Auburn football has the week off, and after the last 3 weeks of SEC play, it isn’t particularly unwelcomed by Tiger fans. Bryan Harsin and co. will be traveling all over the country to various football-rich regions, but the head coach’s decision to recruit the Kansas JUCO circuit is upsetting fans who wish he’d pay more attention to his home state.
The 2022 season has gone essentially exactly how many expected it to so far. Losses to teams in or flirting with the AP Top 25 are having little difficulty putting them away, while AU is still pulling off the expected victories over teams in a worse spot than them.
With the Week 8 bye finally here, many of you will tune out from Auburn football for your own sanity. The temperature is rising this weekend, so outdoor activities will be appropriate for those in that boat.
For those that need their college football fix? We got you. Here are some of Fly War Eagle’s best bets for Week 8 of the 2022 college football season:
Auburn football fans should be envious of Josh Heupel in Year 2 at Tennessee
Week 7 was bittersweet for Auburn football fans who saw Tennessee win its first Third Saturday in October matchup over Alabama since 2006. On one hand, the Crimson Tide lost, and that speaks for itself. On the other, the Tigers are in the same boat as the Volunteers — having a second-year coach make the Group of Five to Power Five jump — but are seeing none of the same success.
Josh Heupel has singlehandedly formed a juggernaut in Knoxville by handing the offense to Hendon Hooker and watching him morph into a Heisman candidate. With momentum on its side, Tennessee will do in Week 8 what Auburn couldn’t in Week 1: cover the spread against an FCS team.
Pick: Tennessee -38 (-110)
*Game odds provided by Action Network, refresh periodically, and are subject to change.
Texas A&M is due to bounce back on the road
After a home-heavy first third of their 2022 schedule which included a shocking upset to the Sun Belt’s Appalachian State, Texas A&M took two straight road losses to Mississippi State and Alabama before having their bye last week.
With talks of firing Jimbo Fisher on the table after he re-signed a $95 million extension set to run through the 2031 season, the Aggies will shake off a rough first half of the regular season and handle their business against South Carolina in Columbia.
Pick: Texas A&M -3.5 (-104)
*Game odds provided by Fanduel, refresh periodically, and are subject to change.
Alabama will continue to fail to meet Tide fans’ expectations
Nick Saban has been speaking about Mike Leach’s ‘Air Raid’ offensive game plan and Mississippi State quarterback Will Rogers with great reverence. After going against the popular media line about how the Texas A&M would go, we have to trust what the 70-year-old coaching legend says heading into these games.
Alabama will win, but it won’t cover the three-touchdown line.
Pick: Mississippi State +21 (-115)
*Game odds provided by Sports Betting Dime, refresh periodically, and are subject to change.