College Football Week 8: Early Lines, Odds & Predictions (2022)

Here’s an early look at College Football Week 8 spreads and totals, along with my projections. We’ll run through significant injuries affecting spreads and hit on games you might want to consider betting early in the week due to expected line movement.

In the box below are my adjusted spreads for this weekend's games. ATL stands for "Adjusted Thor Line." Spreads are from the home team’s perspective, i.e., a negative number means the home team is favored. In the value column, a negative number indicates points of value on the spread for the home team, while a positive number indicates points value on the away team. ATT stands for "Adjusted Thor Total." Projected totals are based on 2021 data and do not account for personnel or schematic changes (i.e., bring that with you to your handicap)

L2W: 17-6 ATS | 2022: 40-35-2 ATS (53.3%) | 2014-2021: 706-620-17 ATS (53.2%)

Check out Thor Nystrom's Week 8 College Football Power Rankings >>

Away	Away tempo	Home	Home tempo	ATL	Spread	Value	ATT	Total	Value	Day	CST
Georgia St.	3	Appalachian St.	52	-9.5	-10	0.5	61	60.5	0.5	Wednesday	6:30 PM
Virginia	35	Georgia Tech	21	-0.8	-3	2.2	57.5	45.5	12	Thursday	6:30 PM
Troy	110	South Alabama	60	-2.5	-3	0.5	47	47.5	-0.5	Thursday	6:30 PM
Tulsa	49	Temple	69	11.0	13	-2.0	49	52.5	-3.5	Friday	6:30 PM
UAB	113	Western Kentucky	43	-2.2	-2.5	0.4	66.5	57.5	9	Friday	7:00 PM
Kansas	100	Baylor	53	-10.9	-8.5	-2.4	61.5	60.5	1	Saturday	11:00 AM
Iowa	118	Ohio St.	85	-25.5	-29	3.5	54	49	5	Saturday	11:00 AM
Syracuse	82	Clemson	26	-13.6	-13.5	-0.1	54.5	51.5	3	Saturday	11:00 AM
Cincinnati	61	SMU	5	4.5	3	1.5	69.5	61.5	8	Saturday	11:00 AM
Akron	80	Kent St.	9	-15.0	-18.5	3.5	63.5	67	-3.5	Saturday	11:00 AM
Louisiana-Monroe	107	Army	41	-7.4	-7	-0.4	60	55.5	4.5	Saturday	11:00 AM
Indiana	4	Rutgers	92	-3.3	-3	-0.3	49	45	4	Saturday	11:00 AM
Houston	39	Navy	29	4.4	3.5	0.9	56	53	3	Saturday	11:00 AM
Duke	106	Miami (FL)	40	-10.3	-8.5	-1.8	65.5	59.5	6	Saturday	11:30 AM
Toledo	24	Buffalo	54	6.0	7	-1.0	60.5	60.5	0	Saturday	12:00 PM
Bowling Green	55	Central Michigan	20	-8.8	-6.5	-2.3	64.5	50	14.5	Saturday	12:00 PM
Northern Illinois	67	Ohio	119	1.2	2.5	-1.3	77.5	65.5	12	Saturday	1:00 PM
Eastern Michigan	51	Ball St.	10	-0.5	-2.5	2.0	56	58	-2	Saturday	1:00 PM
UNLV	87	Notre Dame	114	-23.4	-24.5	1.1	54.5	49.5	5	Saturday	1:30 PM
