College football picks Week 8 Can LSU avoid letdow

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Week 8 of the college football season is here, and it's a doozy.You have four matchups between top-25 opponents, including No. 12 Oregon at No. 25 Washington State, No. 16 N.C. State at No. 3 Clemson, No. 6 Michigan at No. 24 Michigan State and No. 22 Mi si sippi State at Buster Posey Jersey  No. 5 LSU.Like we said, it's a doozy of a week.MORE: That said, there other interesting games to key in on, including the Third Saturday in October between No. 1 Alabama and Tenne see (which just beat Auburn in Jordan-Hare and is led by former Tide defensive coordinator Jeremy Pruitt). We have picks for all these games and more, many of which can be .Sporting News is 38-18 in its picks this season after going 6-2 . Here are our picks for Week 8(all lines reflect Consensus Picks from as of Tuesday):Maryland at No. 19 Iowa (-10)Maryland last week was able to rebound nicely from a 42-21 lo s against Michigan by . No offense to the Scarlet Knights, but how will the Terrapins look against an actual functioning team? Itll be a strength-against-strength affair, as Maryland pits its rush offense (which averages 245 yards a game) against a Hawkeyes team that surrenders just 81.8 yards on the ground. In the end, well go with the home team that has the better quarterback (Nate Stanley has 15 touchdowns and five interceptions to Kasim Hills six touchdowns and two interceptions). Iowa 31, Maryland 24No. 2 Ohio State (-13.5) at Purdue from Ohio State, another hurdle for the Buckeyes this year  Austin Slater Jersey as they continue run at a potential Playoff berth. The Buckeyes have won this year, but havent been consistently dominant in wins over Minnesota or Indiana the last two weeks. Now they go against a Purdue team that knows how to put up yards (510.2 per game) and points (33.5 per game). The Buckeyes will need to focus on Purdue receiver Rondale Moore to keep him blowing the game open with his play-making ability. Do that, and the Buckeyes have more than enough talent, on paper, to leave West Lafayette with a win. Ohio State 42, Purdue 30MORE: No. 9 Oklahoma (-7.5) at TCUThe Sooners Playoff hopes took a big hit in their lo s to Texas, and its now on Lincoln Riley to ensure TCU doesnt spoil their season for good. We know the Sooners can score with Kyler Murray, Marquise Brown, CeeDee Lamb and others. The question is whether a defense without defensive coordinator can keep TCU at arms length. TCU quarterback Shawn Mike Gerber Jersey  Robinson has nine touchdowns and eight interceptions on the year, so if Oklahoma can force one or two takeaways, it should be enough for the Sooners to get back on track. Oklahoma 38, TCU 27No. 1 Alabama (-28.5) at Tenne seeAnother week, another absurd line for Alabama to beat. This ones a rivalry game, so you know the Tide will be up and ready to play. But Tenne see showed marked improvement in a dominating 30-24 win at Auburn on Saturday, the game is in Knoxville and Jeremy Pruitt should have some knowledge of what to expect from Alabamas because of his time as the Tide'sdefensive coordinator. Tua Tagovailoa is after tweaking his knee against Arkansas, but it remains to be seen whether hell play for any significant amount of time. Alabama will win, but a combination of pride and confidence from the Vols will keep it closer than people expect  relatively. Alabama 42, Tenne see 17MORE: No. 12 Oregon at No. 25 Washington State (-3)The Ducks face their second big challenge in as many weeks against one-lo s Washington State, a game that the . If Oregon gets by Mike Leach and the Cougars it stands to reason the Ducks Mel Ott Jersey  couldwin the Pac-12 North with just one lo s heading into championship weekend. Both Oregon (43 points, 482.8 yards per game) and Washington State (41.8 points, 485.5 yards per game) are incredible on offense, so this will come down to which team makes the big play on defense. Well pick a resurgent Oregon team to make that play, and win a close game in Pullman. Oregon 45, Washington State 40No. 16 N.C. State at No. 3 Clemson (-16.5)The battle of the ACCs last two undefeateds could have monumental implications on the Playoff, particularly if Dave Doerens Wolfpack leaves Death Valley with a win. N.C. State has played Clemson tough each of the last two years and arguably should be 1-1 in that stretch. Ryan Finley is playing like one of the best quarterbacks in the conference, and the battle hell have with Clemsons Trevor Lawrence should be fun to watch. That said, its hard to pick against Clemson as long as it has that incredible defensive front. The Tigers win, but we think the line is way too high. Clemson 30, N.C. State 20MORE: No. 6 Michigan (-7) at No. 24 Michigan StateBoth teams are coming off huge wins: Michigan, a and Michigan State a comeback . The Spartans have an 8-3 advantage over the Wolverines under Mark Dantonio, including a 2-1 mark against Jim Harbaugh. This game hasn't been decided by more than nine points each of the last three years, and theres no reason to think itll be any different this time around. If you look at the 2017 game between these two teams, Michigans inability to make any headway pa sing the ball was the reason Michigan  Willie McCovey Jersey State won. We think Shea Patterson is the difference this time around. Michigan 27, Michigan State 21No. 22 Mi si sippi State at No. 5 LSU (-6.5)Will LSU have a letdown game after its dominant win over Georgia? The Tigers cant get caught or the Bulldogs could make them regret it. Nick Fitzgerald has four pa sing touchdowns to three interceptions this year, but his ability to hurt defenses is on the ground, where he has 513 yards and seven touchdowns. Hes a near-constant threat, but look for that speedy LSU defense (which allows only 289.7 yards per game) to keep him mostly corralled. Jeffery Simmons and Montez Sweat try to get pre sure on Joe Burrow, but he leadsthe Tigers to a closevictory. LSU 30, Mi si sippi State 23