What to Watch: Guide to Watching College Football in Week 8

Week 8 is a big week for the SEC.

Saturday features two games between top-11 opponents and could go a long way in deciding who plays for the conference title in Atlanta in December. Of the four, only No. 1 Texas is undefeated. No. 5 Georgia, No. 7 Alabama and No. 11 Tennessee each have a loss. Not only does a second loss hurt their SEC title hopes, it also leaves little room for error in the College Football Playoff.

But there is also a lot to watch outside of the SEC. No. 6 Miami has a crucial road game in the ACC and there is a matchup of ranked teams in the Big Ten.

Here’s what to keep an eye on in Week 8. All times are Eastern Time and all odds are from BetMGM.

Time: Noon | TV: ABC | Line: Miami -4.5 | Total: 61.5

Is Miami in danger of a third close game in a row? The Hurricanes had two weeks to prepare for the Cardinals after a bye in Week 7. Louisville has won its last two games as a home underdog, and both victories came against ranked opponents. The Cardinals beat No. 10 Wake Forest 48-21 in 2022 and defeated No. 10 Notre Dame 33-20 a season ago.

The Cardinals are 4-2 after a win over Virginia a week ago. It was the first game all season in which Tyler Shough hadn’t thrown multiple touchdown passes. He completed 18 of 31 passes for 231 yards, one TD and one interception. He has remained healthy so far this season — he hasn’t played more than seven games in any of his first six college football seasons — and his ability to force Miami to not focus on Isaac Brown will be crucial. Brown has stood out in the Cardinals’ last three games; He had 20 carries for 146 yards and two scores against the Cavaliers.

No player in college football has more than Cam Ward’s 23 total touchdowns. If Miami can avoid Saturday’s upset and Ward has a fantastic game, its Heisman campaign will be in an even stronger position.

Time: 3:30 p.m. | TV: ABC | Line: Alabama -3 | Overall: 56.5

The Crimson Tide are an away favorite in Knoxville as the Vols’ offense is coming off a difficult two weeks. After looking dominant in its first three games, Tennessee scored just six points in the second half in its win over Oklahoma in Week 4 and has just 31 regulation points in its last two games.

UT has been plagued by penalties and sacks in its last three games. Nico Iamaleava has been sacked 10 times in the Volunteers’ three SEC games and has not thrown for more than 200 yards since the second game of the season. After Saturday’s overtime win against Florida, Tennessee coach Josh Heupel said, “At some point we’ve got to say let’s get our act together, do our job and make this thing go the way it can.”

Alabama is about as good a test as any, right? The Crimson Tide have their own problems. After the away defeat at Vanderbilt, Alabama was only able to defeat South Carolina in the last game with a 27:25 victory. Jalen Milroe threw two interceptions and was sacked four times as South Carolina took away the running game from the Crimson Tide. Tennessee has one of the best defenses in the SEC. Will Alabama have answers right from the start?

Time: 3:30 p.m. | TV: CBS | Line: Michigan -3 | Overall: 43.5

This has the makings of a slugfest. Just look at the over/under.

However, Illinois easily surpassed that record a week ago with a 50-49 home overtime win over Purdue. QB Luke Altmyer was 20 of 34 passing for 379 yards and three touchdowns and the Illinois defense was ripped apart by Purdue QB Ryan Browne. The freshman made his first start in Week 7 and threw for 297 yards and three scores while also rushing 17 times and rushing for 118 yards.

Michigan fans might swoon if Jack Tuttle throws for nearly 300 yards on Saturday. Tuttle replaced Alex Orji in UM’s Week 6 loss to Washington and will be Michigan’s third starting quarterback of the season in the Wolverines’ seventh game. Tuttle threw a TD against Washington, but also threw an interception and fumbled.

Michigan will obviously try to run the ball as often as possible. And that could be a good strategy against Illinois. The Illini have given up 239 yards rushing in each of their last two games and opponents are averaging 4.5 yards per carry.

