Josh Pate Best Bets: Week 8 College Football Picks, Predictions

College football analyst Josh Pate is locking in his picks for this weekend’s college football slate. Week 8’s showdowns feature some marquee games, and there’s some money to be made.

On the latest episodes of Josh Pate’s College Football Show, the college football insider focused on a myriad of interesting contests. Among the enticing games on the slate are Ole Miss at Georgia, Tennessee at Alabama, USC at Notre Dame, Utah at BYU and LSU at Vanderbilt

Check out Pate’s predictions below. While the lines may have shifted a bit since his choices were locked in, it’s easy to see where he stands at the moment on each college football game. All lines listed are courtesy of BetMGM. Note that this list will be updated throughout the week as Pate’s shows roll on and more picks come in.

Syracuse (+10.5) vs. Pittsburgh

Syracuse is coming off back-to-back losses but will now return home to face Pittsburgh. Pittsburgh has won its last two, including a road win against a ranked Florida State team. Pate grabbed an early line on this one.

Josh Pate: “I’ve got two games that I’m going to put on the Ramen Noodle Express as Best Bets of this week. One of them is Syracuse +11.5, they are playing Pitt. Big due down spot for Pitt. I still think there’s a little bit of value to be had in Syracuse. Now you know I love betting backup quarterbacks. Just because it bit me with Arizona State last night doesn’t mean I’m not going right back to the well. We have made a small fortune betting backup quarterbacks in this game, and we’ll do it again with Syracuse.”

Mississippi State (+10.0) at Florida

Florida is coming off a tough loss to Texas A&M and the noise has cranked up to 100 on coach Billy Napier. Many are speculating this could be his final game if it isn’t a win. That puts a lot of pressure on the home team, Pate said.

Josh Pate: “We will go with Mississippi State +9.5 at Florida. Guys, there are too many points being given in that game, that’s all I’m going to tell you. One organization is extremely highly motivated and the other one I think may have run out of gas yesterday. There’s a lot of talk around Florida football right now and Mississippi State’s going to sneak down in there and I think hang with Florida, so I’ll take +9.5 all day long.”

Arizona (-1.5) at Houston
Northern Illinois (+11.5) at Ohio

The next two picks for Josh Pate’s Ramen Noodle Express were made on Tuesday night. Pate doesn’t provide quite as much insight on these picks as his game previews, but they’re typically lines he likes based on his model. Of note here: He seems to have gotten a very good early line on Arizona, picking the Wildcats to cover at +1.5 while BetMGM has the current line listed as Arizona -1.5. So be careful there.

Josh Pate: “Arizona +1.5 against Houston. And we’re going to, again, ride with Northern Illinois +11.5, they are at Ohio. That’s going to be a tough game for them. That’s why they’re being given 11.5 points.”

James Madison (+1.5) vs. Old Dominion
Utah (-3.5) vs. BYU

Two more picks were added by Pate on Thursday night, completing his best bets for the week. One comes in the Group of Five, before taking a side in a bitter in-state rivalry.

“James Madison, always loved that guy. James Madison +1.5 against Old Dominion, taking him. He and his team… And Utah. Yeah, we’re taking Utah. Holy War bet here. Utah -3.5 at Brigham Young.”

Georgia Tech (+3) at Duke

Georgia Tech is 6-0 but it’s the underdog against Duke on Saturday. Pate picked up the Yellow Jackets while they were 3.5-point underdogs, but there still could be serious value in taking Georgia Tech.

After all, the Yellow Jackets are coming off a convincing 35-20 win over Virginia Tech. In the victory, quarterback Haynes King tallied 213 passing yards and a touchdown, while notching 60 yards and two scores in the ground game.

Nevada (+13.5) at New Mexico

Nobody knows how to search for hidden gems quite like Josh Pate, and this week is no exception. Pate is picking Nevada to cover the spread on the road. After suffering four consecutive losses, perhaps Nevada is due for an improved performance this weekend.

Pate: “So, Nevada is at New Mexico — a game we will all be glued to. We got Nevada +13.5. I am betting Nevada +13.5 and adding them as a Ramen Noodle best bet.”

Bowling Green (-3.5) vs. Central Michigan

Pate added another under-radar-game to his best bets list when he picked Nevada to cover the spread against Central Michigan. Bowling Green is riding high into Week 8 after defeating Toledo 28-23 last weekend.

Pate: “Bowling Green laying 3.5, don’t care. Got them winning by seven. So, Bowling Green -3.5 against Central Michigan, we’re taking that one.”

UNLV (+12.5) at Boise State

UNLV is red-hot and Pate isn’t confident Boise State can contain the Rebels. With head coach Dan Mullen leading the charge, UNLV is 6-0. In Week 7, UNLV defeated Air Force in a 51-48 shootout. Pate bet on UNLV when it was a 13.5-point underdog, but BetMGM currently has the line set at +12.5.

Pate: “We have Boise graded from a pure power ratings, odds making perspective as the No. 1 home field in America, which just means Boise’s home versus road — their home field bakes in a ridiculous added point value. Having said that, we are taking UNLV +13.5.

UTSA (+4.5) at North Texas

Pate took UTSA when it was a 3.5-point underdog to North Texas. He would’ve leapt at the opportunity to take the Roadrunners with a +4.5 spread.

UTSA is 3-3 and produced a dominant 61-13 triumph over Rice last week. In the win, UTSA held Rice to just 79 total passing yards. In contrast, the Roadrunners racked up 246 passing yards against the Owls. If UTSA can replicate its offensive success on Saturday, it could not only cover the spread but win outright.

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