College Football Week 8 Schedule and Odds: Five unbeatens face stiff road tests

Well, what a college football week that was.

The nation’s second-ranked team, Iowa, saw its national title hopes come crashing down at home to unranked (but now ranked) Purdue, which dropped the Hawkeyes out of the top ten. Three top-20 teams (now unranked) fell on the road to unranked teams, as Arizona State (at Utah), BYU (at Baylor), and Florida (at LSU) all went down. Texas blew a double-digit lead against a team from Oklahoma for the second straight week to send its Big 12 title hopes hurtling into the abyss. Arkansas, whose dominant wins over Texas and Texas A&M look like a distant memory now, dropped its third straight conference game and is now back among the ranks of the unranked.

Oh, and yellow mustard–yes, yellow mustard–inexplicably found itself in the spotlight, through no fault of its own. Naturally, the game that involved the throwing of a condiment bottle ended with the quarterback running out of bounds on the final play eight yards short of the end zone when his team needed a touchdown to win, because of course it would.

While yellow mustard’s turn in the lights is for unfortunate reasons, this is a good time to remind everyone that it is the superior condiment choice for corn dogs and hot dogs. I don’t think ill of those who like ketchup with their corn dogs and hot dogs, but I question their decision-making about as much as I question Joe Milton’s decision-making.

Several Unbeatens Up Against Tough Trips This Week

So what’s on tap for this week in college football? There isn’t a single game involving two ranked teams, but that doesn’t mean that it’s going to be a boring week. Ten ranked teams hit the road this week, and while a few of those matchups are expected to be easy wins, there are some tricky trips on the table.

Of the eleven remaining FBS unbeatens, seven are on the road. While Cincinnati and Oklahoma should–emphasis on should–handle their opposition with ease, the other five need to be on upset alert based on the trips they have to navigate. It all starts on Wednesday, as Coastal Carolina visits Appalachian State in some midweek Fun Belt action.

Will Coastal Carolina, Oklahoma State, San Diego State, UTSA, and Wake Forest all still be undefeated at this time next week? Given all of the chaos that this college football season has blessed us with thus far, that looks very, very unlikely. In fact, the bigger surprise will be if they all win.

Let’s take a look at what this week’s schedule has in store and which matchups you can look forward to seeing us break down on Betting News.

