a measly 3-2-1 against the spread.

Here’s to hoping Caleb Williams looks like Caleb Williams this week.

The Pick: USC -7

Season Record: 18-17-0