College Football Betting Odds Week 8: Picks Against the Spread for Top 25 Schedule
The Ohio State Buckeyes have had the upper hand in their Big Ten rivalry with the Penn State Nittany Lions for most of the last decade.
Ohio State comes into Saturday with a six-game winning streak over Penn State and with a 10-1 record in the last 11 meetings.
The Buckeyes may seem more vulnerable than in previous seasons because of Kyle McCord's inexperience at quarterback.
Penn State enters Ohio Stadium with arguably the best team in the James Franklin era, which contributes to the point spread being so small.
The pair of Top 10 Big Ten sides will follow similar paths to victory, but only one of them has a potential top-10 NFL draft pick on its roster and that could be the difference-maker in a tight contest.
The clash in Columbus is the marquee game on the Week 8 schedule, but there are three other Top 25 matchups on the docket.
One of them features an opportunity for the USC Trojans to gain revenge while getting back on track and another gives the Florida State Seminoles a chance to flex its muscle against a challenger in the ACC.
For the latest lines on these games, go to DraftKings.
Saturday, October 21
No.7 Penn State at No. 3 Ohio State (-4.5) (Noon ET, Fox)
UCF at No. 6 Oklahoma (-17.5) (Noon ET, ABC)
No. 22 Air Force (-10.5) at Navy (Noon ET, CBS)
Washington State at No. 9 Oregon (-20) (3:30 p.m. ET, ABC)
No. 17 Tennessee at No. 11 Alabama (-8.5) (3:30 p.m. ET, CBS)
South Carolina at No. 20 Missouri (-7.5) (3:30 p.m. ET, SEC Network)
North Texas at No. 23 Tulane (-19) (3:30 p.m. ET, ESPN2)
Minnesota at No. 24 Iowa (-3.5) (3:30 p.m. ET, NBC)
No. 8 Texas (-23.5) at Houston (4 p.m. ET, Fox)
Virginia at No. 10 North Carolina (-23.5) (6:30 p.m. ET, CW Network)
No. 13 Ole Miss (-6.5) at Auburn (7 p.m. ET, ESPN)
No. 2 Michigan (-24) at Michigan State (7:30 p.m. ET, NBC)
No. 16 Duke at No. 4 Florida State (-14.5) (7:30 p.m. ET, ABC)
Army at No. 19 LSU (-32.5) (7:30 p.m. ET, SEC Network)
No. 14 Utah at No. 18 USC (-7) (8 p.m. ET, Fox)
Arizona State at No. 5 Washington (-26.5) (10:30 p.m. ET, FS1)
No. 25 UCLA (-17) at Stanford (10:30 p.m. ET, ESPN)
Ohio State has found a way to score against Penn State's defense in recent years, no matter how tough the Nittany Lions are on that side of the ball.
The Buckeyes scored at least 27 points in all of their 10 wins over the last 11 meetings with the Nittany Lions.
That is a scary statistic staring down the Penn State defense that has not allowed more than 15 points in its six games in 2023.
Penn State only gives up 193.7 total yards per game, but the argument against its success on Saturday is that it has not played an elite offense yet.
Ohio State averages 443 total yards per game and is coming off one of its most complete performances of the season, a 41-7 win over the Purdue Boilermakers.
Marvin Harrison Jr. has four 100-yard performances in his last five games, and he tore up the Penn State secondary a year ago. He had 10 catches for 185 yards in the 44-31 victory inside Beaver Stadium.
Harrison is the most talented offensive player on either roster, and if he turns in another massive showing, Penn State could be in trouble.
The Nittany Lions have the potential to keep up with the Buckeyes through quarterback Drew Allar, who has 12 touchdowns and zero interceptions this season.
However, Ohio State carries the best big-play threat and that could be the difference in what many expect to be a tight contest.
Florida State plowed through its ACC schedule with precision since its overtime win over the Clemson Tigers.
The Seminoles beat the Virginia Tech Hokies and Syracuse Orange by a combined 60 points inside Doak Campbell Stadium.
Jordan Travis, Keon Coleman and Co. should produce a similar blowout against the Duke Blue Devils.
Duke enters Tallahassee with a 5-1 record that is highlighted by an opening weekend win over Clemson.
However, Duke's defense has not faced an offense as explosive as Florida State's unit yet this season.
FSU averages 449.3 total yards per game and has one of the most dynamic playmakers in the country in Coleman.
Duke does not have that explosive talent, and it comes into Saturday with quarterback Riley Leonard not at 100 percent.
Duke's defense could be stretched thin by Travis' connection with Coleman. That would force Duke to catch up through the air, which is something it is not built to do offensively.
A big win from Florida State would further reinforce its spot on top of the ACC standings and leave it at 7-0 with five unranked opponents left on its regular-season schedule. A 12-0 record and a spot in the ACC Championship Game are real possibilities for the Seminoles.
There are very few reasons why you should trust USC after last weekend's debacle in South Bend.
The Trojans have a leaky defense that gives up 397 total yards per game and Caleb Williams displayed flaws against their most notable opponent to date.
The Utah Utes gave the Trojans trouble in their last three meetings. Utah is 3-0 in that stretch with three 40-point totals on offense.
Utah is nowhere close to scoring 40 points with where its offense is currently at, which is why USC has a chance to rebound on Saturday.
The Utes played the entire season without injured quarterback Cam Rising. They produced just three touchdowns in games against the Oregon State Beavers and UCLA Bruins.
Those two games are better indicators for what Utah is capable of against USC than its 34-14 blowout of the California Golden Bears last week.
USC's defense is still likely to give up some large chunk plays, but Utah is capable of committing some unforced errors that lead to stops for the Trojans.
Even if USC's defense fails, the Trojans have the best player on either roster in Williams, who has plenty of motivation to thrive on Saturday to bounce back from his three-interception performance against Notre Dame and enact some revenge on Utah.
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