Ole Miss Vs. Texas On The Road? Badgers Bounce Back? Klatt’s Week 8 CFB Picks

Upsets, a top-25 shuffle and a new No. 1 headlined a chaotic Week 7 of college football. Are we in for more of the same in Week 8?

It starts with No. 7 Ole Miss heading to No. 19 Texas. After suffering its second straight loss to unranked opponents – Oklahoma in Week 6 and Florida in Week 7 – all eyes are on Texas to see if Arch Manning will pull off a bounce-back win.

Another conference showdown to watch is No. 14 Houston at No. 10 Utah, with both coming off Week 7 wins: Houston’s Conner Weigman threw five total touchdowns, and Utah narrowly escaped Colorado with a 27-24 victory. This top-15 matchup will carry major conference championship implications.

What does FOX Sports’ Joel Klatt think of the Week 8 slate? Here are his Week 8 picks and previews, revealed on the latest episode of “The Joel Klatt Show”.

Ole Miss sits 5-1 on the season heading into a road contest at No. 19 Texas. (Photo by Justin Ford/Getty Images)

Spread: Texas -3.5
Moneyline: Texas -162, Ole Miss +136

Klatt’s thoughts: “Ole Miss, after blowing out Missouri, they go to Texas. And now Texas has to play at home off of back-to-back losses. Two straight for Steve Sarkisian and the boys. Based on the film that I watched, this entire offense has got to get better. It is not just Arch Manning, that is a fallacy. You cannot just replace Arch Manning and fix the Texas offense. That is not in the equation. It’s just not. The main culprit is their offensive line. Their offensive line is playing really poorly … So you need to simplify and allow them to come off the ball, allow them to run a few concepts, and do that well. If you’re able to do that, I think that you can start to fix the offensive line. If you start to fix the offensive line, maybe you should start to fix the run game. If you start to fix the run, fix the run game, maybe Arch has more opportunities to throw the football.

“I thought Ole Miss was going to be an average defense at one point … They shut down Missouri cold … (Missouri) couldn’t do anything on the ground. Ole Miss dominated them on the ground. You still have Trinidad Chambliss. I still might take him No. 1 overall from a quarterback perspective … running back Kewan Lacy is healthy … Their defense is right. Their star players are back, and as good as Texas’ defense is they did struggle in the second half. They, as Sarkisian put it, kind of bled out and couldn’t get a stop as DE Colin Simmons left that game with an injury. It’s unclear whether he’s going to return. Even if he does, he left on a cart. I can’t imagine that he would be 100% even if he is on the football field. And now you’ve got to run around and defend Trinidad Chambliss? I don’t love that at all.

“I think Ole Miss wins this outright, 28-21. I’ll take the -3.5 and take Ole Miss.”

Klatt’s straight-up pick: Ole Miss
Klatt’s pick against the spread: Ole Miss +3.5

Devon Dampier and Utah pulled out a close 27-24 win over Colorado in Week 7. (Photo by Bryan Byerly/ISI Photos/ISI Photos via Getty Images)

Spread: Utah -6.5
Moneyline: Utah -225, Houston +185

Klatt’s thoughts: “Houston at Utah. How about an underrated Houston win last week … Houston with a great performance, particularly out of their quarterback, Conner Weigman. They beat Drew Mestemaker and the Cowboys 35-32 in a great game. You know how I feel about Mestemaker. I think he’s one of the better quarterbacks in the country … Houston’s for real. I know that they lost that game earlier this year [against Texas Tech]. But man, they can throw the football, their defense can stop the run. Weigman is having a great season, he’s second in the country in touchdown passes and total touchdowns. He’s playing at a very high level. They’ve got two wide receivers that I like a lot, Amare Thomas and Trent Walker …  Now [Houston] has to go on the road and face Utah, who is historically very good at home in Salt Lake … I don’t love how Houston played on the road against Colorado. 

“I didn’t love what I saw from Utah. They faced a lot of lower-level competition, both from Power Four and otherwise to start, and they were hammering lower-end opponents. Then they face a few opponents with a pulse, like mid-Kansas and Colorado. They end up getting the wins, but in both of those games it’s in doubt in the second half. As much as you know, I love Utah, I didn’t even have them in my top 10… They still have Devon Dampier, they still have Wayshawn Parker. They should still be able to run the ball. But, Houston can stop the run … I think Utah could struggle to stop some of the run game against Conner Weigman and these two wide receivers. I see a bit of a higher scoring game. 

“I see Utah ultimately winning because of the home field … But I have to take the 6.5 towards Houston in this one. Utah wins it 31-27.”

