Who's The Best In The West? Can Harbaugh Right The Ship vs Penn State? It's Week 8 In College Football!

Last week saw some pivotal matchups that shook up the Top-10 and more importantly the College Football Playoff outlook. Though far from knockout blows, losses by then #3 Georgia and then #7 Florida opened the doors for teams like LSU, Oklahoma, and Wisconsin to jockey into position to get a chance at the Top-4; neither Georgia nor Florida have any more room for error. Week 8 doesn’t have quite the same level of marquee matchups, but there’s a border war out West, a big Pac-12 matchup in Salt Lake, and a high stakes Big 10 showdown in Happy Valley.

Let’s take a closer look.

#12 Oregon Ducks (-148) @ #25 Washington Huskies (+112), o/u 48.5 (-114)
This game will mark the 112th meeting between these two absolutely bitter Pac-12 rivals. Oregon comes into this contest undefeated in the conference, holding a two-game lead in the loss column over the rest of the North division.The Ducks, however, with that one loss at the hands of Auburn have no room for error if they want to keep their College Football Playoff dreams alive. Washington would love nothing more than to end all of that with a victory here. Heisman hopeful and projected #1 pick Ducks quarterback Justin Herbert comes into this game with 17 TDs to one interception, on 1600 yards passing. He will be missing his most important target, however, as tight end Jacob Breeland, Oregon’s leading receiver, is out for the remainder of the season. This undoubtedly helps Washington’s swarming defense as now they won’t have to worry about Breeland taking away their linebackers on intermediate routes. Both of these teams have great defenses, Oregon especially. They will be hoping to exploit the weaknesses of up-and-down Huskies quarterback Jacob Eason, whose three interceptions have all come in the two Washington losses. This won’t be one of those wide-open Pac-12 games, and with the expected rain in Seattle, both offenses will have trouble moving the ball up and down the field. Oregon is the better team, and we like their defense vs the Huskies offense better than the alternative, so the play here is ​Away Team moneyline and Under 48.5 total points (+260).

Arizona State Sun Devils (+425) @ Utah Utes (-670), o/u 45.5 (-114)
This winner of this game will go a long way in deciding who comes out of the South division of the Pac-12 later this season. Both teams are 2-1 in the conference (tied with USC--though USC has the tiebreaker over Utah) and are coming off conference victories. Arizona State freshman quarterback Jayden Daniels, with only six starts under his belt, is improving week by week. The star of the Sun Devils show, however, is running back Eno Benjamin, who has 529 rushing yards this season and seven touchdowns; he has scored a TD in eight straight games. Not to be overlooked is the Arizona State defense; head coach Herm Edwards and “special advisor” Marvin Lewis (the architect of the Baltimore Ravens defense of the early ‘00s) has them playing fast and physical, and they’re ranked second in the conference in run defense. They will have to be at their best vs a Utah team that loves to run the ball, leading the Pac-12 in rushing offense with 228.8 yards per game. Quarterback Tyler Huntley can’t be left out of the equation either. He’s a model of consistency, leading the Pac-12 in completion percentage and passing efficiency. He loves to spread the ball around as six different receivers have made at least 10 catches for the Utes. Arizona State has never beaten three ranked opponents on the road in the same season, so why not now? They also have the historical advantage over Utah, dominating them over the years to a record of 22-8 overall, and 10-1 when they are ranked. Herm Edwards will hammer home the fact that everybody is picking them to get blown out of Salt Lake on Saturday, and that’s why we like Arizona State. ​+13.5 (-124) is a gift and should be played immediately. ​We also like ​Arizona State moneyline (+425), and Away Team +13.5 and Over 45.5 Total Points (+285).

#16 Michigan Wolverines (+260) @ #7 Penn State Wolverines (-375), o/u 47 (-114)
How can we make this succinct as possible? Michigan isn’t good. Yes, they’re 5-1, but they are an example of you aren’t what your record says you are. They should’ve lost to Army at home, they beat an Iowa team that has zero offense at home 10-3, they got blown out by Wisconsin, and they blew out Rutgers and Illinois, two of the worst teams in college football. Now they go into Happy Valley for a Saturday night (get ready for their “White Out” tradition) encounter with Penn State, who’s been playing great football over the past several weeks. They also bring arguably the nation’s best defense, allowing only 8.2 points per game. This game is going to get real ugly, real fast. Look for Penn state’s defense to take this one over; it’ll be surprising if Michigan gets field goals on the scoreboard, let alone touchdowns. Take ​Penn State -9 (-114), and we also like ​Home Team -9.5 and over 47.5 Total Points (+235).

Those are the three best matchups of the weekend. Enjoy watching, and good luck!

*Credit to the main photo of this article belongs to Chris Pietsch/Associated Press