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Brant's bold predictions for Week 8 of the 2026 college football season, including picks for Miami, Indiana, Texas, Tennessee, and more.
We just witnessed what was one of the most shocking weekends of college football ever, as the teams ranked 1, 2, 5, 6, and 7 all lost, and third-ranked Miami also nearly fell in overtime. With no team emerging as a clear-cut favorite above the rest of the field, we’re due for what could be the most chaotic college football season ever.
This coming weekend doesn’t have quite the marquee matchups that last weekend had on paper, but we all know that any given slate can provide a slew of unexpected upsets.
I’ve got a mix of blowouts and upsets in my bold call column here this week. Read on to see my top five bold calls for Week 8.
No. 1 Miami Wins by 50
With all of the craziness in our sport last weekend, Miami is the new No. 1 team despite nearly losing to Florida State on Saturday night. Despite the near-miss, this Hurricanes team is for real, and I think they show the world who they are this coming Saturday as 5-2 Pitt comes to town.
The Panthers started the season undefeated, but it has been tough sledding since Mason Heintschel tore his ACL. They’ve dropped their last two to North Carolina and Boston College, which are not exactly powerhouses. Pittsburgh has struggled to find any rhythm at quarterback, rotating between Holden Geriner and Corey Dailey over the past two losses.
It was all downhill for Dailey after this play.
75-YARD OPENING PLAY TOUCHDOWN 🤯
@Dailey4Corey ➡️ Blue Hicks
📺 ESPN2
Pitt 7, Boston College 0 https://t.co/ALQRtxijzx
— Pitt Football (@Pitt_FB) October 17, 2026
Miami has surrendered just 14.0 points per game on the season, and against a Pitt team that has struggled to move the ball without its quarterback, I like this one to get ugly early. I also don’t think Mario Cristobal will be afraid to keep it rolling, and I'm having a very tough time seeing a way that the Panthers find the end zone.
I’ve got the top-ranked Miami Hurricanes rolling by 50+ against Pitt this weekend, looking like a true No. 1 team behind offensive stars Darian Mensah and Malachi Toney and a shutout defensive performance.
Tommy Carr Leads Michigan Over Indiana in First Career Start
There has not been any official word from Kyle Whittingham yet, but Bryce Underwood was benched in favor of freshman Tommy Carr in last week’s win over Penn State. I’m dropping two bold predictions in one here; one being that Tommy Carr draws the start, and the other being that the Wolverines beat Indiana.
Michigan makes a change -- Tommy Carr is in at QB. https://t.co/NRsToZrRtp
— CBS Sports College Football 🏈 (@CBSSportsCFB) October 17, 2026
The Hoosiers are the best-coached team in college football and are insanely talented and deep on both sides of the ball. Coming off a hard-fought loss to Ohio State, they now have to travel to one of the toughest environments in sports, in Ann Arbor, to play a rejuvenated Michigan team coming off a big win over Penn State. This is a strong candidate to be a letdown spot for Curt Cignetti’s defending champs.
If the Wolverines can play through the trenches, they’ve got a fighting chance in this one to keep their season alive. I like Tommy Carr to keep them in the game in a game-manager role, while the defense attempts to force mistakes from Josh Hoover. Behind a home crowd that is searching for a big win, give me Michigan over Indiana in a very tight game.
LSU Dominates Auburn
Auburn is coming off one of the most unlikely wins in program history, upsetting top-ranked Georgia in Athens in one of the most head-scratching results we’ve seen in recent memory. Alex Golesh is the real deal, and this Auburn team has some fight in it despite a slow start in SEC play.
However, Auburn now has to host an LSU team that appeared to regain some fight in last weekend’s 31-0 win over a short-handed Mississippi State team. The War Eagle faithful will certainly pack the stadium, as hopes are now as high as they’ve been in a long time in Auburn.
Tigers fans have been waiting to be relevant on the national scale for quite a while now, but I think they come crashing back down to Earth this week. The program is on a great trajectory, made the right hire, and earned what was potentially the win of the season last week, but I still think that they don’t have the pieces to stack up back-to-back wins against two of the SEC’s best.
Xavier Atkins is officially no longer with the team, and Lane Kiffin’s offense is starting to click. I think it explodes this week in a prove-it spot for the Tigers. Give me the (LSU) Tigers in a beatdown over Auburn on the road.
Ole Miss Blows Out Texas, Arch Manning Benched
There are already early rumblings about Arch Manning’s future as the starting quarterback at Texas. Steve Sarkisian publicly challenged his quarterback to be better after the loss to Florida, and has given backup KJ Lacey Jr. increased reps with the first team at practice this week.
If Manning struggles in this one the way that he has in the previous two games, he could find himself on the bench in favor of Lacey. On the defensive side of the ball, superstar Colin Simmons is going to miss this week with a high ankle sprain.
The Longhorns are running into Ole Miss at an inopportune time. Trinidad Chambliss and the Rebels are firing on all cylinders, coming off a dominant 31-3 win over Missouri. Outside of the hiccup to Florida, this team has looked like it could compete for a national championship once again this season.
Playing in Austin under the lights is no easy feat, but Chambliss has been in big games before. He never allows the moment to get to him, and with Texas’ best defensive player out, the Rebels will score points. As a matter of fact, I think they score so many points that Texas can’t keep up.
The game of the week may not be much of a game after all if Manning struggles early and the Rebels are clicking, and I can foresee both of those things happening.
South Carolina Sneaks by Tennessee
With the perceived top of the SEC in Georgia, Texas, and Alabama all falling last week, it’s anybody’s guess as to who ends up on top of the conference this season. A popular pick is the Tennessee Volunteers, who have played some great football this season and seem to be improving each week.
This week, they travel to Columbia to play an up-and-down South Carolina team. The last time we saw the Gamecocks two weeks ago, they pounded Florida 38-19 on the road. Prior to that, they were 0-3 in SEC play, having narrowly lost to Kentucky in overtime the week before.
Fresh off a bye, LaNorris Sellers and company have been preparing to host the Volunteers for two weeks. Whether Dylan Stewart is ready or not is another question, but I believe Shane Beamer has a great game plan in place to take the Vols down to the wire.
Dylan Stewart on his Instagram story today. It has since been deleted. Does Shane Beamer have a culture problem? https://t.co/zasp0omxvx
— The Average Vols Fan (@BasedVols) October 20, 2026
South Carolina needs this one to keep the team energized and coming off a bye while the Volunteers are coming off a hard-fought win; they are in a good spot to do so in front of their home crowd.
Sellers has looked much more like the 2024 version of himself than the 2025 version, and while he will be faced with the tough task of facing the hot Jim Knowles defense, I like him to extend plays and keep the Gamecocks afloat in this one.
South Carolina has only given up 103.7 rush yards per game this season, and Tennessee’s offense flows through the run. I expect this to be a smashmouth game between two fired-up teams, and I like South Carolina to keep the momentum building in front of its home crowd.
