College Football Week 8 Thread

Keep it to sports.

As always, this is the top 10 games of the week based on the ranking of teams from 1-134 at The Athletic, in order of when the game starts.

1. #30 Nebraska at #15 Indiana, 12, FOX. I never thought a Nebraska-Indiana game would be this interesting. But this is a fascinating game. First, Indiana is undefeated, but also hasn’t played anyone good. In fact, Indiana has the easiest schedule in the entire Big 10 this year. They do play Ohio State, but avoided Oregon, Penn St., Wisconsin, and USC, if that one matters. Second, Nebraska has only lost to Illinois but didn’t exactly look good in beating Purdue or Rutgers. Meanwhile, the Hoosiers are favored by 6.5, which seems awfully high for any Indiana team.
2. #6 Miami at #36 Louisville, 12, ABC. Is this the week Miami’s unbelievable luck ends? This is not a very good team. But they win, so what can you say? Well, one thing I can say is that Mario Cristobal is not a good enough coach for this to keep up. This seems like a prime opportunity for the Hurricanes to revert to the mean.
3. #49 Virginia at #9 Clemson, 12, ACC. It seems at least possible that Dabo has his mojo back. One hopes not. One also doubts that Virginia is the game where we will find out, though they aren’t bad for the Cavs.
4. #31 Oklahoma at #37 South Carolina, 12:45, SEC. How disappointing is Oklahoma? Yeah, this is an SEC network game. I take the Gamecocks here, after almost beating Bama and with the Sooners offense looking as tough as a James Inhofe held snowball in the Senate chambers.
5. #7 Alabama at #12 Tennessee, 3:30, ABC. This is a fascinating game, but not quite for the reasons we might have thought two weeks ago. Because how good are either of these teams? The last time Bama looked good was that awesome first half against Georgia. Since then, they nearly blew it against the Bulldogs, lost to Vandy, and almost lost to South Carolina. Meanwhile, Tennessee’s offense is kinda stinky and while they did beat Oklahoma, that doesn’t look so exciting right now. They’ve followed that by losing to Arkansas and needing OT to beat Florida. I have no idea what to think about this game. Alabama is favored by 3.5. I’d take the Vols on the points, but this feels very even to me, depending if one of these teams plays well for the first time since early October.
6. #29 Michigan at #27 Illinois, 3:30, CBS. First, Farley and I will be at this game and it will be so fun to go to a game that means nothing except everyone in that facility hates Ohio State. Second, both of these teams are probably slightly overrated by the AP poll and I like these rankings better. Michigan’s offense is horrible. Illinois is no great team but for Illinois they are good. Why the Wolverines are favored by 3, I don’t know. Sounds like a historical boost. I’ll take the Illini.
7. #14 Notre Dame at #41 Georgia Tech, 3:30, ESPN. The Irish have looked alright since losing to Boston College in Dublin (LOL). Georgia Tech probably isn’t that good and their defeat of Florida State looks meaningless given how bad the Seminoles are. I definitely do not believe in Notre Dame, but I think they win this one fairly easily.
8. #43 Arizona at #46 Colorado, 4, FOX. Honestly, I don’t think either of these teams are any good. Arizona is a shell of what it was last year without Jedd Fisch coaching. Colorado is OK, but all their receivers are hurt. Yawn.
9. #11 LSU at #33 Arkansas, 7, ESPN. I completely dismissed Arkansas at home against Tennessee and the Razorbacks won that game. And you can always count of a Brian Kelly coached team to fuck up a game or two against inferior opponents. And honestly, LSU has come way too close to losing all of its games, even struggling against the bad teams. Feels like a possible upset. LSU favored by 3, which demonstrates I’m not the only one who sees this as possible.
10. #3 Georgia at #2 Texas, 7:30, ABC. Game of the week? Ya think? As much as I hate to say it, I think Texas is great. I think they are going to win this game. Maybe Kirby Smart will shove another opposing player and get away with it. Also, I love that Athletic moved Oregon to #1. It doesn’t matter really, but it warms my heart. Anyway, this is what was promised when the best teams moved to the best conferences and everyone who loves football will be watching, unless they are at a game, like me!

Farley and I will be at the Oregon-Purdue game Friday night on ESPN. Purdue is probably the worst Power 4 team, and in fact is the lowest ranked on the Athletic list, pulling in at #93 this week. But Bama lost to Vanderbilt too….so you have to play the games. Anyway, Go Ducks! (Saturday update: Purdue is not good at football.)