College Football Week 8 Picks: Top Betting Odds for Saturday's Late Games
The ACC clash between the Clemson Tigers and Miami Hurricanes appeared to be one of the most important games in that conference at the start of the season.
The Week 8 clash is buried in primetime alongside two Top 25 matchups, one of which comes from the ACC.
Neither team is ranked or close to contention in the ACC going into Saturday, but one thing is still consistent about Clemson.
Dabo Swinney's team still plays excellent defense. It earned each of its four victories by holding opponents under 20 points.
Miami's season unraveled over the last two weeks, but before things went south, it played solid defense of its own.
The two defenses could take over inside Hard Rock Stadium, which may make the game even more irrelevant from a national perspective because of the lack of points.
Plenty of other late games on the Week 8 slate carry some importance on the national scale, including the Ole Miss Rebels' trip to Jordan-Hare Stadium. Ole Miss needs a win over the Auburn Tigers to stay in the running to be the third-best team in the SEC and potentially earn the last at-large spot into a New Years' Six bowl.
For the latest lines on these games, go to DraftKings.
Saturday. 8 p.m. ET, ACC Network
Few people expected Clemson-Miami to have no national significance.
Clemson sits in the middle of the ACC with a 2-2 conference record, while Miami began league play with two straight defeats.
Saturday's clash inside Hard Rock Stadium is not even the best ACC game in its own time window. That belongs to the ranked matchup between the Duke Blue Devils and Florida State Seminoles.
Motivation and points will be hard to find for both teams. Clemson at least kept up its defensive consistency in its four victories, but it is still having trouble scoring points.
The Tigers managed just 17 points against an average Wake Forest Demon Deacons offense last week.
Miami held three opponents to single-digit point totals to kick off the season. A Hurricanes defense in need of a good performance may meet its perfect matchup against Clemson's inconsistent offense.
The losing side in each of the last four meetings between Clemson and Miami failed to get over the 17-point mark. Both teams may struggle to reach that point on Saturday. The two defenses each give up under 220 passing yards and 90 rushing yards per game.
Saturday, 7 p.m. ET, ESPN
Ole Miss' job for the rest of the season is to linger right beneath the Alabama Crimson Tide and LSU Tigers in the SEC West.
That seems like an easy task for a team whose only defeat came on the road in Tuscaloosa.
Ole Miss beat LSU behind a 55-point output the week after that loss and then beat the Arkansas Razorbacks to move to 2-1 in league play.
The Jaxson Dart-led offense scored at least 27 points in each of its five wins and eclipsed the 30-point mark on four occasions.
Auburn in its current offensive form can't keep up with Ole Miss' explosiveness.
Hugh Freeze's offense is in a year of transition and its failed to be competitive in two of three SEC games.
A case could be made that the Tigers were not close to beating the Georgia Bulldogs, either, because they did scored a single touchdown after the first quarter.
Auburn lost by 30 to LSU and fell to the Texas A&M Aggies by 17. Those results are more indicative of where the program is at than giving it all to try and upset Georgia at home.
Ole Miss averages 142 more total yards per game than Auburn, and its offense should make that large difference known right away inside Jordan-Hare Stadium.
Auburn's performances against two of the stronger SEC West sides suggests Ole Miss can run away with this game by far more than the 6.5-point spread.
Saturday, 10:30 p.m. ET, ESPN
The Stanford Cardinal's come-from-behind two-overtime win over the Colorado Buffaloes felt like a turning point in Troy Taylor's first season as head coach.
Stanford failed to be competitive with the USC Trojans and Oregon Ducks to kick off Pac-12 play, but it found a way back into the Colorado game through its Ashton Daniels-Elic Ayomanor combination.
The quarterback-wide receiver connection should play with plenty of confidence against the UCLA Bruins, who have not been great on their travels.
UCLA was held to six points by the Utah Utes in its Pac-12 opener and lost by 12 to the Oregon State Beavers last week.
UCLA is expected to win inside Stanford Stadium, but it may struggle to cover the 17-point spread. After all, its lone win in conference play was by eight points.
Bruins quarterback Dante Moore is looking for consistency in conference play, and while Stanford is a step down in competition from UCLA's last three opponents, the Cardinal have momentum on their side.
Stanford should feel inspired by the win in Boulder, and that could lead to a competitive late-night clash in the Pac-12.
Gambling problem? Call (877-8-HOPENY) or text HOPENY (467369).
If you or someone you know has a gambling problem, crisis counseling and referral services can be accessed by calling 1-800-GAMBLER (1-800-426-2537) (IL/IN/MI/NJ/PA/WV/WY), 1-800-NEXT STEP (AZ), 1-800-522-4700 (CO/NH), 888-789-7777/visiting ccpg.org/chat (CT), 1-800-BETS OFF (IA), 1-877-770-STOP (7867) (LA), visiting OPGR.org (OR), or calling/texting TN REDLINE 1-800-889-9789 (TN) or 1-888-532-3500 (VA).
Odds and lines subject to change. 21+ (18+ NH/WY). AZ/CO/CT/IL/IN/IA/LA/MI/NH/NJ/NY/OR/PA/TN/VA/WV/WY only. Eligibility restrictions apply. See draftkings.com/sportsbook for full terms and conditions.