West Virginia	47	Texas Tech	16	-2.7	-7	4.3	71	68.5	2.5	Saturday	2:00 PM
Rice	130	Louisiana Tech	102	1.1	3	-1.9	68.5	58.5	10	Saturday	2:00 PM
Ole Miss	1	LSU	50	0.7	-1.5	2.2	49.5	66.5	-17	Saturday	2:30 PM
UCLA	19	Oregon	45	-3.7	-6	2.3	78.5	70.5	8	Saturday	2:30 PM
Texas	34	Oklahoma St.	7	2.0	6	-4.0	62	64.5	-2.5	Saturday	2:30 PM
Brigham Young	66	Liberty	31	5.0	6.5	-1.5	66.5	57.5	9	Saturday	2:30 PM
Boston College	109	Wake Forest	17	-18.5	-21	2.5	66	61.5	4.5	Saturday	2:30 PM
Memphis	38	Tulane	75	-7.7	-7	-0.7	49.5	56.5	-7	Saturday	2:30 PM
Western Michigan	70	Miami (OH)	125	-6.3	-6.5	0.2	50.5	45.5	5	Saturday	2:30 PM
Marshall	32	James Madison	63	-8.4	-13	4.6	52	53.5	-1.5	Saturday	2:30 PM
Georgia Southern	14	Old Dominion	28	-0.1	-2.5	2.4	52.5	66	-13.5	Saturday	2:30 PM
Purdue	65	Wisconsin	121	-1.5	-2.5	1.0	60	52	8	Saturday	2:30 PM
Northwestern	15	Maryland	89	-18.6	-14.5	-4.1	53	52	1	Saturday	2:30 PM
Florida International	30	Charlotte	96	-13.5	-14.5	1.0	65.5	59.5	6	Saturday	2:30 PM
North Texas	12	UTSA	18	-9.5	-10	0.5	68.5	69.5	-1	Saturday	2:30 PM
Vanderbilt	105	Missouri	59	-14.6	-14	-0.6	61.5	52.5	9	Saturday	3:00 PM
Florida Atlantic	13	UTEP	101	4.5	4	0.5	51	50.5	0.5	Saturday	3:00 PM
Arizona St.	116	Stanford	48	-4.8	-3	-1.8	55.5	54.5	1	Saturday	3:00 PM
Hawai’i	73	Colorado St.	127	-5.4	-4.5	-0.9	58	46.5	11.5	Saturday	3:00 PM
Arkansas St.	97	Louisiana	81	-6.8	-6.5	-0.3	52	51.5	0.5	Saturday	4:00 PM
Southern Miss	77	Texas St.	84	4.1	2	2.1	44.5	44.5	0	Saturday	4:00 PM
San Jose St.	122	New Mexico St.	90	19.9	21.5	-1.6	51	43.5	7.5	Saturday	5:00 PM
Fresno St.	78	New Mexico	126	10.8	10	0.8	43	41.5	1.5	Saturday	5:30 PM
Boise St.	95	Air Force	104	-3.2	-3	-0.2	49.5	48	1.5	Saturday	6:00 PM
Mississippi St.	120	Alabama	44	-16.4	-21.5	5.1	71.5	62	9.5	Saturday	6:00 PM
Texas A&M	124	South Carolina	74	3.4	3.5	-0.1	47.5	46	1.5	Saturday	6:30 PM
UCF	22	East Carolina	64	6.1	5	1.1	55	64.5	-9.5	Saturday	6:30 PM
Minnesota	128	Penn St.	72	-4.1	-5	0.9	45	44.5	0.5	Saturday	6:30 PM
Colorado	56	Oregon St.	115	-22.5	-24	1.5	59.5	50.5	9	Saturday	7:00 PM
Kansas St.	83	TCU	99	-5.1	-3.5	-1.6	54	58.5	-4.5	Saturday	7:00 PM
Pittsburgh	108	Louisville	36	1.2	-1.5	2.7	61	55.5	5.5	Saturday	7:00 PM
Utah St.	11	Wyoming	91	-2.2	-3.5	1.3	51.5	42.5	9	Saturday	8:45 PM
Washington	62	California	123	9.6	7.5	2.1	47	57	-10	Saturday	9:30 PM
San Diego St.	112	Nevada	33	6.0	7	-1.0	49.5	36	13.5	Saturday	9:30 PM

