Week 8 College Football Preview

Last week we saw some big wins and tough losses for the top 25 teams as the season nears the latter part of year.

Recap of last week: Boise State was able to hold off Tulsa to stay undefeated. Louisina-Monroe did enough in the first half against Arkansas State on Tuesday night to win as well. Pittsburgh on Friday night looked like a top 25 team as they held on to beat Rutgers in a Big East showdown. Iowa continues to stay on course for an undefeated season and a Big Ten title. TCU also stayed undefeated as they had little trouble with Colorado State. In the Pac-10, Arizona had to rally to beat Stanford while California used their "Best" effort to manhandle UCLA. While in the SEC, Auburn came out flat against Kentucky and lost again while Florida barely survived a tough challenge from Arkansas. And Kansas suffered its first loss in a Big 12 battle against Colorado.

In terms of my top 5 matchups picks, I went 4-1 this past week and after seven weeks I'm 25-10 on the year. Cincinnati looked very good against South Florida as they dominated what was supposed to be a good team. QB Tony Pike went down, but the Bearcats were able to maintain control of the game without him. Cincinnati not only is in firm control of winning the Big East, but they have an outside chance to sneak into the BCS championship game if they can continue to win the rest of their games. Georgia Tech took a big step forward upending Virginia Tech in a key ACC game. The Yellow Jackets controlled most of the game and held on in the 4th quarter. Virginia Tech has lost two big games, first to Alabama and now to Georgia Tech. Could be a long road back for them while Georgia Tech is sitting in a good place. Alabama played a tough game and won fairly impressively over South Carolina in a crucial game for both teams. The Gamecocks were looking to make a statement while the Crimson Tide still have national title aspirations.

The USC-Notre Dame definitely felt like the battle four years ago at South Bend. At times it looked like USC was in complete control, but QB Jimmy Clausen showed his poise and brought them back to within a few points. He engineered a possible game-winning drive, but it fell short as time expired as the Fighting Irish was in the red zone. Notre Dame definitely pushed back more than they have had in recent years. The Red River Shootout turned out to be a great game despite the fact that Oklahoma QB Sam Bradford went down in the first half. The two defenses played excellent and both Texas and Oklahoma had rare opportunities to make plays. Texas had the most to lose in this game and QB Colt McCoy and the Longhorns were good enough to edge the Sooners. Definitely another classic in this rivalry. Oklahoma at 3-3 is a rare sight for sure.

Now turning to this week's slate of games that might be worth watching/feature a team or teams with something on the line:

Wednesday night:
Tulsa at UTEP: Another midweek game that shouldn't draw too many viewers, but features two teams that are capable of putting up 30+ points.

Thursday night:
Florida State at North Carolina: Florida State is having a rough season as is the head coach and a win against an ACC team in North Carolina would sure make things a little better. North Carolina has played very well on defense this year and they can definitely bring enough pressure to give their offense enough time to put points on the board to win.

Friday night:
Rutgers at Army: Another Friday night game for Rutgers. They didn't fare so well last week against Pittsburgh, but Army gives them a more favorable matchup and they should get back on track against a below average team. Army is capable of keeping this within ten points.

Minnesota at No. 19 Ohio State: Ohio State stumbled against Purdue and faces an up and coming Big Ten team in Minnesota. Minnesota can make a major statement as they continue to improve this year. QB Tyrelle Pryor needs to step up for the Buckeyes.

South Florida at No. 20 Pittsburgh: Another big game in the Big East. South Florida faces a tough road test and looks to show they finish a season strong after a couple years in a row of bad endings. Pittsburgh is a second half letdown against NC State from being undefeated and neck and neck with Cincinnati for the top team in the Big East.

Oklahoma at No. 25 Kansas: Oklahoma faces a must win game for the first in a long time as they are 3-3 and are going to be without QB Sam Bradford again and this time he isn't coming back. Kansas suffered their first loss last week and now must turn around against the Sooners.

UCLA at No. 22 Arizona: Arizona has been a surprise team in the Pac-10 and UCLA could be thinking upset this week.

No. 6 Iowa at Michigan State: Iowa continues to win, but they must be prepared each week as a conference opponent can trip them up and Michigan State is good enough to do just that.

No. 1 Florida at Mississippi State: Florida has escaped two weeks in a row with close wins and this one could easily be a similar situation. Florida's offense needs to show it can "kick it up a notch."

Oregon State at No. 7 USC: Oregon State knocked off the Trojans last year and cost them a shot at the national title. USC is at home this year and will look to get some payback.

No. 4 Boise State at Hawaii: Boise State should be able to get through this week undefeated, but they need to be on guard and not only win, but win big.

Now for my top 5 matchups of Week 8:

5) Tennessee at No. 2 Alabama: Tennessee played Florida better than expected and Monty Kiffin's defense can keep this game close and give them a good shot to win. Alabama will continue to ride HB Mark Ingram and show the country that they just might be the best team. Alabama's defense gets the edge over Tennessee's defense. Pick: Alabama

4) Boston College at Notre Dame: This is an important game for each team especially the Fighting Irish. This a rivalry game that Boston College has been won more recently by the Golden Eagles. QB Jimmy Clausen continues to show he is a top QB and should be the difference. He will be able to move the ball and give Notre Dame a nice bounce back win. Pick: Notre Dame

3) No. 13 Penn State at Michigan: Penn State has struggled over the last decade or so against Michigan at home. It was that home game four years ago that cost Penn State a chance to play for the national title. The Nitany Lions have looked pretty strong since that lost to Iowa while Michigan has looked less than advantage after their strong start. Joe Paterno has his team ready to get up that road hump. Pick: Penn State

2) No. 3 Texas at Missouri: Texas' road to the national title game will not get any easier this week as they have to go to Missouri. Missouri is very capable of going score for score with the Longhorns. I think Texas has a few more playmakers and they have the better QB in Colt McCoy. Pick: Texas

1) No. 8 TCU at No. 16 BYU: Not the typical top game of the week, but in college football there are more good teams out of the big conferences. TCU is still undefeated and this will be a big test and if victorious it will enhance their resume. BYU has also looked very good this year minus the beatdown Florida State gave them in September. TCU can play well on the road and I feel that they are looking to make a statement. Pick: TCU

I'm looking forward to another big week as the pressure mounts for the top teams as the BCS chase reaches the dangerous stretch.