Weekend Watch Guide: An Oklahoma State Fan’s Guide to Week 8 of the College Football Season

It’s a big week both in the Big 12 and around the country in the college football sphere.

Some of the Big 12’s top contenders go face to face while the SEC features a trio of games pinning ranked opponents against each other. Here is a look at some of the Week 8 action.

Big 12 Schedule

Arizona (4-2) at Houston (5-1) — 11 a.m. Saturday on FS1
Baylor (4-2) at TCU (4-2) — 11 a.m. Saturday on ESPN2
West Virginia (2-4) at UCF (3-3) — 12 p.m. Saturday on TNT
No. 7 Texas Tech (6-0) at Arizona State (4-2) 3 p.m. Saturday on FOX
No. 24 Cincinnati (5-1) at Oklahoma State (1-5) — 7 p.m. Saturday on ESPN2
No. 23 Utah (5-1) at No. 15 BYU (6-0) — 7 p.m. Saturday on FOX

Baylor-TCU: Known officially as the Bluebonnet Battle (while others call it The Revivalry), the winner of this game will hang around the Big 12 title picture while the loser will have some extra work to do to get to Arlington. Baylor beat TCU 37-34 last season in Waco, but it was the Bears’ first win in the series since 2019.

Texas Tech-Arizona State: Last year’s Big 12 champs will host the team that has cruised to a 6-0 record this year. The Sun Devils laid an egg in Salt Lake City last weekend. Something tells me Kenny Dillingham will have his team juiced for this one. Meanwhile, Tech’s closest games this season have been a pair they won by 24 points each.

Utah-BYU: The Holy War, what else needs to be said? Last year this game ended with the Utah AD getting in front of the microphone and speaking ill of Big 12 officiating after the Cougars went to Salt Lake City and won 22-21. Both of these teams are new, but this is the conference’s premier rivalry.

Other Games to Watch

Louisville (4-1) at No. 2 Miami (5-0) — 6 p.m. Friday on ESPN
No. 10 LSU (5-1) at No. 17 Vanderbilt (5-1) — 11 a.m. Saturday on ABC
No. 5 Ole Miss (6-0) at No. 9 Georgia (5-1) — 2:30 p.m. Saturday on ABC
No. 11 Tennessee (5-1) at No. 6 Alabama (5-1) — 6:30 p.m. Saturday on ABC
No. 20 USC (5-1) at No. 13 Notre Dame (4-2) — 6:30 p.m. Saturday on NBC

LSU-Vandy: Vanderbilt is a good football team, but the expectation in Baton Rouge is to beat Vanderbilt in every football game. How will Diego Pavia and the Commodores respond to a loss in Tuscaloosa? How loud will the noise get if LSU drops this one? This is a big game.

Tennessee-Alabama: It is the third Saturday in October. Tennessee has won two of three in this series, but the Vols haven’t won in Tuscaloosa since 2003. And that game took five overtimes to get it worked out. After a Week 1 loss, the Tide have looked like a contender, but the SEC schedule is a tricky one to navigate.

USC-Notre Dame: After starting 0-2, Notre Dame needed USC to be in a good spot when this game around for the Irish’s playoff resume. Well, USC is in a good spot, but perhaps in too good a spot. Outside of a two-point loss in Illinois, this has been Lincoln Riley’s most-promising start to a season in LA, but the Trojans still have a trip to Oregon upcoming. So, they need to stack as many wins as possible for their own resume.

Watercooler Talk

Tulsa (2-4) at East Carolina (3-3) — 6:30 p.m. Thursday on ESPN
No. 14 Oklahoma (5-1) at South Carolina (3-3) — 11:45 a.m. Saturday on SEC Network

Tulsa-ECU: The Golden Hurricane has beaten two teams this season: Abilene Christian and Oklahoma State.

OU-South Carolina: After what was a fantastic start for the Sooners, things are a little hairy after another disappointing trip to the Cotton Bowl. This is OU’s last game against a team that isn’t currently in the AP Poll.