Chris ‘The Bear’ Fallica’s College Football Week 8 Expert Picks, Best Bets

We weren’t big winners in Week 7, but we also weren’t losers. Also, who was a big winner in such a wacky week of college football? We’re moving on from that. Here’s how I’m wagering Week 8 and also, my Bear Bytes. This page may contain affiliate links to legal sports betting partners. If you sign up or place a wager, FOX Sports may be compensated. Read more about Sports Betting on FOX Sports. Last Week: 2-2Season: 18-15 I have to think Indiana DC Bryant Haines will have something in store for Tommy Carr in his first career start. Clemson has been a terrible home team lately, and I just don’t know how much juice the Tigers have on offense right now. This is an opportunity for James Franklin to get what would be his biggest win of his early tenure in Blacksburg. It was against a bad Arizona State defense, but still a big step forward for Texas Tech. The Red Raiders get another bad defense in Cincinnati this week and should be able to string together two good offensive performances in a row. One of two games I’m going to hold my nose on this weekend. It feels like this could be a very flat spot for UNC, which, in the last two weeks, has a comeback win at Pitt and a win over its biggest rival in Duke. Next week, No. 1 Miami visits Chapel Hill. Enter a bad Syracuse team this week, one that has blown leads to Virginia and Louisville the last two weeks. Perfect spot for a potential big upset. Another ugly, ugly ‘dog on my card. Vandy just ended Arkansas’ SEC losing streak, and its support level couldn’t be any lower. On the flip side, we’ve got Kentucky, which is in the midst of a magical season, pulling off a couple of big upsets already. The Wildcats might be off next week, but you know them and their fans see the upcoming slate — Florida, Tennessee, Missouri. CFP dreams are underway. However, this team is two failed two-point conversions away from having three losses on the season and the perception being a tad different. UK has been a great story so far, but the Cats had better be careful this weekend. Last Week: 2-3, +.85Season: 8-13, -.94 Virginia Tech +125 Syracuse +290 There have been 34 ranked teams favored on the road against unranked teams this season. Those teams are 31-3. The three losers are LSU at Kentucky, Oregon at Oklahoma State and Oklahoma at Michigan. Seven games fit that mold this weekend. No. 2 BYU @ UCF Since 1978, there have been 212 undefeated teams at 6-0 or better and ranked No. 1 or No. 2 that have faced a team without a winning record. Those teams have won 40 straight games dating back to Ohio State’s loss at Purdue in 2018 — the Tyler Trent game. Since 1978, those 212 teams are 203-8-1 (93-7-1 away from home). No. 11 TENNESSEE @ SOUTH CAROLINA Over the last 25 years, there have been only seven top-12 teams that were an underdog to an unranked team that didn’t have a winning record. Five of the seven top-12 teams lost outright. The last such instance came in 2024, when No. 11 BYU won at 3-4 UCF as a 2.5-point ‘dog. Also, Tennessee has allowed 23.3 yards per drive and forced a three-and-out 46.8% of the time vs. P4 teams — best in the nation. No. 6 INDIANA @ MICHIGAN Kyle Whittingham has been a home underdog of at least six points only eight previous times. His teams pulled just two outright upsets, the last coming in 2013. Whittingham’s teams did cover six of the eight games. Indiana is 0-22 at Michigan Stadium since its last win there on Oct 21, 1967. PITTSBURGH @ No. 1 MIAMI AP No. 1 has been beaten in consecutive weeks by an unranked team. Prior to that, AP No. 1 had been 149-2 in the previous 151 games vs. unranked teams. Miami is averaging 40.5 PPG vs. P4 teams — tops in the nation. RUTGERS @ No. 24 NORTHWESTERN Since the start of 2019, Northwestern has been favored in only 12 Big Ten games. The last time the Wildcats were this big a favorite in a Big Ten game was in 2018, when Northwestern was a 20.5-point favorite over Rutgers and escaped with an 18-15 win. No. 16 USC @ WISCONSIN Since joining the Big Ten, USC is 3-9 ATS on the road. VIRGINIA TECH @ CLEMSON Clemson is 2-7 in its last nine home games vs. P4 opponents. Clemson had been 71-7 in its previous 78 home games vs. P4 teams. No. 18 LSU @ AUBURN Auburn has lost nine of its last eleven — and 17 of its last 23 — home games vs. SEC opponents. In its last 13 SEC home games as an underdog, Auburn has pulled just one upset — 2024 vs Texas A&M. TEXAS A&M @ No. 13 ALABAMA In his last four games against ranked teams, Marcel Reed has thrown zero touchdowns, seven interceptions and been sacked 16 times. The Aggies have been outscored 99-32 in those games (62-12 this year). This season, in two games, he’s completed just 29 of 65 passes for 295 yards. No. 14 HOUSTON @ No. 10 UTAH Since the start of last year, Houston has been an underdog eight times. The Cougars have won five outright and covered six of the eight. The last two losses were by two and three points. MICHIGAN ST. @ No. 9 UCLA Since 1978, there have been 85 top-10 teams, that are 6-0 or better, at home taking on a team with a win percentage under .300. Those 85 teams have gone 84-1. The lone loser — 6-0 North Carolina, which lost to 1-5 Virginia 31-27 as a 24-point favorite in 2023. Also, Kentucky, Notre Dame and UCLA are each +10 in TO margin vs. P4 teams. No other team is better than +5. No. 7 OLE MISS @ No. 19 TEXAS Dating back to 2006, Texas has failed to cover each of its last seven home games as a favorite vs. top-10 teams (0-4 ATS, 2–2 SU under Steve Sarkisian). OREGON @ ILLINOIS Oregon is averaging just 24 yards per drive vs. P4 teams. Only Stanford is worse (23.7). In addition, 18.5% of the Ducks’ drives vs. P4 teams have ended in a turnover. Only Oklahoma is worse (20%). No. 8 TEXAS TECH @ CINCINNATI Cincinnati has allowed 44.9 yards per drive vs. P4 teams, the most in the country.