College Football Week 8 Schedule

Wednesday, October 20

#14 Coastal Carolina (6-0) vs Appalachian State (4-2), ESPN2, 7:30 p.m. ET

Thursday, October 21

Tulane (1-5) vs #21 SMU (6-0), ESPN, 7:30 p.m. ET

FAU (3-3) vs Charlotte (4-2), CBS Sports Network, 7:30 p.m. ET

Louisiana (5-1) vs Arkansas State (1-5), ESPNU, 7:30 p.m. ET

San Jose State (3-4) vs UNLV (0-6), CBS Sports Network, 11:00 p.m. ET

Friday, October 22

Middle Tennessee (2-4) vs UConn (1-7), CBS Sports Network, 6:00 p.m. ET

Memphis (4-3) vs UCF (3-3), ESPN, 7:00 p.m. ET

Colorado State (3-3) vs Utah State (4-2), CBS Sports Network, 9:30 p.m. ET

Washington (2-4) vs Arizona (0-6), ESPN, 10:30 p.m. ET

Saturday, October 23

American Athletic Conference

#2 Cincinnati (6-0) vs Navy (1-5), ESPN2, 12:00 p.m. ET

East Carolina (3-3) vs Houston (5-1), ESPNU, 4:00 p.m. ET

Temple (3-3) vs South Florida (1-5), ESPN+, 7:00 p.m. ET

ACC

Syracuse (3-4) vs Virginia Tech (3-3), ESPN3, 12:30 p.m. ET

Clemson (4-2) vs #23 Pittsburgh (5-1), ESPN, 3:30 p.m. ET

Boston College (4-2) vs Louisville (3-3), ACC Network, 4:00 p.m. ET

#18 North Carolina State (5-1) vs Miami (2-4), ESPN2, 7:30 p.m. ET

Georgia Tech (3-3) vs Virginia (5-2), ACC Network, 7:30 p.m. ET

Big 12

#3 Oklahoma (7-0) vs Kansas (1-5), ESPN, 12:00 p.m. ET

Kansas State (3-3) vs Texas Tech (5-2), FOX, 12:00 p.m. ET

Oklahoma State (6-0) vs Iowa State (4-2), FOX, 3:30 p.m. ET

West Virginia (2-4) vs TCU (3-3), ESPNU, 7:30 p.m. ET

Big Ten

Northwestern (3-3) vs #6 Michigan (6-0), FOX, 12:00 p.m. ET

Illinois (2-5) vs #7 Penn State (5-1), ABC, 12:00 p.m. ET

Wisconsin (3-3) vs #25 Purdue (4-2), Big Ten Network, 3:00 p.m. ET

Maryland (4-2) vs Minnesota (4-2), ESPN2, 3:30 p.m. ET

#5 Ohio State (5-1) vs Indiana (2-4), ABC, 7:30 p.m. ET

Conference USA

Rice (2-4) vs UAB (5-2), ESPN+, 3:30 p.m. ET

#24 UTSA (7-0) vs Louisiana Tech (2-4), 7:00 p.m. ET

Western Kentucky (2-4) vs FIU (1-5), ESPN+, 7:00 p.m. ET

Mid-American Conference

Eastern Michigan (4-3) vs Bowling Green (2-5), ESPN+, 12:00 p.m. ET

Northern Illinois (5-2) vs Central Michigan (4-3), ESPNU, 12:00 p.m. ET

Kent State (3-4) vs Ohio (1-6), ESPN+, 1:00 p.m. ET

Miami (Ohio) (3-4) vs Ball State (4-3), ESPN+, 3:30 p.m. ET

Western Michigan (5-2) vs Toledo (3-4), CBS Sports Network, 3:30 p.m. ET

Buffalo (3-4) vs Akron (2-5), ESPN+, 3:30 p.m. ET

Mountain West Conference

New Mexico (2-5) vs Wyoming (4-2), 3:30 p.m. ET

#22 San Diego State (6-0) vs Air Force (6-1), CBS Sports Network, 7:00 p.m. ET

Nevada (5-1) vs Fresno State (5-2), Fox Sports 2, 7:00 p.m. ET

Pac-12

#10 Oregon (5-1) vs UCLA (5-2), ABC, 3:30 p.m. ET

Colorado (2-4) vs California (1-5), Pac-12 Network, 3:30 p.m. ET

Utah (4-2) vs Oregon State (4-2), Pac-12 Network, 7:30 p.m. ET

SEC

LSU (4-3) vs #12 Ole Miss (5-1), CBS, 3:30 p.m. ET

Mississippi State (3-3) vs Vanderbilt (2-5), SEC Network, 4:00 p.m. ET

Tennessee (4-3) vs #4 Alabama (6-1), ESPN, 7:00 p.m. ET

South Carolina (4-3) vs #17 Texas A&M (5-2), SEC Network, 7:30 p.m. ET

Sun Belt

Texas State (2-4) vs Georgia State (2-4), ESPN+, 2:00 p.m. ET

South Alabama (4-2) vs Louisiana-Monroe (3-3), ESPN3, 7:00 p.m. ET

Independents & Non-Conference

#16 Wake Forest (6-0) vs Army (4-2), CBS Sports Network, 12:00 p.m. ET

Arkansas-Pine Bluff (1-5) vs Arkansas (4-3), SEC Network, 12:00 p.m. ET

UMass (1-5) vs Florida State (2-4), ACC Network, 12:00 p.m. ET

BYU (5-2) vs Washington State (4-3), Fox Sports 1, 3:30 p.m. ET

Liberty (5-2) vs North Texas (1-5), ESPN+, 4:00 p.m. ET

USC (3-3) vs #13 Notre Dame (5-1), NBC, 7:30 p.m. ET

New Mexico State (1-6) vs Hawaii (3-4), midnight ET/6:00 p.m. Hawaii time

College Football Week 8 Top Betting Matchups

All odds listed below are via BetOnline Sportsbook as of Monday, October 18, 2021 at 11:30 a.m. ET.

As much as we’d like to cover every single one of the college football matchups that we have our eye on, there are only so many hours in the week. So here’s a quick rundown of the matchups we will be providing in-depth previews for this week on Betting News.

