Our college football picks for Kentucky-Vanderbilt, Indiana-Michigan, more

Welcome to Week 8 of The Courier Journal's college football picks!

Two of our staple programs — Louisville and Western Kentucky — are on a bye this week, so the slate looks a little different than usual. We'll still pick Kentucky-Vanderbilt, but we've thrown in a top-25 Big 12 matchup between Utah and Houston as well. Miami-Pitt, Auburn-LSU and Indiana-Michigan round out the slate.

Here's a look at this week's picks. As is our custom, predictions are straight-up winners and losers (not against the spread), with rankings based on the latest US LBM Coaches Poll. All times listed are ET, and all odds listed are per DraftKings as of Tuesday, Oct. 20.

No. 12 Kentucky vs. Vanderbilt

How to watch: Saturday, 7:30 p.m., SEC Network

The picks: Eight for UK

Betting line: UK -10.5, over/under 51.5 points

Kentucky (6-1) is poised to record its sixth consecutive win of the season with Vanderbilt in town this weekend. The Commodores are 0-4 in league play. UK, meanwhile, is tied with Georgia for first in the SEC. The Wildcats are included in a lot of projections for the 12-team College Football Playoff. A loss to Vanderbilt could derail that position, but a win would only strengthen it.

No. 1 Miami vs. Pitt

How to watch: Saturday, noon, ESPN

The picks: Seven for Miami, one for Pitt (Payton Titus)

Betting line: Miami -20.5, over/under 50.5 points

Fresh off a narrow, double-overtime win over unranked Florida State, is top-ranked Miami headed toward Week 8 against Pitt vulnerable or pissed? The Hurricanes, still undefeated and sitting atop the ACC, host the Panthers on Saturday. Pitt is coming off a tough loss at Boston College without star quarterback Mason Heintschel, who's out for the season with a torn ACL. Seems like a matchup that would favor UM.

No. 6 Indiana at Michigan

How to watch: Saturday, noon, FOX

The picks: Seven for Indiana, one for Michigan (Josh Connelly)

Betting line: Indiana -7, over/under 41.5 points

Indiana lost for the first time in nearly two years last weekend to Ohio State. Should the Hoosiers fall to a troubled Michigan team, it'd mark IU's first back-to-back defeats under coach Curt Cignetti. ESPN gives Indiana an 82.2% chance of securing what would be its first victory at Michigan Stadium since 1967. The Wolverines are dealing with uncertainty at quarterback, as coach Kyle Whittingham declined to say Monday whether Bryce Underwood or freshman Tommy Carr (who replaced Underwood at halftime of last weekend's win over Penn State) will start against IU.

No. 17 LSU vs. Auburn

How to watch: Saturday, noon, ABC

The picks: Seven for LSU, one for Auburn (Payton Titus)

Betting line: LSU -7.5, over/under 51.5 points

Auburn takes on LSU after upsetting then-No. 1 Georgia last weekend, winning the turnover battle 3-0. A repeat of three takeaways to none would likely result in another unexpected dub for the unranked Tigers. The ranked Tigers are coming off a 31-0 win over Mississippi State, but they're still looking for their first road victory of the season. Perhaps they'll get it this weekend.

No. 9 Utah vs. No. 16 Houston

How to watch: Saturday, 10:15 p.m., ESPN

The picks: Seven for Utah, one for Houston (C.L. Brown)

Betting line: Utah -6.5, over/under 56.5 points

Utah remains undefeated, and Houston only has one loss, so this weekend's top-25 matchup could have big implications for the Big 12 championship and College Football Playoff. Naturally, ESPN's "College GameDay" will be there. The Utes will need a strong showing after nearly losing to Colorado last week (27-24). As will the Cougars, who barely defeated Oklahoma State in Week 7 (35-32).

Standings after Week 7

1. Jason Frakes, Alaina Morris – 25-10

3. Brooks Holton – 23-12

4. Ryan Black, Alexis Cubit – 22-13

6. Josh Connelly, Payton Titus, – 21-14

8. C.L. Brown – 20-15

Reach college sports enterprise reporter Payton Titus at ptitus@gannett.com and follow her on X @petitus25. Subscribe to her "Full-court Press" newsletter here for a behind-the-scenes look at how college sports' biggest stories are impacting Louisville and Kentucky athletics.

This article originally appeared on Louisville Courier Journal: Our college football picks for Kentucky-Vanderbilt, Indiana-Michigan, more

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