Week 8 Picks

October 8, 2017 by CFP Staff

Every week, the computer projects the winner and margin of every game. Through the first seven weeks it has correctly tabbed the winner in 78.4% of all games played while hitting just under 52% against the spread.

118 of the 130 FBS teams are in action this week with nobody playing a school from the FCS. Three schools in the Congrove Computer Rankings' Top 25 have a bye week - No. 2 Penn State, No. 16 Virginia Tech and No. 20 Notre Dame.

This week's slate kicks off on Wednesday with Sun Belt power Troy hosting South Alabama. The 4-1 Trojans had this past weekend off after grabbing a huge win at LSU.

A single game on Thursday night sends lowly Texas State, ranked 126th, to the 99th-ranked  Louisiana's Ragin' Cajuns.

A pair of Friday night clashes feature two of the top 8 teams in the CCR Top 130 as 3rd-ranked Clemson visits No. 75 Syracuse, and No. 8 Washington State treks to Berkeley to face the 85th-ranked Cal Bears.

Games to watch on Saturday include a single contest between Top 25 teams in the computer rankings. No. 9 Miami hosts 14th-ranked Georgia Tech in a huge ACC contest between undefeated programs in the Coastal division.

Of course, we also have the 2017 edition of the Red River Rivalry in Dallas where Oklahoma looks to bounce back from its stunning 38-31 loss at home to Iowa State by taking care of business against Texas. The 12th-ranked Sooners are a 12.13-point computer pick over the Longhorns who will go into that game with positive energy after a double-overtime win at home over Kansas State.

10th-ranked TCU is among the top 25 teams on upset alert this week as the new bell cow of the conference visits Kansas State as a mere 0.33-point favorite. Also, 13th-ranked Auburn only gets a 3.52-point edge at LSU which is coming off a 17-16 win at Florida, and 18th-ranked San Diego State is a 6.66-point computer choice at Boise State. Meanwhile, No. 21 Navy is a 0.45-point underdog at Memphis and No. 25 Michigan is a slim 3.50-point favorite at Indiana.

Top-ranked Alabama is an expected 29.87-point winner at home versus Arkansas, 4th-ranked Wisconsin is projected to hand visiting Purdue a 28.25-point bruising, and No. 5 Washington is an 18.12-point pick at Arizona State.

Get the complete schedule and the computer's pick of every game here.