College football odds, lines, schedule for Week 8: Texas opens as favorite vs. Ole Miss

Initial odds for college football's top Week 8 matchups are out

Oct 18, 2026 at 11:32 am ET • 3 min read

Two weeks away from the first set of College Football Playoff rankings coming out of the wildest Saturday across the sport in decades, the 2026 season has delivered in a big way so far.

For the first time in the 90-year history of the AP poll dating back to 1936, five of the top seven teams lost on the same afternoon, sparking a much-needed rebound opportunity for the perceived elites in Week 8. While next weekend's matchups within the top 25 fail to offer a litany of "good on good" games like last, the unpredictability of the sport this season continues to carry significant weight.

The only unbeatens remaining at midseason are BYU, James Madison, Miami, Texas Tech, UCLA and Utah after most of the unblemished went down on Saturday. Could more fall in Week 8 to unranked foes?

Let's take a look at the schedule and early lines.

Odds via FanDuel Sportsbook.

The big games

Ole Miss at Texas (-3.5): Will the Longhorns rebound as a home favorite against the Rebels, or will Steve Sarkisian lose a third straight SEC game and bring more questions to the Forty Acres this season? It benefits Texas if defensive end Colin Simmons, who leads the country with 10.5 sacks, returns after being carted off against Florida, but his injury status remains unknown. Trinidad Chambliss is the SEC's top individual playmaker at quarterback and has already had his way against two nationally-ranked opponents this fall with impressive wins over LSU and Missouri.

Indiana (-7.5) at Michigan: Backup quarterback Tommy Carr provided an immediate spark for the Wolverines against Penn State, leading multiple second-half touchdown drives after being plucked from the bench ahead of Bryce Underwood. Manufacturing that same level of success against the defending national champions, who saw their nation-leading 22-game winning streak snapped vs. Ohio State, is a different task entirely. Indiana hasn't won at Michigan Stadium since 1967, which is perhaps why this opening line seems a bit on the low side.

Tennessee (-2.5) at South Carolina: Can Shane Beamer knock off another top-15 SEC opponent with the Gamecocks? He's had an extra week to prepare -- 3-4 overall at South Carolina in that spot -- for what the Vols bring to Williams-Brice Stadium in a pivotal matchup for Tennessee's lasting CFP hopes. The Gamecocks clicked for the first time all season offensively last time out at Florida after LaNorris Sellers accounted for five total touchdowns. These two have split their last eight meetings dating back to 2016.

Houston at Utah (-5.5): The Utes survived a Big 12 warning shot at Colorado on Saturday night and now get a red-hot Cougars squad hoping to occupy one of the conference's multiple seats at the CFP table. Houston held off Oklahoma State, 35-32, in Week 7 behind Conner Weigman's five touchdown passes. For Utah, protecting home turf means preserving its unbeaten record and strengthening a playoff résumé that needs its first quality win with BYU looming on Nov. 7.

LSU (-6.5) at Auburn: Alex Golesh and the Tigers just knocked the SEC's king off the throne and now comes the tricky part: doing it again at home with everyone paying closer attention. LSU's coming off a 31-point demolition of Mississippi State and knows the margin for error is near zero the rest of the way in SEC play. Was Auburn's win between the hedges a turning point for the program or this season's signature moment? We'll know more after Week 8 inside Jordan-Hare.

Best of the rest

• Pittsburgh at Miami (-22.5)
• Texas A&M at Alabama (-15.5)
• BYU (-7.5) at UCF
• Texas Tech (-11.5) at Cincinnati
• Michigan State at UCLA (-12.5)
• Vanderbilt at Kentucky (-11.5)
• Oklahoma (-2.5) at Mississippi State
• Iowa (-5.5) at Minnesota
• Colorado at Oklahoma State (-13.5)
• USC (-2.5) at Wisconsin
• Boise State (-13.5) at Washington State
• California at SMU (-17.5)
• Rutgers at Northwestern (-15.5)