The Alabama Crimson Tide are in one of the best bounce-back spots you will ever see in college football.
Alabama has dominated its SEC West series with Mississippi State and it is the perfect opponent for it to play in Tuscaloosa after suffering its first loss of the season.
Bryce Young and the Alabama offense could bring the pain to the Mississippi State defense early and often, much like other recent Alabama teams have done.
Alabama does not play in the biggest game of Week 8. That title belongs to the Pac-12 showdown between UCLA and Oregon, a matchup that lends itself to a ton of points.
Iowa at Ohio State (Over 50) (Noon ET, Fox)
Here's a fun fact before we get started.
Three of the last four Iowa-Ohio State games featured both teams scoring in the 20s or higher.
Now that probably won't happen on Saturday in Columbus, but we can see points out of the Buckeyes that helps the over hit in easy fashion.
Ohio State is averaging 48.8 points and 543.7 total yards per game. The Buckeyes are expected to get some injured players back on offense and they are fresh off a bye week.
Iowa won't score many points, but it could produce a touchdown or two to aid the over, but this is mostly going to be covered by Ohio State.
Houston (-2.5) at Navy (Noon ET, ESPNU)
Houston provided itself with a boost going into the bye week by beating Memphis with a fourth-quarter comeback two weeks ago.
The Cougars have averaged 31 points per game, but they have not been able to break away from opponents so far. That could change against Navy, whose defense was not great against SMU and Memphis.
I feel this is a spot where Clayton Tune and the Houston offense prove to be too much for Navy's defense and the Midshipmen offense can't properly respond. Navy is averaging eight points and 40 yards fewer per game than Houston.
Akron at Kent State (Under 68.5) (Noon ET, ESPN+)
Akron and Kent State's defenses combined to give up 65 touchdowns.
So you would think the over is the play here, but not so fast my friend.
The Zips and Golden Flashes have been inconsistent on offense. Akron ranks 112th in touchdowns scored in the FBS. Kent State is 74th in that category.
The two MAC squads are 86th and 90th in touchdown conversion percentage in the red zone. That is a big red flag for a game with a total so high.
Additionally, Kent State is 5-1 to the under in its last six games and only one game in this rivalry hit over 60 points in the last 18 meetings.
West Virginia at Texas Tech (Over 65.5) (3 p.m. ET, FS1)
West Virginia and Texas Tech both rank in the bottom third of scoring defense.
West Virginia gave up 40 points last week to Baylor and it conceded 38 points in two of its three road games.
Texas Tech is 4-1 to the over in its last five games and it allowed over 30 points in the four games in which the over hit.
Both offenses average over 460 total yards per game and the defenses both allow over 365 total yards per game.
UCLA at Oregon (Over 70.5) (3:30 p.m. ET, Fox)
UCLA and Oregon have both been flying high with fast offenses and average defenses.
The Bruins average 41.5 points and 505.7 total yards per game. They also allowed over 30 points in three of their last four games.
The Ducks sit at 42 points and 512.5 total yards per game. They conceded at least 20 points in each of their last four games.
Everything about this game suggests there will be points and we will likely see a 40-37, 38-35 type game inside Autzen Stadium.
Purdue at Wisconsin (Over 51.5) (3:30 p.m. ET, ESPN)
Purdue is 7-3 to the over in its last 10 games.
Wisconsin is 5-0 to the over in its last five games.
Purdue has been involved in a few high-scoring games against Syracuse, Maryland and Nebraska recently and Wisconsin has an improved offense since Jim Leonhard took over as interim head coach.
I'm torn on which team will win, but I'm confident it won't be a defensive battle because of Purdue's struggles on that side of the ball.
Marshall at James Madison (-12.5) (3:30 p.m. ET, ESPN+)
Marshall proved over the last few weeks that it simply is not a good football team.
The Thundering Herd's win over Notre Dame looks even more shocking by the week and now they have to play a James Madison team on the road and off a loss.
James Madison has a far more explosive offense than Marshall. The Herd posted 20 points in their last two games against FBS opposition. The Dukes scored 38 points last week.
Arizona State (+3) at Stanford (4 p.m. ET, Pac-12 Network)
Apply what I just said about Marshall to Stanford.
The Cardinal somehow beat Notre Dame last week and now they sit in an ideal letdown spot against Arizona State.
The Sun Devils got off the mat with a home win over Washington two weeks ago and they have enough offense to cruise past Stanford.
Stanford's defense allowed over 40 points to three Pac-12 opponents and 28 to the other. The Cardinal can't slow down opponents and ASU's offense should capitalize on that poor unit.
Mississippi State at Alabama (-21) (7 p.m. ET, ESPN)
Alabama 1st Half Spread (-13)
Alabama owns Mississippi State.
The Crimson Tide outscored the Bulldogs 152-16 over the last four seasons.
Add in Alabama in a bounce-back spot and you have a horrible spot for Mississippi State.
Mississippi State has not proved itself on the road in the SEC this season with losses to LSU and Kentucky. The Bulldogs scored a combined 33 points in those two games.
I think Alabama comes out strong to rid itself of the loss to Tennessee and that continues for the rest of the game.
Boise State (+110) at Air Force (7 p.m. ET, CBSSN)
Boise State's offense looked far better in the last few weeks with a new offensive coordinator and quarterback.
The Broncos scored 35 points against San Diego State and followed that up with 40 points versus Fresno State.
Boise's defense deserves credit as well for its play. The Broncos give up 101.3 rushing yards per game, which is a huge plus for a matchup against Air Force's rushing attack.
Washington (-7.5) at California (10:30 p.m. ET, ESPN)
Washington is a far better team than California.
The Golden Bears are coming off an overtime loss to Colorado in which they scored 13 points. Cal has not reached the 20-point mark in three of the last four games.
Washington averages 19 more points per game than Cal and this is a game the Huskies should win fairly easily.