Injury news

North Carolina State (bye)

NC State QB Devin Leary will undergo season-ending surgery to repair a torn pectoral muscle this week. HC Dave Doeren said the redshirt junior is expected to make a full recovery. Leary was the preseason ACC player of the year.

Leary's injury thrust QB2 Jack Chambers, a Charleston Southern graduate transfer, into the starting lineup. On Saturday in a 24-9 loss to Syracuse, Chambers finished 18-of-29 for 160 yards with 68 rushing yards on 19 carries.

Chambers is a tiny (5'10/181) scrambler. His arm doesn't scare FBS defenses. The 25-year-old's game is built around mobility and taking care of the ball.

Leary's injury is devastating to NC State. They're a team to downgrade for the rest of the season.

USC (bye)

USC WR Jordan Addison limped to the locker room in the third quarter of Saturday's loss to Utah. Addison's leg got caught awkwardly under him as he was dragged down near the sidelines. His day ended with seven catches for 106 yards and a TD.

Addison spent the rest of the night on crutches. USC HC Lincoln Riley has not yet updated Addison's status. The injury looked serious - but we'll have to wait for official confirmation to find out for sure.

USC's bye comes at the right time, if nothing else. After it, the schedule sets up to be able to shoulder the loss of Addison in the short-term. USC's three games coming off bye are Arizona, California, and Colorado.

WRs Mario Williams and Tahj Washington can expect more targets for as long as Addison is out. Addison, the 2021 Biletnikoff Award winner while at Pitt, went over 100 yards receiving in three of USC's first seven games.

USC is also dealing with an injury to LB Eric Gentry.

Tennessee vs. UT-Martin

Tennessee beat Alabama on Saturday despite being without WR1 Cedric Tillman and starting S Jaylen McCollough. Tillman is recovering from a high-ankle sprain, while McCollough has been away from the team since being arrested on felony charges of aggravated assault early last week.

Considering the FCS opponent on deck, the Vols may give Tillman another week to mend for precautionary reasons alone - but stay tuned on that. WRs Jalin Hyatt and Bru McCoy have each been sensational in his absence.

McCollough has not been suspended, HC Josh Heupel said on Monday. “(He) just wasn’t available for Saturday," Heupel said. "The (legal) process is still going on with him, and we'll see how that continues to play out here. We look forward to having him available soon.” McCollough's attorney has asserted the "complete innocence" of his client.

The Vols could certainly use McCollough back. Tennessee's secondary, the team's biggest weakness, is already without CB Warren Burrell (out for the season) and CB Kamal Hadden (missed Alabama game for unspecified reasons).

Alabama (-21.5) vs. Mississippi State
ATL: Bama -16.4

QB Bryce Young returned from an AC joint sprain of his throwing shoulder to go 35-of-52 for 455 yards and two touchdowns in a 51-48 loss to Saturday at Tennessee. It was a fabulous performance in lieu of circumstances. After the game, Young and his coaching staff said he suffered no setbacks and is a full-go going forward.

Tennessee sent waves of pressure at Young and he didn't flinch. Young took a couple massive hits - including one that HC Nick Saban submitted to the conference after it wasn't called targeting - and popped right back up.

The rest of the Alabama team was uncharacteristically sloppy. The Tide gave up five TD receptions to Vols WR2 Jalin Hyatt, were penalized 17 times for 130 yards, missed a FG, and muffed a punt.

Penn State (-5) vs. Minnesota
ATL: PSU -4.1

Minnesota QB Tanner Morgan was evaluated at a local hospital Saturday after taking a hit to the head in a loss to Illinois. Morgan was cleared to fly back to Minnesota with the team.

On Monday, HC HC P.J. Fleck said Morgan has not been ruled out for this weekend's game against Penn State and that Morgan's status will be decided by medical personnel this week. That means that Morgan's streak of 45 consecutive starts could be in jeopardy.

Minnesota redshirt freshman QB Athan Kaliakmanis replaced him on Saturday - going 2-for-6 for 17 yards and two interceptions - and would start on Saturday against PSU if Morgan can't go. Minnesota's QB depth is thin as is with backup QB Cole Kramer already out with injury.

Penn State also has quarterback questions. Starting PSU QB Sean Clifford suffered an upper-body injury in the loss to Michigan on Saturday in the fourth quarter. PSU was down 17 points at the time - Clifford didn't return to the game after visiting the injury tent - and went on to lose 41-17.

Drew Allar finished things out. The five-star true freshman went 5-for-10 for 37 yards. Downgrade PSU if Clifford is ruled out this weekend. Allar has a bright future, but Minnesota's defense wouldn't be a fun first-start proposition for him.

Louisville (-1.5) vs. Pittsburgh
ATL: Pitt -1.2

Pitt LT Carter Warren will miss the remainder of the season with an unspecified injury. This is an enormous loss for the Panthers. Warren, a 39-game starter at LT, was a team captain and an All-ACC linemen.

Baylor (-8.5) vs. Kansas
ATL: Baylor -10.9

Significant injury news to report on both sides - each of which is aiming for a bounceback performance after disappointing losses last weekend.

Baylor QB Blake Shapen, RB Craig Williams, and star NT Siaki Ika all exited Thursday's loss to West Virginia early with injuries. Shapen and Williams both suffered head injuries. The offense notably slowed against WVU after QB2 Kyron Drones entered.

