It is Week 8 of the college football season.

There are some great games on the schedule.

Games that we’ve had circled since the beginning of the season.

Games that we did not see coming and are now considered great games.

That’s what we love about college football.

The game is played on the field, not on a piece of paper.

So, let’s get right to it. HERE is what you need to know, about Week 8.

FYI…..Remember, I use MY OWN rankings. I don’t use that bias crap, that ESPN and The AP puts out there. https://welikesportzpc.com/2023/10/17/college-football-top-25-week-8-edition/

Game of the Week.

#7 Penn State Nittany Lions at #4 Ohio State Buckeyes.
Game time: Saturday at Noon (EST) on FOX.

The first game in this rivalry was played on November 16th, 1912(won by PSU). Since Penn State officially joined the Big Ten in 1993, this game has been played every single year. The college football world has been blessed with incredible moments ever since.

Joe Paterno’s 324th career win as a head coach came in a 29-27 victory against the Buckeyes. The 2006 game gave Buckeyes QB Troy Smith his “Heisman Moment” when he hit WR Brian Robiskie in the endzone. Smith would go onto win the Heisman Trophy. In 2016, Penn State blocked a field goal to upset the #2 ranked Buckeyes 24-21. The following year, Ohio State came back from an 11-point deficit in 5 minutes to win 39-38, when QB J.T. Barrett hit TE Marcus Baugh in the back of the endzone.

This year’s game has Penn State fans thinking that they can come into Columbus and beat the Buckeyes for the first time since 2011. They have a legitimate chance to pull the upset with sophomore QB Drew Allar. Allar has completed 118 of 181 pass attempts, for 1,254 yards, and 12 TDs with 0 INTs this season. The Nittany Lions have a two-headed run game with HBs Nick Singleton and Kaytron Allen. Their defense gets after the opposing quarterback, as they have 27 team sacks.

Ohio State is coming into the game seriously banged up. They had to play most of last week with their 4th string HB and a WR taking snaps. Coach Ryan Day said that he “hopes” to have HBs Tre’Veyon Henderson, Miyan Williams and Chip Trayanum, as well as CB Denzel Burke and second-team, all-conference WR Emeka Egbuka available.

Junior QB Kyle McCord has improved every game since being named the starter. He has completed 109 of 170 passes, for 1,651 yards, and 11 TDs with only 1 INT. Superstar WR Marvin Harrison Jr. has 31 catches, for 604 yards, and 5 TDs, despite battling an ankle injury most of the season. Both lines have underperformed as well. The defense only has 10 team sacks. This has been a “bend but don’t break” defense, that doesn’t give up the big play or a ton of points.

The Ohio State Buckeyes have beaten the Penn State Nittany Lions the last 6 straight games.

Prediction: This is very hard, because we don’t know if Egbuka or Henderson are playing.
IF they both play, I’m taking the Buckeyes to win 35-31.
IF they do not play, I’m taking the Nittany Lions to win 31-24.

The Third Saturday in October.

#18 Tennessee Volunteers at #10 Alabama Crimson Tide.
Game time: Saturday 3:30 PM (EST) on CBS.

The first meeting between these two rivals happened on November 28th, 1901. Every year since 2005, the winning team hands out “Victory Cigars”, which is a violation of NCAA rules on tobacco products. They do “self-report” the violation every season. By the way, good on the NCAA for letting this go. It’s not hurting anyone or anything.

The Tennessee Volunteers will need QB Joe Milton to be better than he has been this season. He’s thrown for 1,264 yards, and 10 TDs with 4 INTs. He’s added 4 TDs on the ground. They need him to stop missing open receivers. The Volunteer defense has 24 team sacks this season. 20 of them by the defensive line. They will cause the Bama offensive line problems.

The Alabama Crimson Tide are not as good offensively has they have been in the past. Led by sophomore QB Jalen Milroe, who has completed 85 of 132 passes, for 1,397 yards, and 11 TDs with 4 INTs. It’s been their defense that’s kept them in these games and get all these close wins. They have 26 teams sacks. LB Dallas Turner 7 of those sacks along with 29 tackles and 2 forced fumbles.

Tennessee’s victory last season broke a 15-game losing streak to Alabama.

Prediction: As much as Alabama has struggled this season, they seem to find a way to win. I think this will be a low scoring game. Give me the Crimson Tide to beat the Volunteers 20-17.

The Sneaky Good Game.

Clemson Tigers at Miami Hurricanes.
Game time: Saturday 8:00 PM (EST) on ACC Network.

The Clemson Tigers are not the team that won National Championships and were in the College Football Playoffs. The 33.3 PPG number is misleading. They aren’t getting pressure as much or forcing many turnovers.

The Miami Hurricanes are coming off back-to-back losses. The first was because of a stupid decision by head coach Mario Cristobal. The other was to North Carolina led by a QB who a future Top 3 pick in the NFL. Miami can play with anybody in the ACC.

Upset Alert.

Colorado State Rams (3-3) at UNLV Rebels (5-1).
Game time: Saturday at 7:00 PM (EST).

The Rebels are coming off a blowout win over in state rival Nevada. That win meant that The Freemont Cannon stays in Las Vegas for another year.

Colorado State is a scrappy, pesky team, that plays tough defense and throws the football all over the field.

5 Things That I Want to See Happen.

1. Ohio State beat Penn State.
2. Tennessee beat Alabama.
3. Minnesota beat Iowa and win the Floyd of Rosedale Trophy.
4. The Mount Union Purple Raiders win and go 7-0.
5. The Findlay Oilers beat Walsh and go to 6-2 on the season.

– by Sean McKenzie

Photos courtesy of MSN, ESPN, wallpapercave, wallpapersafari, steamable

Stats and records courtesy of ESPN