College Football Week 8 Early Picks & Predictions (2025)

Seven teams ranked inside of last week’s AP Top 25 poll wound up losing during the Week 7 college football slate. There were a ton of upsets outside the top 25 as well, notably Penn State. The Nittany Lions lost a third consecutive game to Northwestern at home, following a loss to a previously winless UCLA team, prompting the firing of Penn State head coach James Franklin on Sunday.

Oregon and Oklahoma both suffered their first losses in 2025. Indiana made a statement with head coach Curt Cignetti against the Ducks, logging a 10-point win to hand Oregon a rare loss at home. John Mateer’s return under center for the Sooners wasn’t enough, as Oklahoma fell 23-6 against Texas in the Red River Rivalry game.

My College Football Week 7 Early Picks & Predictions (2025) wound up settling 2-0-1. Picks included Missouri +3, which was a push, Indiana +7.5, and USC -2.5. Now, let’s attempt to carry this momentum and post consecutive sweeps heading into Week 8.

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College Football Week 8 Picks & Early Line Movement

(Odds courtesy of DraftKings Sportsbook)

Home	Away	Open Spread	Current Spread	Open Total	Current Total	Spread +/-	Total +/-
Vanderbilt (17)	LSU (10)	+3.5	-2.5	49.5	49.5	-6.0	0
Alabama (6)	Tennessee (11)	-8.5	-8.5	60.5	59.5	0	-1
Auburn	Missouri (16)	-1.5	-1.5	44.5	44.5	0	0

LSU vs. Vanderbilt (17) 

Vanderbilt hosts LSU as a -2.5 point favorite following their Week 7 bye. The Commodores lost 30-14 on the road against Alabama in Week 6, snapping their previously undefeated record.

Vanderbilt QB Diego Pavia is a dynamic playmaker with his arm and legs, so it’ll be interesting to watch how he navigates LSU’s fifth-ranked scoring defense. The Tigers have held all but one opponent, Ole Miss, to 10 or fewer points in 2025.

The Commodores’ offense remains a lethal unit, averaging 43.2 points per game. Vanderbilt has at least 323 yards of total offense in all six games played, while its defense is allowing only 3.2 YPC and three total rushing touchdowns.

LSU QB Garrett Nussmeier has not played nearly as well this season compared to 2024. He’s thrown nine touchdowns and five interceptions with a 66 percent completion rate. Vanderbilt’s offense and LSU’s defense are the top two units on the field in this game, with oddsmakers leaning in the Commodores direction, laying -2.5 on the point spread.

Remember, LSU just beat South Carolina 20-10, while Vanderbilt had a bye week following its first loss of the season against Alabama. Expect the Commodores to come out firing early in this game, putting LSU into obvious passing situations as they try to erase a deficit.

Let’s lay -2.5 with Vanderbilt in a great bounce-back spot at home against LSU’s 86th-ranked scoring offense.

Pick: Vanderbilt -2.5 (-118)

Tennessee (11) vs. Alabama (6) 

It was close but Alabama kept their momentum rolling with a 27-24 road win against Missouri in Week 7. The Crimson Tide, led by QB Ty Simpson, now head back home to Tuscaloosa to take on the nation’s top-ranked scoring offense when they host Tennessee in Week 8.

This line opened at Alabama -8.5. It briefly moved one point to Alabama -7.5, before returning to its current -8.5 price. The point total has moved down from 60.5 to 59.5, despite the Volunteers’ first-ranked scoring offense and bottom-tier scoring defense.

Joey Aguilar has been a huge asset for Tennessee head coach Josh Heupel’s offense in 2025. The Volunteers are averaging 48.2 points per game, with their lone loss against Georgia at home in overtime.

The Volunteers are 2-1 SU against the Crimson Tide across the last three years, including a 24-17 win in 2024. Of course, new starters can be found on both rosters but Alabama laying -8.5 is a bit too big of a line to back in this type of a rivalry game.

Tennessee just logged 485 yards of offense in a three-point win at home against Arkansas. Alabama is a massive step up in competition, although the Crimson Tide have surrendered between 5.8 and 7.1 YPC against SEC opponents.

Tennessee is capable of keeping games close via shootout, largely due to necessity with a defense ranked outside the top 100 in points allowed per game. Alabama is fully invested in its passing attack with Simpson at the helm, while holding every opponent under 200 passing yards.

Something has to give in this matchup. I’ll side with Aguilar and Heupel as an +8.5 point underdog on the road, especially since Tennessee has covered this number in all six games played.

Pick: Tennessee +8.5 (-115)

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Missouri (16) vs. Auburn 

In Week 7, Missouri will play its first road game of the 2025 season. It’s going to be tough sledding against Auburn’s 18th-ranked scoring defense, which has held all three of its SEC opponents to 24 or fewer points.

Despite Auburn’s success on defense, the offense with QB Jackson Arnold has gone stale. The Tigers have scored 17 or fewer points in conference play, resulting in three consecutive losses to Oklahoma, Texas A&M, and Georgia.

Missouri is led by QB Beau Pribula and RB Ahmad Hardy. Head coach Eli Drinkwitz has the offense humming, ranked 10th in the nation for points scored per game (41.7) this year. The Tigers had a chance to either tie or go ahead against Alabama on their final possession, however, it ended with a Pribula interception.

There hasn’t been much line movement on the sides or totals in this SEC tilt. Oddsmakers are laying -1.5 with Auburn, which feels like a trap line. Missouri’s defense is no slouch, holding opponents under 17 points per game, including 2.7 YPC and two total rushing touchdowns. Auburn’s offense is built around establishing the run with Arnold, which opens up value on Missouri’s moneyline at even odds.

We need to invest in the better offense, despite Missouri playing its first road game against a desperate SEC opponent. Let’s bet on Missouri to win outright at +100.

Pick: Missouri Moneyline (+100)