Our college football Week 8 picks include the under in LSU-Vanderbilt and UNLV to cover vs. Boise State. (Photo by Tim Warner/Getty Images)

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Tyler Everett

By Tyler Everett

Sports Betting Editor

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College football Saturdays don't get much better than this.

In the SEC alone, there are three must-see, top-25 clashes: No. 10 LSU at No. 17 Vandy at noon, No. 5 Ole Miss at No. 9 Georgia at 3:30 p.m. and No. 11 Tennessee at No. 6 Alabama at 7:30 p.m.

Two other huge games take place in primetime, as No. 23 Utah visits No. 15 BYU and No. 20 USC travels to South Bend to take on No. 13 Notre Dame.

Now, let's dive right into my Week 8 picks.

Can we stay hot after Thursday's weekend preview nailed both ECU 1H -9.5 on Thursday and Louisville TT o17.5 yesterday?

No. 10 LSU at No. 17 Vanderbilt (-2.5)

Kickoff: 12 p.m. ET (ABC)

At some point this season, LSU might find itself in a back-and-forth, high-scoring game. At this point, though, I'll believe it when I see it.

The Tigers have been lights-out defensively just about every week. In fact, Ole Miss is the only LSU opponent that has topped 20 points vs. this defense.

Diego Pavia and Vanderbilt will be a tough test today, especially in Nashville. But even if LB Whit Weeks (doubtful, ankle) is unable to go, I expect LSU to hold up against the Commodores' impressive running game.

Remember, Brian Kelly's team held Ole Miss to 3.7 ypc, Florida to 2.9 ypc and Clemson to 1.6 ypc earlier this season.

Vanderbilt could still win this one as the slight home favorite if Pavia has to beat the Tigers through the air, but points will be hard to come by. I'm torn on who I like to win this one, but I'm confident 21 points will be enough for a victory, which makes the under hard to resist.

Pick: Under 47.5 (best odds: -108 at DK)

UNLV at Boise State (-13.5)

Kickoff: 3:30 p.m. ET (FS1)

Let's start by pointing out that the winner of this game will be in the driver's seat in the Mountain West. At FanDuel, these teams have the shortest odds to win the conference title, with Boise at -140 and UNLV at +420.

I expect a close game between these rivals, who met in the Mountain West title game in both 2023 and 2024.

Obviously, Boise State (4-2, 2-0 Mountain West) is not the same without RB Ashton Jeanty. And UNLV (6-0, 2-0 Mountain West) has an entirely overhauled roster in Year 1 under Dan Mullen.

Former Virginia quarterback Anthony Colandrea is dangerous as both a passer and a runner for UNLV. Colandrea and the Rebels should be able to move the ball against a Boise D that has struggled to get stops, dating all the way back to its season-opening loss to South Florida.

As long as UNLV can keep Boise's talented RBs in check, I think they can keep this close -- or at least close enough to cover this spread -- for 60 minutes.

Pick: UNLV +13.5 (best odds: -115 at FanDuel)

No. 21 Texas (-12.5) at Kentucky

Kickoff: 7 p.m. ET (ESPN)

For as much as the Texas offense has struggled this year, the defense has been excellent almost every week (with the exception of a rough showing vs. Florida two weeks ago).

The Longhorns just shut down Oklahoma in a massive win last Saturday, and I expect them to have no trouble with a Kentucky offense that is averaging less than 17 points per game in SEC play.

The Wildcats switched from veteran transfer Zach Calzada at QB to freshman Cutter Boley after Week 2. The latter looked overwhelmed vs. South Carolina and Georgia the last two weeks, throwing three total picks and taking eight sacks in a pair of losses by a combined score of 70-27.

Against the best defense he's faced this season, I expect Boley to have a long night.

On the other side of the ball, Texas QB Arch Manning had his best game of the year against an excellent Oklahoma D last week. Tonight, I like Manning to once again avoid mistakes, if not put up big numbers, against the Wildcats.

Pick: Texas -12.5 (best odds: -110 at bet365)

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