Time: 7 p.m. | TV: ESPN | Line: LSU -3 | Overall: 55.5

This three-point line is no coincidence. The last four games in this series have been decided by exactly three points since LSU’s 56-20 win over Arkansas in 2019. LSU has won the last two contests since Arkansas’ 16-13 OT win in 2021. The Tigers went 13-10 in 2022 and then 34-31 in 2023.

The Razorbacks are playing their third straight opponent after a neutral site loss to Texas A&M and a home win against Tennessee two weeks ago. In this win over the Vols, Arkansas didn’t drop the ball against an FBS opponent for the first time all season. QB Taylen Green was injured in the surprise and is expected to play against the Tigers as he was not on the team’s injury report as of Wednesday night.

LSU QB Garrett Nussmeier had his toughest game of the season in the Tigers’ OT win over Ole Miss. He threw the game-winning TD pass to Kyren Lacy, but was 22 of 51 passing for 337 yards and had his second straight two-interception game. The win over Ole Miss was the best game of the season for the LSU defense.

Time: 7:30 p.m. | TV: ABC | Line: Texas -4.5 | Overall: 55.5

Georgia’s second big road test of the season is the biggest game of the weekend. The top-ranked Longhorns earned a blowout win over Oklahoma in Quinn Ewers’ first start since Week 3. Georgia had a comfortable win at home against Mississippi State.

It’s not an exaggeration to say that Georgia will need Carson Beck’s best game of the season to win. Beck hasn’t had a statement game yet this season; He threw three interceptions against Alabama, although he threw for 439 yards when Georgia briefly took the lead in the second half. Against MSU, Beck completed 75% of his passes for 459 yards and three scores with two interceptions.

Ewers became more comfortable as the Oklahoma game progressed, completing 20 of 29 passes for 199 yards and a touchdown after his interception on the first drive. With Ewers and Arch Manning both starting QBs this season, Texas’ biggest strength was its running game with Jaydon Blue, Derrick Gibson and Quintrevion Wisner. Texas averages over 5.1 yards per play as a team. Georgia’s defense, meanwhile, is losing 5.2 yards per play. The Bulldogs haven’t given up more than 4.9 yards per game for an entire season since 2016. This was Kirby Smart’s first season.

Other games to watch

Oklahoma State at No. 13 BYU (Friday, 10:15 p.m., ESPN): Late night home games can be tough for opposing teams in Provo. But this could be the time when Oklahoma State shows that it is one of the preseason favorites in the Big 12. The Cowboys have lost three straight games and are 0-3 in the conference, while the Cougars are 3-0 and 6-0 overall. A win for BYU ends any hope of Oklahoma State returning to the Big 12 title game.

Nebraska at No. 16 Indiana (Noon, Fox): The Hoosiers have a 6.5 advantage as they are 6-0 for the first time since 1967. Nebraska QB Dylan Raiola has drawn a lot of attention as a five-star freshman starter, but this is a great opportunity to take a look at Indiana QB Kurtis Rourke. He completes over 70% of his passes.

No. 12 Notre Dame at Georgia Tech (3:30 p.m., ESPN): The Yellow Jackets are a good test of a Notre Dame offense that made strides against Stanford. Riley Leonard threw for more than 163 yards for the first time a week ago when he was 16 of 22 passing for 229 yards and three touchdowns. Georgia Tech is 5-2 and has won two straight games after running over, around and through North Carolina in Week 7, although starting QB Haynes King appears questionable about playing after he was injured against the Tar Heels.

Colorado at Arizona (4 p.m., Fox): Travis Hunter is expected to return to the Buffaloes after missing the second half of the team’s loss to Kansas State due to injury. Arizona has lost three of its last four games, but its only win came against Utah. The loser of this game could be eliminated from the Big 12 title game.

No. 17 Kansas State at West Virginia (7:30 p.m., Fox): West Virginia gets a second chance at a prime-time home loss against a ranked team after No. 9 Iowa State won 28-16 in Morgantown a week ago. This could be the fastest game of the day; Both teams like to play with the ball and are very good at it. Kansas State’s DJ Giddens is averaging 7.3 yards per carry.