AL.com college football staff picks for Week 8 of 2024
We’re at the midway point of the 2024 college football season, and also of AL.com’s college football staff picks.
The “second half” of the season is a doozy in the SEC, with Alabama at Tennessee only the second-biggest game on the docket. Texas hosts Georgia in a game that not only could shake up the top of the conference standings, but also the national rankings.
Among our in-state favorites, Auburn and UAB are both on the road for conference games on Saturday. Jacksonville State is on a bye, while Troy and South Alabama played Tuesday, and thus too early to make it into this week’s picks.
On our panel, shoutout to Mark Inabinett for an 8-2 showing last week, moving him into sole possession of first place. Patrick Greenfield and Andrew Hammond are nipping at his heels, a game back. (Full disclosure: due to an accounting error — actually, my inability to read an email font correctly — I misread one of Mark’s picks last week. We’ve corrected the mistake and the overall record.)
Scroll along below to find out how various AL.com sports staffers see this week’s games playing out. We’ve also given predicted scores for this week’s Alabama game.
A reminder that these picks are AGAINST THE SPREAD. That means that each person’s selection doesn’t necessarily mean he or she thinks that team will win outright, just that it will cover the point spread.
On with this week’s picks (all times Central and all games Saturday unless noted):
Miami (-4) at Louisville, 11 a.m., ABC
Thomas Ashworth: Louisville
Michael Casagrande: Miami
Patrick Greenfield: Miami
Andrew Hammond: Miami
Mark Inabinett: Miami
Nick Kelly: Miami
Peter Rauterkus: Louisville
Creg Stephenson: Miami
Nebraska (+6.5) at Indiana, 11 a.m., Fox
Thomas Ashworth: Nebraska
Michael Casagrande: Indiana
Patrick Greenfield: Nebraska
Andrew Hammond: Nebraska
Mark Inabinett: Nebraska
Nick Kelly: Indiana
Peter Rauterkus: Indiana
Creg Stephenson: Indiana
South Carolina (+2.5) at Oklahoma, 11:45 a.m., SEC Network
Thomas Ashworth: Oklahoma
Michael Casagrande: South Carolina
Patrick Greenfield: Oklahoma
Andrew Hammond: South Carolina
Mark Inabinett: Oklahoma
Nick Kelly: South Carolina
Peter Rauterkus: Oklahoma
Creg Stephenson: South Carolina
Notre Dame (-8.5) at Georgia Tech, 2:30 p.m., ESPN
Thomas Ashworth: Notre Dame
Michael Casagrande: Notre Dame
Patrick Greenfield: Notre Dame
Andrew Hammond: Georgia Tech
Mark Inabinett: Notre Dame
Nick Kelly: Notre Dame
Peter Rauterkus: Notre Dame
Creg Stephenson: Notre Dame
Michigan (-1.5) at Illinois, 2:30 p.m., CBS
Thomas Ashworth: Michigan
Michael Casagrande: Michigan
Patrick Greenfield: Illinois
Andrew Hammond: Michigan
Mark Inabinett: Illinois
Nick Kelly: Michigan
Peter Rauterkus: Illinois
Creg Stephenson: Michigan
LSU (-3) at Arkansas, 6 p.m., ESPN
Thomas Ashworth: LSU
Michael Casagrande: LSU
Patrick Greenfield: LSU
Andrew Hammond: LSU
Mark Inabinett: Arkansas
Nick Kelly: LSU
Peter Rauterkus: LSU
Creg Stephenson: LSU
Georgia (+3.5) at Texas, 6:30 p.m., ABC
Thomas Ashworth: Georgia
Michael Casagrande: Texas
Patrick Greenfield: Texas
Andrew Hammond: Texas
Mark Inabinett: Georgia
Nick Kelly: Texas
Peter Rauterkus: Texas
Creg Stephenson: Texas
UAB (+13.5) at South Florida, 2:30 p.m., ESPN+
Thomas Ashworth: South Florida
Michael Casagrande: South Florida
Patrick Greenfield: South Florida
Andrew Hammond: South Florida
Mark Inabinett: South Florida
Nick Kelly: South Florida
Peter Rauterkus: South Florida
Creg Stephenson: South Florida
Auburn (+6.5) at Missouri, 11 a.m., ESPN
Thomas Ashworth: Missouri 31, Auburn 23
Michael Casagrande: Missouri 28, Auburn 19
Patrick Greenfield: Missouri 28, Auburn 21
Andrew Hammond: Missouri 35, Auburn 21
Mark Inabinett: Missouri 28, Auburn 24
Nick Kelly: Missouri 30, Auburn 20
Peter Rauterkus: Missouri 27, Auburn 24
Creg Stephenson: Missouri 31, Auburn 20
Alabama (-2.5) at Tennessee, 2:30 p.m., ABC
Thomas Ashworth: Alabama 34, Tennessee 31
Michael Casagrande: Tennessee 21, Alabama 20
Patrick Greenfield: Alabama 24, Tennessee 21
Andrew Hammond: Tennessee 36, Alabama 31
Mark Inabinett: Alabama 28, Tennessee 27
Nick Kelly: Alabama 27, Tennessee 23
Peter Rauterkus: Tennessee 35, Alabama 31
Creg Stephenson: Alabama 23, Tennessee 21
Standings after Week 7
Mark Inabinett 39-31 (8-2 last week)
Patrick Greenfield 38-32 (5-5 last week)
Andrew Hammond 38-32 (4-6 last week)
Peter Rauterkus 37-33 (4-6 last week)
Michael Casagrande 36-34 (4-6 last week)
Nick Kelly 35-35 (5-5 last week)
Thomas Ashworth 33-37 (4-6 last week)
Creg Stephenson 33-37 (7-3 last week)