College Football Betting Matchup: #14 Coastal Carolina (6-0, 2-0 Sun Belt) at Appalachian State (4-2, 1-1 Sun Belt)

Coastal Carolina-Appalachian State Odds

• Spread: Coastal Carolina -3.5 (-110), Appalachian State +3.5 (-110)
• Total: OVER 59.5 (-110), UNDER 59.5 (-110)
• Moneyline: Coastal Carolina -184, Appalachian State +148

College Football Betting Matchup: Tulane (1-5, 0-2 American) at #21 SMU (6-0, 2-0 American)

Tulane-SMU Odds

• Spread: Tulane +13.5 (-105), SMU -13.5 (-115)
• Total: OVER 70.5 (-108), UNDER 70.5 (-112)
• Moneyline: Tulane +390, SMU -550

College Football Betting Matchup: Colorado State (3-3, 2-0 Mountain West) at Utah State (4-2, 2-1 Mountain West)

Colorado State-Utah State Odds

• Spread: Colorado State -3.5 (-102), Utah State +3.5 (-124)
• Total: OVER 57.5 (-112), UNDER 57.5 (-108)
• Moneyline: Colorado State -164, Utah State +134

College Football Betting Matchup: #16 Wake Forest (6-0, 4-0 ACC) at Army (4-2)

Wake Forest-Army Odds

• Spread: Wake Forest -3.5 (+100), Army +3.5 (-122)
• Total: OVER 52.5 (-105), UNDER 52.5 (-115)
• Moneyline: Wake Forest -170, Army +138

College Football Betting Matchup: Wisconsin (3-3, 1-2 Big Ten) at #25 Purdue (4-2, 2-1 Big Ten)

Wisconsin-Purdue Odds

• Spread: Wisconsin -2.5 (-132), Purdue +2.5 (+108)
• Total: OVER 39.5 (-114), UNDER 39.5 (-106)
• Moneyline: Wisconsin -168, Purdue +136

College Football Betting Matchup: LSU (4-3, 2-2 SEC) at #12 Ole Miss (5-1, 2-1 SEC)

LSU-Ole Miss Odds

• Spread: LSU +10.5 (-110), Ole Miss -10.5 (-110)
• Total: OVER 76.5 (-106), UNDER 76.5 (-114)
• Moneyline: LSU +290, Ole Miss -385

College Football Betting Matchup: #8 Oklahoma State (6-0, 3-0 Big 12) at Iowa State (4-2, 2-1 Big 12)

Oklahoma State-Iowa State Odds

• Spread: Oklahoma State +6.5 (+100), Iowa State -6.5 (-122)
• Total: OVER 46.5 (-118), UNDER 46.5 (-104)
• Moneyline: Oklahoma State +210, Iowa State -265

College Football Betting Matchup: #10 Oregon (5-1, 2-1 Pac-12) at UCLA (5-2, 3-1 Pac-12)

Oregon-UCLA Odds

• Spread: Oregon +1.5 (-110), UCLA -1.5 (-110)
• Total: OVER 58.5 (-115), UNDER 58.5 (-105)
• Moneyline: Oregon +100, UCLA -122

College Football Betting Matchup: Clemson (4-2, 3-1 ACC) at #23 Pittsburgh (5-1, 2-0 ACC)

Clemson-Pittsburgh Odds

• Spread: Not available
• Total: OVER 46.5 (-112), UNDER 46.5 (-108)
• Moneyline: Clemson +138, Pittsburgh -170

College Football Betting Matchup: #22 San Diego State (6-0, 2-0 Mountain West) at Air Force (6-1, 2-1 Mountain West)

San Diego State-Air Force Odds

• Spread: San Diego State +3.5 (-112), Air Force -3.5 (-108)
• Total: OVER 41.5 (-105), UNDER 41.5 (-115)
• Moneyline: San Diego State +156, Air Force -194

College Football Betting Matchup: #24 UTSA (7-0, 3-0 Conference USA) at Louisiana Tech (2-4, 1-1 Conference USA)

UTSA-Louisiana Tech Odds

• Spread: UTSA -6.5 (-118), Louisiana Tech +6.5 (-104)
• Total: OVER 58.5 (-105), UNDER 58.5 (-115)
• Moneyline: UTSA -265, Louisiana Tech +210

College Football Betting Matchup: Nevada (5-1, 2-0 Mountain West) at Fresno State (5-2, 2-1 Mountain West)

Nevada-Fresno State Odds

• Spread: Not available
• Total: OVER 60.5 (-114), UNDER 60.5 (-106)
• Moneyline: Nevada +158, Fresno State -196

College Football Betting Matchup: Utah (4-2, 3-0 Pac-12) at Oregon State (4-2, 2-1 Pac-12)

Utah-Oregon State Odds

• Spread: Utah -3.5 (+100), Oregon State +3.5 (-122)
• Total: OVER 55.5 (-110), UNDER 55.5 (-110)
• Moneyline: Utah -168, Oregon State +136