HC Dave Aranda said Monday that Shapen's injury status is “still ongoing." He said Shapen's status will clarify later this week as he progresses through concussion protocol.

Baylor was already thin on RB depth with Taye McWilliams out. Looks like frosh standout RB Richard Reese should prepare for even more usage.

The 6-foot-4, 358-pound Ika, an All-Big 12 First-Teamer last season and a planet-sized force in the middle of the Bears' defense, left in the third quarter against WVU with an undisclosed injury. Baylor has not yet addressed his status.

On the Kansas side, QB2 Jason Bean started Saturday's 52-42 loss to Oklahoma with QB1 Jalon Daniels ruled out with a right-shoulder injury. Last week, Daniels refuted a report that he would miss the rest of the season. Then, on Saturday, ESPN's Pete Thamel reported that Daniels is considered week-to-week and could return as early as Nov. 5 against Oklahoma State.

Either way, Bean will draw his second-straight start on Saturday against Baylor. Bean was 18-for-26 for 286 yards and a 4/1 TD/INT ratio this season prior to Saturday. Against the Sooners, he was more inconsistent, going 16-for-27 for 265 yards and a 4/2 TD/INT rate with 41 rushing yards. Bean's play Saturday will go a long way towards determining who wins the game.

Unfortunately, Kansas looks like it will be without CB1 Cobee Bryant. Bryant was put in an air cast and carted off the field against Oklahoma. HC Lance Leipold has only said that Bryant suffered an ankle injury.

This is an enormous loss for a Kansas secondary that was already shaky as is. Bryant had five passes defended and two interceptions this season, and he's also scored two touchdowns - a blocked FG return against Tennessee Tech, and a pick-6 against West Virginia.

Teams with good passing attacks will terrify the Jayhawks the rest of the way. If Shapen is healthy Saturday, the Bears could take advantage. Drones won't concern KU nearly as much.

Charlotte (-14.5) vs. Florida International
ATL: Charlotte -13.5

FIU WR Tyrese Chambers missed Friday's game against UTSA with a right foot injury he sustained the week before against UConn. Chambers is easily FIU's best player. His loss neutered the offense against UTSA.

It's unclear at this time what Chambers' odds are of playing this weekend at Charlotte. Chambers broke the news on Instagram last week that he wasn't playing, so maybe take a peak at his social media this week for clues about status updates.

UTSA (-10) vs. North Texas
ATL: UTSA -9.5

UTSA RB Trelon Smith exited Friday’s win over FIU early after aggravating his nagging ankle injury. Smith has been dinged-up all season. We'll have to wait for an update from the team to ascertain the severity of this most recent hiccup.

Central Michigan (-6.5) vs. Bowling Green
ATL: CMU -8.8

CMU RB Lew Nichols didn't travel with the team to Saturday’s game against Akron. His injury wasn't previously disclosed, though Nichols apparently got banged up against Ball State the previous week.

CMU's offense runs through Nichols. We await word from CMU on his status. CMU needs him badly. The Chips have only beaten an FCS team and Akron during their 2-5 start.

Texas Tech (-7) vs. West Virginia
ATL: TTU -2.7

Texas Tech QB Tyler Shough returned to practice on Monday and was seen going through passing drills. The team says it will know if Shough will be cleared for this weekend based on how he does at Tuesday's practice.

"He looked really good," coach Joey McGuire said on Monday. "If he's (cleared), you'll see all 3 quarterbacks (Saturday)."

Miami (-8.5) vs. Duke
ATL: Miami -10.3

Miami TE Will Mallory's day ended early on Saturday against Virginia Tech because of an upper-body injury - he had three catches for 62 yards before exiting. HC Mario Cristobal said after the game that he didn't believe Mallory had suffered a serious injury.

In that game, the Hurricanes were also without starting RB Henry Parrish. Parrish was withheld for reasons that haven't yet been disclosed to the media. Parrish wasn't the only starter missing from the game.

The Hurricanes also played without WR Michael Redding III, OL Jakai Clark, OL Justice Oluwaseun, OL Zion Nelson, and CB Tyrique Stevenson. Miami is a health-check team this week if you're interested in investing in this matchup on either side.

