A whopping 10 teams with legitimate College Football Playoff hopes will be squaring off in five separate Week 8 matchups that all have the look of thrillers that could go down to the wire. Now, let’s find out if Ohio State, Oregon and Kentucky, among others, are looking good as road warriors in Week 8.
2019 College Football Week 8 Must-Bet Games
Ohio State at Northwestern
- When: Friday, October 18, 2019 at 8:30 PM ET
- TV: FS1
I’m pretty fired up about this Week 8 Big Ten battle, seeing as how Northwestern went 9-5 and a Big Ten West-best 8-2 last season for head coach Pat Fitzgerald while ranking an encouraging 41st in points allowed (23.2 ppg). Ohio State got left out of the four-team College Football Playoff last season despite going a stellar 13-1 and 9-1 in the Big Ten East. Both conference championship hopefuls will have new starting quarterbacks in 2019, but the Buckeyes have won seven straight in this series.
Oregon at Washington
- When: Saturday, October 19
- Where: Husky Stadium, Seattle, WA
Oregon went 9-4 and 5-4 in the Pac-12 North last season while beating Washington 30-27 in overtime in Week 7 to cash in as a 3.5-point home underdog. The Ducks have an elite quarterback in Justin Herbert that is expected to be in contention for the top pick in next year’s NFL Draft. While Washington went 10-4 last season and 8-2 in the Pac-12 North, the Huskies no longer have four-year starting quarterback Jake Browning under center or gifted running back Myles Gaskin in the backfield. After snapping a two-year losing streak a year ago, Oregon will be looking for the huge road upset in this Week 8 pairing.
Kentucky at Georgia
- When: Saturday, October 19
- Where: Sanford Stadium, Athens, GA
Kentucky went 10-3 in 2018 to finish with their best record in four decades, but the Wildcats are going to be hard-pressed to repeat their success from a year ago, not to mention the fact that they’ve dropped nine straight against a Georgia Bulldogs team that went 11-3 last season and 7-2 in the SEC East. The Dawgs have a starting quarterback that is also being looked at as a possible top pick in next year’s NFL Draft in junior Jake Fromm, not to mention a defense that ranked 15th in points allowed (19.2 ppg) an an offense that ranked an even more impressive 14th in scoring (37.9 ppg).
Florida at South Carolina
- When: Saturday, October 19
- Where: Williams-Brice Stadium, Columbia, SC
Florida went a stellar 10-3 a year ago and 5-3 in the SEC East in Year 1 of the Dan Mullen era. The Gators were rock-solid on both sides of the ball in finishing 22nd in scoring (35.0 ppg) and 20th in points allowed (20.0 ppg). South Carolina went a modest 7-6 last season and 4-4 in the SEC East while finishing 57th in scoring (30.1 ppg) and 69th in points allowed (27.2 ppg). The Gators lead the all-time series against South Carolina 27-9-3 and they’ve won three of the last four meetings, including a thrilling 35-31 home win last season.
Michigan at Penn State
- When: Saturday, October 19
- Where: Beaver Stadium, University Park, PA
Michigan went 10-3 last season and a near-perfect 8-1 in the Big ten East while Penn State went 9-4 and 6-3 in the Big Ten East. The Wolverines have won three of the last four meetings in this rivalry, including an emphatic 42-7 home blowout win last season. With a new starting quarterback under center in 2019, things figure to be a lot harder for Penn State this coming season while Michigan is finally looking to reach the four-team playoff for the first time under the widely respected Harbaugh.
