Week 8

The Professor is back! Last week was a step backwards when I had really hoped to be moving forward. I went 2-3 with my picks of Alabama and Colorado winning and my picks of Clemson, Kansas, and South Florida losing. South Florida was covering with a couple minutes left when UConn scored a garbage time touchdown to go from down 22 to down 15 (the spread was South Florida -20); the Bulls then took a few knees to run the game clock out. Gotta love those garbage time TDs that screw up the spread.

Oh well. Them's the breaks. Here are my Week 8 picks:

Once again all betting lines come from the Westgate Las Vegas and are posted on ESPN.com: http://www.espn.com/chalk/story/_/id/17824030/college-football-full-list-week-8-odds-westgate-las-vegas-superbook and all times are Eastern Time Zone

North Texas +18 vs. Army (Saturday at noon)

This week's matchup of two teams from non-Power 5 conferences sees me picking the Army Black Knights for the fourth time. They just pound the ball all game long. They are leading the FBS with 366.8 rush yards per game, and, if you take out the Duke game that was played in Hurricane Matthew, they are averaging 407.2 (the lowest rushing total in one of those games was 329 yards). Not surprisingly, they dominate time of possession.

Meanwhile, the Mean Green of North Texas are ranked 87th in the FBS in rushing defense, giving up 189 yards per game. They have given up at least 150 rushing yards in five of their six games, giving up over 250 yards in three of them.

This matchup of Army's rush offense against North Texas's rush defense will be the story of the game. This story will not be a happy one for the Mean Green. Army will rush for over 400 yards and will out-possess North Texas by about 15 minutes.

The Mean Green will not be mean enough. Give me the knight's helmet again!

Oklahoma State -24 at Kansas (Saturday at noon)

I had Kansas +35 this past week against Baylor figuring that the Jayhawks could score a couple times against a weak Baylor defense and keep the Baylor offense from completely scoring at will. Alas, neither of these happened. Kansas looked completely inept on both sides of the ball.

I will not make the same mistake twice. I think the Oklahoma State team is quite similar to Baylor. Both teams have spread offenses that score a bunch and defenses that will give up a couple scores.

Kansas was not able to string together more than a few first downs in their game against Baylor, and they had five turnovers, four of which were interceptions.

Having seen both teams in action this season, I'm comfortable giving this many points. Give me the Cowboys; I'm putting on the ten-gallon hat!

Arkansas +9.5 at Auburn (Saturday at 6 P.M.)

The Razorbacks have looked strong this year. They are 5-2, with those two losses coming against Texas A&M and Alabama, two of the best teams in the SEC (and probably the country). In those two games. Arkansas put up 24 and 30 points and 493 and 476 yards. Their defense was not able to make enough stops for those numbers to be enough, but the defense has looked strong in all of the other games. Plus, I really like the way quarterback Austin Allen plays.

Auburn's two losses came against Clemson and Texas A&M, two equally good teams. However, they have not put up the numbers that Arkansas has, and, frankly, just have not looked as impressive.

Both teams played Texas A&M and lost,  but Arkansas scored eight more points, picked up 92 more yards of offense, and one more first down that Auburn did in that game.

When I threw all that together I came to  once conclusion. I think it will be a close game, but this is too sweet of a spread to turn down. Woo Pig Sooie!

Oklahoma -14 at Texas Tech (Saturday at 6:30 P.M.)

Let's face it, Texas Tech has no defense. I know that statement is not literally true, but it's close. The Red Raiders rank 117th out of 128 FBS teams in total defense and 124th in scoring defense. It was a telling sign when they scored 55 points against Arizona State in Week 2 (a week in which I picked them), yet still lost the game by 14 points. Their quarterback, Patrick Mahomas II is still struggling with a shoulder injury, and, going against a tough Big 12 defense in West Virginia this past week, the Red Raiders only put up 17 points.

After going 1-2 in their first three games, Oklahoma has won three straight games, all against conference opponents. Their quarterback, Baker Mayfield (a Texas Tech transfer), is completing an amazing 70.6% of his passes. Even with Samaje Perine out, the Sooners should still have strong running game; Joe Mixon has 476 rushing yards (one more than Perine). Their defense has not been amazing, but it should be able to make many more stops than the Texas Tech defense.

Sooners go over 50 points in their take-down of the Red Raiders. Boomer Sooner!

Washington State -7 at Arizona State (Saturday at 10 P.M.)

After starting 4-0, Arizona State quarterback Manny Wilkins hurt his ankle and left the USC game. The Sun Devils lost that game and this past week at Colorado (two of their last three games). Their defense, never their strong suit can no longer be compensated for by huge offensive numbers. Manny Wilkins and running back Kalen Ballage, who were instrumental in the 4-0 start, just have not looked good these past three games, and though Wilkins is expected to start (as he did in Colorado), his ankle is still nowhere close to 100%, a key in a spread offense like Arizona States.

Washington State, on the other hand, has come on strong in their past three games, all PAC-12 wins (against Oregon, Stanford, and UCLA). The Cougars have put up strong offensive numbers and have forced multiple turnovers in each of those games.

I don't foresee Arizona State being able to keep up. I'm taking the Cougars!

Game I would most like to see live: Texas A&M at Alabama

You knew I wouldn't stay away from the SEC for long. This game should be exciting. First of all, any game in Tuscaloosa is going to be electric (and loud). Both teams are undefeated; both are ranked in the top ten. They both have some of the best fans in all of college football. And now, they are in the same division. Whoever wins this game is extremely likely to win the SEC West.

Great teams, great fans, and a lot at stake should make this one of the best games of the year. My good friend and The Professor's Predictions #1 fan, Daniel Landa, will be at that game. I'm jealous.

Through seven weeks, I am yet to have a breakthrough week. Will Week 8 be the first?