Week 8 College Football Saturday Viewing Guide & Open Thread

There is one premier helmet game this morning that also has national title implications. Beyond that there are also several other ranked vs. ranked matchups as well as a potential early showdown in the Mountain West. Enjoy your Saturday on the couch without the stress of a Husky football game. Because there will be plenty of stress next Saturday...

SUGGESTED VIEWING GUIDE (all times PT)

9:00 AM: #7 Penn State at #3 Ohio State, FOX

DraftKings Betting Line: Ohio State -4

This is the premier game of the day and we get it right off the bat. Both teams have absolutely dominant defenses but Penn State’s has been better so far. Ohio State of course has the edge with their skill position talent although they’re quite beat up at the moment. If Penn State gets Michigan at home while Ohio State plays them in Ann Arbor so a win here by the Nittany Lions means they can legitimately start dreaming of an undefeated season. For those who already want to start looking ahead to the CFP, I think you can make an argument for either team here and we’ll reassess after we see who prevails.

12:30 PM: #17 Tennessee (5-1) at #11 Alabama (6-1), CBS

DraftKings Betting Line: Alabama -9.5

If you want to well and truly kill off any chance of Alabama still finding a way into the College Football Playoff then you need a Vols upset this week. Bama still plays LSU at home next week and then almost certainly will face Georgia in the SEC Championship. The larger CFB world needs them to pick up one more loss. I don’t think it’s coming here since Tennessee has taken a big step back from last year (Joe Milton is not Hendon Hooker) but it’s not impossible. Last year’s game between these 2 teams was one of the best of the season.

Alternate Game: Washington State (4-2) at #9 Oregon (5-1), ABC

DraftKings Betting Line: Oregon -20

The Cougars are coming off consecutive losses the most recent of which was an absolute ass whooping at home against Arizona. There’s a reason the spread is a 3-score margin. Still, the Cougs almost always play Oregon closer than you would expect. If they somehow upset the Ducks in this spot it would go a long ways towards making sure the Huskies don’t have to play them again this year. Go Cougs.

4:30 PM: #16 Duke (5-1) at #4 Florida State (6-0), ABC

DraftKings Betting Line: Florida State -14

This is where it would be really nice if Riley Leonard was fully healthy. The Duke QB may return for this game but coming off a high ankle sprain it seems unlikely he’ll have his normal mobility which is a huge part of his game. Florida State doesn’t have another currently ranked team on its schedule so they will be favored by at least a touchdown in every game the rest of the way except maybe at Florida or in the ACC championship game. Anyone hoping to keep the Seminoles out of the CFP is rooting for Duke.

5:00 PM: #14 Utah (5-1) at #18 USC (6-1), FOX

DraftKings Betting Line: USC -6.5

Washington will be paying close to attention to this result given that both teams are on the Huskies’ schedule and both are potential future opponents if UW makes it to the Pac-12 title game. A Utah loss here means that Washington will have a chance to knock them out of CCG contention in Seattle. Similarly, a Utah win means that UW could knock USC out of the running potentially based on tiebreakers when they play in L.A. If your goal is to avoid having to rematch with Oregon then I think a USC win here is better for the Huskies and there’s no doubt UW will be rooting for the Utes when they host Oregon next week.

7:30 PM: Arizona State (1-5) at #5 Washington (6-0), FS1

DraftKings Betting Line: Washington -25.5

Duh.

Odds/lines subject to change. T&Cs apply. See draftkings.com/sportsbook for details.