Old Dominion (-2.5) vs. Georgia Southern
ATL: ODU -0.1

Old Dominion managed to annihilate Coastal Carolina 49-21 on Saturday despite playing without star TE Zack Kuntz. Kuntz missed the game for undisclosed reasons - he spent the game on the sidelines in street clothes.

Kuntz appeared to suffer some sort of right knee injury the week before against Liberty. Team officials have only told the media that they hope the injury isn't serious, a disingenuous, obfuscating answer. Maybe we'll get a little truth this week. Consider Kuntz iffy until we do.

Brigham Young (-6.5) at Liberty
ATL: BYU -5.0

Liberty's quarterback health woes continued last week with both Charlie Brewer and Kaidon Salter out again. Liberty snuck by FCS Gardner-Webb 21-20 as QB3 Johnathan Bennett made another start. Bennett threw two interceptions and fumbled once while posting an 11.8 QBR.

Brewer reportedly is nearing a return from his broken thumb, so he should be considered week-to-week. Salter is going to be out longer after undergoing surgery for a groin injury last week. Brewer had the pins removed from his surgically-repaired throwing hand two weeks ago and returned to practice passing drills last week.

Severely downgrade Liberty if Brewer is unable to return for BYU. Bennett is not an FBS-caliber quarterback.

Maryland (-14.5) vs. Northwestern
ATL: Maryland -18.6

Maryland QB Taulia Tagovailoa was carted off the field in the fourth quarter of a 38-33 win over Indiana on Saturday. After the game, HC Mike Locksley said Tagovailoa will undergo an MRI on the "lower leg" injury.

The results of that MRI had not been disclosed to the media as of early Monday evening. Maryland QB2 Billy Edwards went 0-for-3 passing in relief but rushed for 53 yards and a TD on five carries. He's a big downgrade from Tagovailoa.

Wyoming (-3.5) vs. Utah State
ATL: Wyoming -2.2

Utah State's quarterback situation is suddenly hairy.

QB2 Cooper Legas, who replaced Logan Bonner (season-ending foot surgery), was pulled from Saturday's game against Colorado State with an apparent concussion. QB3 Levi Williams came in to replace Legas, but Williams was knocked out of the game with an ankle injury in the second quarter.

So QB4 true freshman Bishop Davenport was forced to finish out the game. The Aggies squeaked by CSU 17-13. You can't invest in Utah State regardless of the line if the top-three quarterbacks are ruled out this weekend. Stay tuned.

Southern Miss (-2) at Texas State
ATL: USM -4.1

Southern Miss RB Frank Gore left Saturday’s game against Arkansas State with an undisclosed injury. He was able to walk off under his own power. The team has not yet updated his status.

Notre Dame (-24.5) vs. UNLV
ATL: ND -23.4

Breakout UNLV starting RB Aidan Robbins left Saturday’s loss against Air Force in the first half with a knee injury. We await word on his status.

UNLV is very thin on offense right now. QV Doug Brumfield missed the Air Force game with an undisclosed injury. UNLV WR1 Kyle Williams also missed his third-straight game with a foot injury.

Houston (-3.5) at Navy
ATL: UH -4.4

Houston, one of the nation's most snake-bitten teams with health this year, is now dealing with another big one.

Standout true freshman WR Matthew Golden is out indefinitely with a rib injury suffered during the team’s 33-32 win over Memphis. It doesn't help the Cougs that WR Joseph Manjack is also dealing with a hand issue.

WR1 Nathaniel Dell can expect even more targets than usual. WRs KeSean Carter and Samuel Brown also better be ready to not come off the field on Saturday against Navy.

Stanford (-3) vs. Arizona State
ATL: Stanford -4.8

Arizona State QB Emory Jones was cleared to return to practice in full. Jones has been out since suffering concussion on Oct. 8 against Washington. Barring a setback, we should see Jones return on Saturday.

Wisconsin (-2.5) vs. Purdue
ATL: Wisko -1.5

Purdue WR Charlie Jones is dealing with an undisclosed injury. HC Jeff Brohm said he's hopeful that Jones will be able to play Saturday against Wisconsin.

Jones is extremely valuable to Purdue. Not only did he post 62 receptions, 735 yards and nine touchdowns over the first seven games, but he's one of the country's most dangerous return men.

Thor's early-week tickets

Oklahoma State (+6) vs. Texas
UCLA (+6) at Oregon
Kansas (+10) at Baylor
Clemson (-11.5) vs. Syracuse
Navy (+3.5) vs. Houston

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