The 2022 college football season has finally reached its midpoint, and plenty of teams will be in action in Week 8. Fourteen games will feature Top 25-ranked teams, including five matchups between two ranked teams and one game between two teams in the top 10.
One of the marquee showdowns on the slate will be a battle of undefeated teams in the ACC, as No. 14 Syracuse faces No. 5 Clemson at noon Saturday on ABC. Other intriguing matchups feature ranked teams in bounce-back spots, as No. 11 Oklahoma State faces No. 20 Texas at home and No. 6 Alabama returns home to take on No. 24 Mississippi State.
Can No. 9 UCLA remain the only unbeaten team in the Pac-12 when it treks up to Autzen Stadium and takes on the No. 10 Oregon Ducks in Eugene?
There are plenty of questions and games to wager on this weekend, and we have everything you need to make your betting decisions ahead of Week 8.
Check out all of the notes and trends courtesy of ESPN Stats & Information.
Saturday
Iowa at No. 2 Ohio State (-29, 49.5)
noon ET, Ohio Stadium, Columbus, Ohio
- The 29-point spread is the largest favorite Ohio State has been against Iowa since the FBS/FCS split in 1978.
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Ohio State is 5-1 ATS (5-1 SU) when favored by 20 or more points against Iowa since the FBS/FCS split in 1978.
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Iowa is 11-7 ATS (6-12 SU) against AP-Top 5 opponents under Kirk Ferentz.
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Iowa is 5-1 to the under this season, tied with Michigan for the highest under percentage in the Big Ten this season.
No. 14 Syracuse at No. 5 Clemson (-13.5, 51)
noon ET on ABC, Memorial Stadium, Clemson, South Carolina
- Syracuse is 5-1 ATS this season, tied with Wake Forest for the best cover percentage in the ACC.
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Syracuse has covered four of its last five games against AP Top-5 teams.
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Clemson is 27-14 ATS against ACC opponents over the past five seasons, the best such cover percentage in the ACC over that span.
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Clemson is 4-1 ATS (5-0 SU) as a double-digit favorite against AP Top 15 opponents since the FBS/FCS split in 1978.
No. 21 Cincinnati (-3, 63) at SMU
noon ET on ESPN, Gerald J. Ford Stadium, Dallas, Texas
- SMU is 1-5 ATS this season, the worst cover percentage in the AAC.
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Each of the last six meetings between Cincinnati and SMU have gone under the total.
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20 of Cincinnati’s 29 road games under Luke Fickell have gone under the total. That’s the 6th-highest under percentage on the road in the FBS since the start of the 2017 season.
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Cincinnati is 7-12-1 ATS on the road against AAC opponents under Luke Fickell.
No. 7 Ole Miss at LSU (Even, 64.5)
3:30 p.m. ET, Tiger Stadium, Baton Rouge, Louisiana
- LSU is 14-4-1 ATS against AP Top-10 teams since the start of the 2017 season, the best such cover percentage in the SEC over that span.
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Four of LSU’s last five games have gone under the total.
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Four of the last five games between Ole Miss and LSU have gone under the total.
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Ole Miss is 12-18 to the over under Lane Kiffin. That’s the 3rd-lowest over percentage in the SEC since the start of the 2020 season.
No. 9 UCLA at No. 10 Oregon (-6, 70.5)
3:30 p.m. ET, Autzen Stadium, Eugene, Oregon
- Each of UCLA’s last six games against AP Top-10 teams have gone over the total.
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UCLA is 5-1 ATS on the road since the start of last season, the best road cover percentage in the Pac-12 over that span.
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Each of the last three games between UCLA and Oregon have gone over the total.
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Oregon is 6-1-1 ATS in its last eight games as a favorite.
No. 20 Texas (-6.5, 65) at No. 11 Oklahoma State
3:30 p.m. ET on ABC, Boone Pickens Stadium, Stillwater, Oklahoma
- Oklahoma State is 5-0 ATS as an underdog since the start of last season, the best such cover percentage in the Big 12 over that span.
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Oklahoma State is 10-1-1 ATS in Big-12 play since the start of last season, the best such cover percentage in the Big 12 over that span.
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Oklahoma State is 16-4-1 ATS against AP-ranked opponents since the start of the 2018 season. That’s the best such cover percentage in the Big 12 over that span.
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Texas is 1-5 ATS on the road since the start of last season, the worst road cover percentage in the Big 12 over that span.
Boston College at No. 13 Wake Forest (-21, 61.5)
3:30 p.m. ET on ACC Network, Truist Field, Winston-Salem, North Carolina
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Wake Forest is 5-1 ATS following a bye week since the start of the 2020 season.
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Wake Forest is 5-1 ATS this season, tied with Syracuse for the best cover percentage in the ACC.
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10 of the last 11 meetings between Boston College and Wake Forest have gone under the total.
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All four of Boston College’s games against AP-ranked opponents went under the total since the started of last season.
Memphis at No. 25 Tulane (-7, 56.5)
3:30 p.m. ET on ESPN2, Yulman Stadium, New Orleans, Louisiana
- Tulane is 6-1 ATS this season, tied with Arkansas State for the second-best cover percentage in the FBS this season.
Tulane is 4-1 ATS as a favorite this season.
Memphis is 1-9 ATS as a road underdog over the past five seasons. That’s the worst such cover percentage in the FBS over that span (min. 5 games).
Memphis is 1-6 ATS against AP-ranked teams since the start of the 2019 season
No. 24 Mississippi State at No. 6 Alabama (-21, 62)
7 p.m. ET on ESPN, Bryant-Denny Stadium, Tuscaloosa, Alabama
- Alabama has been a favorite in 78 straight regular-season games against FBS opponents (excluding conference champ games), the longest such streak since the 1978 FBS/FCS split.
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Alabama has covered four consecutive games that have followed a straight-up loss.
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Alabama is 12-3 ATS as a home favorite over the past three seasons, the best such cover percentage in the FBS over that span (min. 10 games as favorite).
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Mike Leach is 0-2 ATS and SU against Nick Saban in his career.
Minnesota at No. 16 Penn State (-4.5, 44.5)
7:30 p.m. ET on ABC, Beaver Stadium, University Park, Pennsylvania
- Minnesota hasn’t been favored this season, but the Gophers were 8-3-1 ATS as an underdog the last two seasons, with seven outright wins.
Minnesota is 5-2 ATS on the road the last two seasons, the best cover percentage for a Big Ten team.
Penn State is 7-22-1 ATS following a loss under James Franklin (since 2014), which is the worst cover percentage in the country.
Penn State has failed to cover three straight games following its blowout win at Auburn. The Nittany Lions haven’t failed to cover four straight since 2020.
No. 17 Kansas State at No. 8 TCU (-3.5, 59)
8 p.m., Amon G. Carter Stadium, Fort Worth, Texas
- Kansas State is 8-2-1 ATS against top-10 opponents since 2015, which is the best cover percentage in the country (min. 10 games).
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Kansas State has covered the spread in four straight games against TCU, including outright wins in 2019 and 2020 as an underdog of more than 3.5 points.
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TCU is 8-22-1 ATS since 2016 as a home favorite, the worst cover percentage in the country (min. 20 games).
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TCU’s three home games have gone over their total by an average of 10.5 points per game.