Klatt’s straight-up pick: Utah
Klatt’s pick against the spread: Houston +6.5

Can LSU and Lane Kiffin avoid a road loss this season in its Week 8 showdown at Auburn? (Photo by Tyler Kaufman/Getty Images)

Spread: LSU -7.5
Moneyline: LSU -298, Auburn +240

Klatt’s thoughts: “LSU at Auburn. LSU is favored by 7.5 Auburn coming off of that huge win over Georgia … LSU routed Mississippi State 31-0. Remember, Mississippi State was without Kamario Taylor in that game, he was banged up, didn’t play. At Auburn, I think you’ve got to look at LSU on the road and what they have been not only this year but in the recent past. LSU struggles on the road. They’re 0-2 this year on the road. So, that needs to change for Lane Kiffin. Their defense needs to play well, obviously, because Byrum Brown has back-to-back 100-yard rushing games from the quarterback position, and that is the formula for Alex Golesh and Brown.

“Like, I don’t think Auburn is just going to get stomped out by LSU. They both have two losses, and 7.5 on the road is too much, not for a team that has lost their last six on the road. Now, I think LSU gets the win, but that’s too many, so I’ve got to take the 7.5. I think LSU wins this 34-30. I’m going to take the 7.5 for Auburn. 

“I know it’s an emotional win, and we have seen teams this year after emotional wins really have a letdown. I’m going to bank on the fact that [Auburn is] returning home and getting to play at home, and LSU’s got to go on the road. I’m banking that Golesh is going to get Brown going on the edge a little bit. We’ll see if LSU’s defense can react. LSU is banged up. Lane Kiffin’s lamenting the [nine-game conference schedule] … He’s trying to throw excuses in front of his team.”

Klatt’s straight-up pick: LSU
Klatt’s pick against the spread: Auburn +7.5

Jayden Maiava currently leads the Big Ten in passing yards with 2,045. (Photo by Joe Robbins/Icon Sportswire via Getty Images)

Spread: USC -2.5
Moneyline: USC -155, Wisconsin +130

Klatt’s thoughts: “USC at Wisconsin. USC favored by 2.5 on the road, coming off of a bye week. Their last matchup was on the road against Penn State in the whiteout. Wisconsin was on the road last week in L.A., getting beat by UCLA in a 17-7 game. I’m really interested to see what that Penn State win did for USC. Their confidence on the road, their overall operation on the road. We have seen them struggle mightily, in particular going east. Even this year when they tried to go out to Rutgers, they got the win but it was sloppy, in particular on the defensive side. Then they go out there and they get the win over Penn State … And Wisconsin was able to beat Penn State also at Penn State … I think this could be a close game.

“[USC has] got Trent Mosley back on the outside. They’re getting a little healthier after the bye week. I just think that even if you’re playing great defense, they’re still going to score 21, 24 points. They should be able to run football a little bit. Wisconsin’s not great against the run; they’re okay, but not great against the run. I like what Luke Fickell has done. I am a big fan of this Wisconsin team, but they can’t throw the football. Colton Joseph is a good, solid running quarterback, but they cannot throw the football. If that’s the floor for USC, the only way Wisconsin gets there is if USC props them up. So Jayden Maiava’s got to play clean. They can’t turn the football over. You can’t have special teams gaffes. And if they can play clean from a penalty perspective, I know that’s a huge if, huge if. I think USC is able to go out there and get the win on the road, even in a close game, and even in a close win. 

“You’ve got to have them covering the 2.5. USC, 24-20 in this ball game.”

Klatt’s straight-up pick: USC
Klatt’s pick against the spread: USC -2.5

Jeremy Hecklinski led the Hawkeyes to a 41-24 win over Washington in his first start for Iowa. (Photo by Steph Chambers/Getty Images)

Spread: Iowa -6.5
Moneyline: Iowa -258, Minnesota +210

Klatt’s thoughts: “Iowa at Minnesota. Iowa is ranked 15th, they’re favored by 6.5. They’re playing really well. They blew out Washington and Seattle the last time we saw them play. I like Minnesota. I love P.J. Fleck. How are they scoring 17 against Iowa in this game? I don’t see it. Meanwhile, they’re not stopping the run. Purdue ran for over 300 yards on the ground against Minnesota last week. Don’t love that aspect of what’s going on. 

“So here we are with Iowa … They’re going to run the football. They’re going to play great defense. They’re Iowa. I actually like Jeremy Hecklinski at quarterback, maybe even over Hank Brown. Their only loss was against Ohio State in a game in which Jeremiah Smith was going off and nobody on the planet could defend him. I think this is a team that’s going to be there in the end in the Big Ten. You look at their schedule: it is manageable. I like Reece Vander Zee, their wide receiver. I like Hecklinski. I like their tight end. Their defense is always good, and again, that rush defense from Minnesota just scares me. After Purdue was able to get after them on the ground, maybe the defense against Michigan was more about Michigan than it was against Minnesota. 

“I’m going to go Iowa in this one. I think that they cover the 6.5, even on the road, something along the lines of, you know 24-17.”

Klatt’s straight-up pick: Iowa
Klatt’s pick against the spread: Iowa -6.5