Week 8 has that classic midseason feel: the regular season is suddenly past its first half, the playoff race is tightening, and the margin for error is shrinking for teams that came into the year expecting more. Texas, Oregon, Alabama and LSU are among the two-loss teams staring at pressure, while Brigham Young, UCLA and Utah are trying to keep their hot starts rolling.
That’s the kind of weekend that usually produces a few jolts, and USA TODAY Sports’ college football staff is leaning into the chaos with a slate of bold calls.
One of the biggest shockers comes in the Big 12, where Cincinnati is picked to knock off No. 5 Texas Tech at Nippert Stadium.
The Bearcats have dealt with the fallout from Brendan Sorsby’s gambling scandal and have already taken on too much damage in the loss column, including last week’s setback against West Virginia. Still, Scott Satterfield is pegged to guide Cincinnati to a “disastrous victory” at home.
As John Brice puts it, Satterfield, “an overachiever previously at AppState,” is the man to lead the upset.
Texas is also front and center in multiple predictions, and the opinions split in a pretty dramatic way. One forecast says Arch Manning will answer the bell against Ole Miss and revive the Longhorns’ season.
Ole Miss is coming off emphatic wins over Vanderbilt and Missouri, while Texas is reeling from losses to Oklahoma and Florida. Matt Hayes frames it as the last stand for Steve Sarkisian: “Make it happen now -- with Arch Manning playing his best game -- or stare at the reality of missing the College Football Playoff and finishing with a five-loss season.”
But there’s a very different Texas take in the mix too. Jordan Mendoza predicts Sarkisian has finally seen enough and benches Arch Manning against Mississippi, turning to KJ Lacey Jr. in a major move.
The call is that Manning won’t do enough to impress, and that the change will only crank up the noise in Austin. It still won’t be enough to beat the Rebels, according to Mendoza, but it would be a seismic storyline all the same.
Blake Toppmeyer also backs Texas to beat No. 7 Mississippi, even while acknowledging the stakes.
He notes that one top-10 team has to lose this weekend, and he doesn’t buy Michigan over No. 6 Indiana or Central Florida over No.
3 Brigham Young. Instead, he points to Texas, arguing the defense can keep the Longhorns in any game and that Sarkisian might simplify the offense to fit what Arch Manning can do best.
In Toppmeyer’s view, a “competent Arch” plus Texas’ defense is enough to produce a close win and keep the playoff path alive.
Elsewhere in the Big Ten, Minnesota is tabbed to spoil Iowa’s playoff hopes. Paul Myerberg predicts the Gophers will win an ugly game and put the Hawkeyes “on thin ice.”
The key, he says, is slowing an Iowa run game that exploded for 263 yards against Washington but managed only a combined 190 yards in its other three games against Power Four teams. Minnesota has been uneven - including a loss to Purdue - but has already notched wins over Washington and Michigan.
The staff also sees danger ahead for two teams with momentum. BYU, fresh off its win over Notre Dame, is the team Erick Smith thinks could stumble at Central Florida.
He says the Cougars are due for a letdown after one of the school’s biggest victories, and that the Knights can spring the upset if they stay clean and contain Bear Bachmeier. Smith says, “Don't be surprised if we see a surprise in Orlando.”
Tennessee is another team being put on upset alert. Eddie Timanus calls the Volunteers the SEC’s “next hangover victim,” picking South Carolina to win despite saying Tennessee “should absolutely not lose” the game.
The Gamecocks have the rest edge and are coming off a strong road win at Florida, while Tennessee’s last trip from home nearly turned into disaster at Arkansas. Timanus says the hangover effect has already shown up this season, and he expects the Vols to be next.
In Other News...
Tennessee Just Entered A Bigger Week 8 Conversation
Week 8s upset watch has the Vols squarely in the middle of the conversation after another round of speculative picks pointed to Tennessee as a team that could shake up the weekend. The matchup against South Carolina has enough intrigue on its own, but the broader context matters too, with the Volunteers sitting among a handful of teams being eyed as potential spoiler candidates in a slate that also features picks like Duke over Virginia, UCF over BYU, Kansas over Baylor and Houston over Utah.
For Tennessee, the attention is less about the prediction itself and more about what it says about how the team is being viewed right now. Analysts digging into recent performances and player impact see enough uncertainty in the matchup to make the Vols part of a bigger upset discussion, which is exactly the kind of weekly conversation that can follow a program when the results start drawing notice beyond one game. [Read more 🡒]
Tennessee Just Got More Doubt Ahead Of A Game Fans Fear Most
The build-up to Tennessees trip to Williams-Brice Stadium already had plenty of tension, and David Pollack only added to it this week. The former Georgia standout and SEC analyst picked South Carolina to upset the No. 11 Volunteers, pointing to the Gamecocks running game and physical style as the reasons he likes their chances in a matchup that has become one of the more closely watched games on the schedule.
It is the kind of forecast that tends to land differently with Tennessee fans, especially with emotions already running high around this one. The numbers are not unanimous either, since betting odds give South Carolina a slight edge while ESPNs Football Power Index still leans toward Tennessee, leaving the Vols caught between conflicting signals and a growing sense that the game many fans fear most may be even trickier than it first looked. [Read more 🡒]
Tennessees Passing Game Has A Real Opening If The Vols Hold Up Front
South Carolinas numbers in SEC play offer Tennessee a clear reason to keep the ball in the air. The Gamecocks have been giving up plenty of passing yardage and a high completion rate in conference games, which opens a path for the Vols if they can turn a favorable matchup into steady production. For Tennessee, it is less about chasing some grand offensive reinvention and more about taking what the defense has already put on tape.
The key, of course, is everything around George MacIntyre. If the pass protection holds up, the quarterback has a chance to work through his reads without the offense getting knocked off schedule, and Tennessees receivers and running backs will need to do their part to finish plays and stay disciplined in their assignments. The opening is there, but whether the Vols can actually exploit it will come down to how cleanly they operate at the line of scrimmage and how well MacIntyre handles the decisions in front of him. [Read more 🡒]