This season, Rivals.com's weekly college football predictions involve anyone on the national staff brave – or foolish – enough to risk embarrassment by making their picks against the spread. Overall, the crew is struggling to crawl back above .500, although the group's lock picks boast a .563 batting average.
Here are the Week 8 picks versus Wednesday's Vegas line, according to MGM Mirage.
LOCKS OF THE WEEK
ROB CASSIDY: TCU (-6.5) over Iowa State. "I’m only taking this because MGM isn’t offering a line for UCF against FCS Austin Peay, which is a crime against myself and all of you. I miss the Knights."
MIKE FARRELL: Florida State (-4) over Boston College. "BC has won two in a row and FSU's offense looks awful but the talent discrepancy here is evident and the Noles will win by at least a touchdown."
ADAM FRIEDMAN: Florida State (-4) at Boston College. "Florida State isn't good. Everybody knows this. But the Seminoles only let one team score more than 30 points against them this season. That was Louisville and Lamar Jackson last week. Three of Boston College's four wins have come when it scores at least 28 points. That Florida State defense should help out the struggling offense enough to cover."
ADAM GORNEY: Missouri (–12) over UConn. "The Tigers are 2-5 overall and winless in the SEC. There's no better team to take for the second week in a row than Missouri - but for good reason, seriously. Last week, Mizzou had 475 passing yards and 658 total yards in a 68-21 win over Idaho. For those who took my Lock of the Week, you were eating filet mignon. Go back to the same well as the Tigers visit UConn this weekend, another bad defense that could get routed. The Huskies are allowing 373 passing yards per game. The Huskies gave up 70 points to Memphis. UConn might score some points but this line is way too low. More steak!"
JOSH HELMHOLDT: Nebraska (+6) against Purdue. "The month of October has been downright spooky for the Cornhuskers thus far, but Purdue just lost to Rutgers!?! I know this game is at Ross-Ade, but the line should be flipped. I'll take the gift of Nebraska and the points."
DEREK SAMSON: Boise State (–8) over Utah State. "Logan, Utah, is among the most scenic settings for a football game this time of year. If Boise State can avoid being hypnotized by the fall foliage, it should continue its recent hot streak. The Broncos' defense is starting to play very well."
BILL TROCCHI: Appalachian State (-3.5) over UMass. "I know records aren't everything, but App State is 5-2 and UMass is 1-6, with the one win over winless Georgia Southern. Simplistic analysis, yes, but this spread is way too low."
WOODY WOMMACK: Virginia (+3) against Pittsburgh. "Virginia suffered a tough loss last week but the Cavaliers are having a great season and the fact that they're getting points against Pitt is too much for me to pass up."
FIVE SPOTLIGHT GAMES
Midweek lines according to MGM Mirage (all games Saturday & Eastern time):
- Oklahoma State (–7) at West Virginia, noon
- Penn State (+6) at Ohio State, 3:30 p.m.
- Georgia (–14) vs. Florida, 3:30 p.m.
- TCU (–6.5) at Iowa State, 3:30 p.m.
- NC State (+8) at Notre Dame, 3:30 p.m.
