Week 8 College Football Betting Recap
Scott Morris | October 23, 2016
It is hard to believe but eight weeks of the 2016 college football season are now in the books. Week 8 could be characterized by a few big upsets and scoring records being set.
Overall, favorites were 38-19 straight up and 22-34-1 against the spread. Home teams were 33-24 SU and 29-27-1 ATS. The over/under point total was 30/25/2.
Three big dogs were straight up winners this week. SMU +23 beat Houston 38-16, Penn State +17.5 beat Ohio State 24-21 and Hawaii +17 beat Air Force 34-27.
The three biggest favorites to cover were Northern Illinois -24 beat Buffalo 44-7, Oklahoma State -23 beat Kansas 44-20 and San Diego State -23 beat San Jose State 43-2.
Bits and Pieces in the Top 25
A number of top ranked teams enjoyed a bye in Week 8, including the Clemson Tigers. However, No. 1 ranked Alabama defeated another ranked opponent by knocking off No. 6 Texas A&M 33-14 to cover as 18.5-point chalk.
Ohio State was ranked No. 2 in the country until Saturday night when they were defeated by Penn State 24-21. The Buckeyes were 17.5-point favorites in the game. With Clemson idle and Michigan, Washington and Louisville winning, Ohio State could fall to No. 6 or even lower.
Navy returned this week to the AP Top 25 and defeated Memphis 42-28. Navy is 5-1 SU and 4-1-1 ATS.
Western Michigan is continuing to impress this season with its eighth win. After beginning 5-0 ATS, they have covered only once during their last three outings. The Broncos have defeated two teams from the Big Ten this season.
West Virginia is quietly getting things done as the Mountaineers improved their record to 6-0 SU after defeating TCU 34-10. They started their season 1-3 ATS, but have covered two straight.
Utah is headed for a big Pac-12 showdown with Washington in Week 9 after defeating UCLA in a points’ fest 52-45. Utah is 4-1 SU and 3-2 ATS in its five Pac-12 games this season.
Louisville barely beat Duke last week, but exploded on Saturday to a 44-point halftime lead over North Carolina State and coasted to a 54-13 win.
Oklahoma and Texas Tech put on an offensive show Saturday. The Sooners pulled out a 66-59 win, while the two teams combined for a new FBS record for total yards with 1,708 and set or tied another six FBS statistical records in the game.
