The big loser in Week 7 of this college football season was Georgia as the then-No. 3 Dawgs were stunned at South Carolina. That dropped them to No. 10 in the AP Top 25. LSU moved to No. 2 behind Alabama, giving the SEC the top two teams in the poll. One conference has held the top two spots 75 times since the AP poll started in 1936, none more than the SEC. Here’s a look at two intriguing matchups in College Football Week 8 with Mybookie odds.
No. 4 Ohio State at Northwestern
- When: Friday, 8:30 PM ET
- TV: Fox Sports 1
- Live Stream: Fox Sports Go
- College Football Week 8 Odds: Northwestern +27.5
OSU has been off since a 34-10 win over Michigan State on Oct. 5. J.K. Dobbins rushed for 172 yards on 24 carries and a touchdown. Dobbins is 174 yards away from becoming the first running back in program history with 1,000-yard seasons as a freshman, sophomore and junior.
Justin Fields threw for a pair of scores and rushed for another from the quarterback position. Fields finished 17-25 through the air for 206 yards and covered 61 yards on the ground on 11 carries.
WR K.J. Hill caught seven passes and moved into No. 2 at Ohio State in career receptions, passing Michael Jenkins (1999-2003) and Cris Carter (1984-86). Hill has 171 career receptions and has caught at least one pass in 40 consecutive games. The Buckeyes are 3-0 this season in the Big Ten and 61-5 in conference games since the start of the 2012 season.
The Buckeyes have scored 24 touchdowns in 30 red zone opportunities this season. Their 80 percent success rate on TDs is 12th best in the country. Ohio State has a differential of 300.5 yards per game between total offense and total defense, which is the most of any team in the country.
What about Northwestern?
Northwestern is off to a 1-4 start and out of 130 Football Bowl Subdivision teams, the Wildcats currently rank 128th in points scored per game (14.4), 125th in yards gained per game (292.8) and dead last in yards gained per play (3.95). Collectively, Northwestern’s quarterbacks have averaged just 4.3 yards per passing attempt, the worst mark among all Football Bowl Subdivision teams.
Last Season Matchup
Rematch of last season’s Big Ten title game, which Ohio State won easily 45-24. Dwayne Haskins, now a rookie in the NFL, threw for 499 yards and five touchdowns to lead the Buckeyes. After the Wildcats tied it 7-7 midway through the first, Ohio State closed out the half with a flurry. J.K. Dobbins scored on a 2-yard run, Blake Haubeil made a 42-yard field goal and Terry McLaurin caught a 42-yard TD pass from Haskins to give the Buckeyes a 24-7 halftime lead.
No. 3 Clemson at Louisville
- When: Saturday, noon ET
- TV: ABC
- Live Stream: ABC Go
- College Football Week 8 Odds: Louisville +23
Clemson is off a 45-14 win over Florida State on Saturday. With the win, Clemson became just the 15th FBS program to reach 750 all-time wins, and the first Atlantic Coast Conference team to reach the mark. Florida State was held to 253 yards of total offense.
Trevor Lawrence threw for a touchdown in a 16th consecutive game, completing 17-25 passes for 170 yards and three touchdowns. Lawrence also rushed for his fifth touchdown of the season in the first quarter to put the Tigers up 14-0. Justyn Ross added two touchdown receptions in the second quarter, finishing with 61 receiving yards on five catches. Clemson possessed the ball for 39:37, surpassing its 38:56 possession time against North Carolina on Dec. 5, 2015 for the longest in the Dabo Swinney era.
Clemson won its 21st consecutive game, dating to the start of the 2018 season, to extend the longest winning streak in school history and second-longest winning streak in ACC history. Clemson won a 15th consecutive ACC regular season game for the second time in school history (20 from 1981-84). Including postseason play, Clemson has now won 17 consecutive games against ACC competition.
Swinney said backup kicker Steven Sawicki would start Saturday against Louisville after starter B.T. Potter missed a 24-yard field goal try right before halftime against Florida State. It was Potter’s second straight miss after a 40-yard attempt at North Carolina didn’t go through.
What about the Cards?
Louisville beat Wake Forest 62-59 on Saturday. That was the second-highest scoring game in ACC history. The combined 121 points was second only to the 137 scored in Pittsburgh’s 76-61 victory over Syracuse in 2016. The teams combined for 1,188 total yards in this one. The Cards earned their first victory over a Top 25 opponent since their Lamar Jackson-led 63-20 rout of then-No. 2 Florida State in 2006, and their first against a ranked team on the road since Charlie Strong and Teddy Bridgewater won at No. 24 West Virginia in 2011.
Last Season Matchup
Last year, Clemson crushed Louisville 77-16. Travis Etienne ran for 153 yards and two touchdowns. Tavien Feaster added 101 yards rushing for the Tigers and Lyn-J Dixon ran for 116 yards. Rare these days to have three guys with 100 yards rushing.
Clemson had 492 on the ground. Etienne and Feaster put Clemson up 14-0 less than three minutes into the game and the Tigers never let up on Louisville. The Tigers collected six sacks and backup quarterback Chase Brice threw three touchdowns on just seven pass attempts. It was Clemson’s highest scoring game since defeating Wake Forest 82-24 in its national championship season of 1981.
Expert College Football Week 8 Betting Picks
Neither home team wins but they both cover.
