College Football Picks & Predictions: Week 8 (Thursday)

We used to have to wait until bowl season to get college football games almost every day, but not anymore. We can watch and bet on college football games every day except Sunday and Monday. Heck, we've got three tonight. Let's talk about today’s top college football picks.

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Thursday’s Best College Football Picks & Predictions (Week 8)

(Odds courtesy of DraftKings Sportsbook)

James Madison Dukes at App State Mountaineers

James Madison has the No. 3 scoring offense, No. 14 rushing attack and No. 18 total offense in the country. Quarterback Camden Coleman is having a standout season with 13 touchdowns and just one interception. But the run game is their bread and butter (223.7 yards per game). App State has a history of unexpected wins against James Madison, but they lack the pass rush to disrupt Coleman or a front seven that can slow George Pettaway.

The Mountaineers will make the Dukes work for it in the first half. But in the second half, App State’s defense will get tired and start giving up chunk plays. James Madison will start to pull away and easily cover the spread.

Pick: James Madison -11.5 (-105)

Liberty Flames at Kennesaw State Owls

I'm a little surprised the spread is only 9.5 points. Liberty lost a tough season opener to James Madison and squeezed by Gardner-Webb in Week 2. Since then, they've dominated the competition, thanks to a solid defense and a run game averaging 223 yards per game (No. 15 in the country).

Kennesaw State is not the same team that won the conference last year. These Owls struggle to put points on the board (22.3 points per game, tied for No. 107 in the country), but they aren't bad against the run (143 yards allowed per game, tied for No. 74 in the country). But that may be because teams are too busy passing on them.

This game is a total mismatch. Kennesaw State is struggling on both sides of the ball this season and hasn’t beaten an FBS team yet. They were competitive in their last three games, but they’ll struggle to keep up with the Flames. The first half might be close, but Liberty will blow the game open in the second.

Pick: Liberty -9.5 (-112)

East Carolina Pirates at Memphis Tigers

East Carolina will move the ball against Memphis’ defense. Their run game should find some traction against a lackluster Tigers run defense. However, they will not find enough to keep up with Memphis’ offense. Memphis has the No. 6 offense in the country (511.7 yards per game), No. 8 run game (236.9 yards per game) and the No. 25 passing game (274.9 yards per game).

East Carolina doesn’t stand a chance against an accomplished Tigers offense.

East Carolina is not a bad team; it's just nowhere near good enough to keep up with Memphis. The game will stay relatively close until Memphis’ run game gains enough traction to take over. If the Tigers avoid the same turnover issues they had last week, they'll easily cover the spread.

Pick: Memphis -10.5 (-108)