Barring chaotic upsets, the Week 8 slate of college football doesn’t appear to be nearly as good as last weekend. But let’s be honest, how can it? Last weekend was full of chaos, which is why college football is the best.
While the slate doesn’t appear to be as generous for viewing — there are still some games to pay attention to. The best game might come at 10:15 p.m. ET when Houston travels to Utah. That’s where ESPN’s ‘College GameDay’ will take place this weekend.
With all of that in mind, here are our four bold predictions for this week.
MORE: Week 8 college football upset watch: Houston, Boston College, Tennessee top threats
Two Big 12 teams stumble
There are three undefeated Big 12 teams remaining and all three are ranked in the top 10. But the thing is, all three teams could lose, which is unlikely. But two of them losing is quite possible.
Texas Tech travels to Cincinnati, which has lost two games in a row. The Bearcats have a very good rushing attack and could keep things close if the Red Raiders struggle to top Cincinnati. No. 2 BYU travels to UCF, and the Golden Knights are looking for a signature win. The Cougars are small favorites on the road.
Then there is Utah. The Utes host No. 14 Houston for a late-night matchup on Saturday. Conner Weigman and Co. are more than capable of traveling to Utah and winning the game. The Big 12 is wide open and if two of these teams lose — chaos will ensue.
Arch Manning starts, plays well, Texas loses third in a row
Things are unraveling quite quickly in Austin. Texas, which was ranked No. 1 just a few weeks ago, has lost two games in a row. Both losses come at Arch Manning’s mistakes. Manning turned the ball over late against both Oklahoma and Florida, and the Longhorns’ College Football Playoff life is at stake.
Backup KJ Lacey Jr. began getting some first-team reps this week, but let’s be honest, this is Manning’s team — for now. He will likely start this weekend with Texas not fully out of anything.
Steve Sarkisian called Manning ‘edgy’ ahead of the Ole Miss game.
“I would use the word edgy, and I like it,” Sarkisian said. “He’s edgy right now, and you know I think that somebody texted me today that we lost the ‘Ah Shucks’ kid, you know, and we’ve created something else. I don’t know if we lost him. We created this, you know. We did, all of us, y’all included, me, the whole thing, right? Everybody on ESPN, we’ve created this, and so we’ll see what comes out of it. But he’s edgy right now, and honestly, I appreciate that about him.”
But even an edgy Manning won’t win this game. The Rebels will come into Texas and get a big win.
Wisconsin makes the Big Ten standings even murkier
UCLA is the lone undefeated Big Ten team, but Ohio State is unbeaten in the Big Ten. Both the Bruins and Buckeyes are on top of the conference, and then it gets crowded.
Seven Big Ten teams have one loss and this weekend could get a little crazy. Obviously, the game everyone will be watching is Indiana taking on Michigan, but the night game, USC at Wisconsin, could be worth the wait.
It’s never easy traveling from the West Coast east, and the Trojans will be making the trip to Badger land. USC is the better team, but Wisconsin has been playing much better, save for its poor showing against UCLA. If the Badgers get more out of quarterback Colton Joseph, they can make this one real interesting.
A win over USC will put Wisconsin in a favorable position, while the Trojans would suffer their second Big Ten loss. And Lincoln Riley’s job security could dwindle.
James Franklin makes Dabo Swinney hot seat scorching hot
It’s usually James Franklin being talked about as being on the hot seat. But his Virginia Tech Hokies are actually a lot better than they’ve shown. The Hokies lost two nail-biters before beating Georgia Tech by 10 points last weekend. Quarterback Ethan Grunkemeyer has been great, and Virginia Tech can put up a lot of points.
Clemson will have to win this game because of its run game and defense. But the Tigers might not be able to score many points on the Hokies. Another loss would put Clemson at 4-3 on the season, and calls for Daboy Swinney would get very, very loud.
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