2021 Week 8 Preview

Last week saw five ranked teams get beat by unranked opponents. The biggest upset of the weekend was Purdue knocking off second-ranked Iowa by 17 points in Kinnick Stadium. Much like last week, this week features a lot of bye weeks. There are also no ranked matchups this weekend. I know I have hit a bit of a lull in the season and it was hard to get interested in picking games this week. It’s been a weird year so far, so I expect this week to be very crazy. We’ve already had one big upset: Appalachian State took down 14Coastal Carolina on Wednesday night. Here’s hoping this week is better on the fields than it seems to look on paper.

My Record: 6-0 last week (woo!), 28-14 overall

Notable Games
8Oklahoma State at Iowa State
Oklahoma State had a nice comeback win over Texas last week in Austin. Their defense is the reason they are undefeated this season. Their offense did step up a bit last week in the fourth quarter to help secure the win. Iowa State is a good team and has stayed under the radar the last couple weeks. I think this will be a very close game, but the Cowboy defense will be the reason that they win this game. I do expect this game to get a little weird and crazy late if it is close.
I am picking Oklahoma State

LSU at 12Ole Miss
LSU had a huge win last week over Florida in a game no one thought they had a chance in. They have also decided that head coach Ed Orgeron will finish coaching the rest of the season but will not be coming back next year. I’m not sure they will be able to bring the same kind of energy to this game as they did last week. Ole Miss went on the road and beat Tennessee in a weird game. It was rumored that Rebel QB Matt Corrall might not play this week, but I doubt that. Ole Miss is the better team and I think their offense will be too much for LSU’s defense. I am expecting a letdown game for the Tigers.
I am picking Ole Miss

USC at 13Notre Dame
USC has not been having a good time this season. After firing their coach, they had a good week, then it’s been pretty downhill since then. Notre Dame has been just good enough to win all but one of their games. I think Notre Dame is the better team in this game and will win. Since it is a bit of a rivalry game, I do expect this game to be fairly close. I don’t think this game will be won with an offensive play.
I am picking Notre Dame

22San Diego State at Air Force
I think this should be a very good game. San Diego State struggled last week against San Jose State and needed two overtimes to win. Air Force has quietly been very good this season. I think SDSU is ranked right now because the AP voters don’t really know what they are doing this season. I’m giving the edge to Air Force because they are the home team in this game. I don’t expect this to be an exciting game, but I think it will be a close one.
I am picking Air Force

Clemson at 23Pittsburgh
This is a very important game in the ACC. Clemson’s offense has been not good this season. They haven’t shown up yet and I’m sure that’s extremely frustrating for Clemson fans. Though their defense is very strong, I don’t think it is good enough to make sure they keep winning. If Clemson is going to get on the right path this season, it needs to be with this game. I’m expecting a breakout game for the Tiger offense, I think Pitt being ranked will give them a boost because this game will mean a little more. Pitt likes to score, and that might help Clemson. This might be the closest game of the weekend.
I am picking Clemson

Nevada at Fresno State
I think this has potential to a sneaky good game. Nevada has been good this year, especially on offense. Fresno State has been a bit up and down and their strength has been on defense. I haven’t had much of a chance to watch either of these teams this season, so I don’t have too much more info. I’m interested to see which team comes out on top, but I think Nevada will score too many points in this game for Fresno to keep up with.
I am picking Nevada

Arkansas-Pine Bluff at Arkansas (Little Rock)
It has been a rough few weeks for Arkansas. The injuries have been piling up and I bet they are pretty frustrated. I hope they have a good and confidence boosting game this week before getting a bye week. A lot needs to be fixed for the Hogs. I hope they are setting themselves up to finish the season strong.

Top 25
1Georgia BYE
2Cincinnati at Navy
3Oklahoma at Kansas
Tennessee at 4Alabama
5Ohio State at Indiana
Northwestern at 6Michigan
Illinois at 7Penn State
8Oklahoma State at Iowa State
9Michigan State BYE
10Oregon at UCLA
11Iowa BYE
LSU at 12Ole Miss
USC at 13Notre Dame
Appalachian State 30 14Coastal Carolina 27 (final/Wednesday)
15Kentucky BYE
16Wake Forest at Army
South Carolina at 17Texas A&M
18NC State at Miami
19Auburn BYE
20Baylor BYE
21SMU 55 Tulane 26 (final/Thursday)
22San Diego State at Air Force
Clemson at 23Pittsburgh
24UTSA at Louisiana Tech
Wisconsin at 25Purdue

Other Games
not really any other games I’m looking at this week