Breaking Down Prominent College Football Matchups for Week 8

#24 Michigan vs. #22 Illinois

Michigan will be fighting for their college football playoff lives this week against their Big 10 rival, Illinois. Illinois is coming off a thriller against Purdue where they emerged victorious 50-49 in overtime. However, Illinois hasn’t performed well against ranked teams this year, so Michigan might have a chance to get a road-ranked win this week. This matchup will come down to how effective Michigan is offensively. Michigan at times has looked competent offensively, but for the most part, they have been stuck in neutral as they can’t figure out their quarterback situation. If Michigan can stay ahead of the chains with the running game, to put whoever their quarterback is in a good situation, then Michigan has a good chance of winning this game on the road.

#7 Alabama vs. #11 Tennessee

Alabama has not looked liked itself the past few weeks as they barely beat South Carolina last week and lost to Vanderbilt the week prior. Now Alabama travels to Knoxville to take on Tennessee in a hostile SEC environment. Tennessee is coming off an SEC thriller of their own as they barely survived against Florida last week, winning 23-17 in overtime. Jalen Milroe has not played well these past two weeks and Tennessee needs to take advantage of his poor play this week if they want to win at home. Although Tennessee’s offense wasn’t as explosive last week as they have been this season, they did show that their offense can come alive when called upon late in the game. This matchup will come down to who can perform well down the stretch as I expect this game to come down to the wire.

#5 Georgia vs. #1 Texas

Texas has dominated this season, crushing any opponent in their path. Their closest game this season was against Michigan when they won 31-12! Now Texas takes on an SEC giant with the Georgia Bulldogs. Georgia has underperformed ever since the season opener when they buried Clemson  34-3! If this game is anything like the Alabama vs. Georgia game a few weeks ago, then this should be a thriller. Georgia needs to be dominant on the ground and be less reliant on Carson Beck to throw the ball. This means that if Georgia falls behind Texas early, then expect Carson Beck to throw at least one interception as Georgia attempts to come back. Additionally, the Georgia defense has been unusually bad the past few weeks. This defense will need to come alive versus Texas if Georgia is going to stand a chance at upsetting the best team in the country.