The 2025 college football season rolls on with Thursday and Friday games as Week 8 gets going. Welcome to our CFB Best Bets as we break down CFB picks for this week’s action. Let’s focus on two matchups for our CFB predictions. Plus, check out more college football bets below. 

We’ll kick things off with a Thursday night AAC matchup between Tulsa and East Carolina. Plus, Nebraska takes on Minnesota in the Big Ten on Friday night. All bets below are for one unit unless otherwise noted. All odds and lines are accurate as of this writing, but subject to change. Without further ado, let’s dive into our CFB Best Bets. 

 

 

 

CFB Picks, Predictions & Best Bets: Thursday, 10/16

Thursday night’s Week 8 slate features just one game as East Carolina hosts Tulsa in an American Athletic Conference matchup. The home Pirates are sizable 17.5-point favorites with a 54.5 over/under. Let’s break it down to begin our CFB picks. 

Tulsa vs. East Carolina Prediction: Thursday, October 16th

East Carolina should win this game fairly easily as three-score favorites at home. The Pirates lost a close one on the road last week and will be poised to get back on track. Meanwhile, Tulsa is 0-3 in conference play in another down year. 

ECU could cover the double-digit spread in a comfortable victory, but let’s just focus on one aspect of this game. Tulsa will struggle to score and keep this competitive. Grab the under on its road team total, that’s just a tick too high.

Tulsa is averaging just 18.7 points per game this season, ranking 120th in the country. That average even drops down further to 15.4 PPG against FBS competition (123rd). It’s also failed to score 20 points in 4 of the last 5 games entering this week. 

The Golden Hurricane offense has had issues both through the air and on the ground. The advanced metrics show us that Tulsa ranks 109th nationally in offensive EPA/Pass and 119th in EPA/Rush. It also comes in at 125th in total offensive EPA and 99th in offensive success rate. 

Meanwhile, East Carolina has the defense to limit Tulsa’s struggling offense. The Pirates are allowing only 15.5 PPG this year (15th in FBS) while ranking 42nd in total defense. The unit is also 26th in the country in defensive EPA/Play and 15th in defensive success rate. 

ECU is especially strong against the run. Per advanced stats, the Pirates are 4th in college football in EPA/Rush allowed and 3rd in success rate vs. the run. That’s trouble for Tulsa. When the Golden Hurricane offense has had any success, it’s been on the ground. 

 

 

CFB Picks, Predictions & Best Bets: Friday, 10/17

Let’s turn our attention to Friday’s slate for our CFB best bets. Minnesota hosts Nebraska in a matchup of Big Ten programs. The No. 25 Cornhuskers are favored by 7.5 points on the road here, but the total is our focus in what could be a defensive battle. Plus, the Golden Gophers’ team total will be included in our CFB predictions. 

Nebraska vs. Minnesota Prediction: Friday, October 17th

This sets up to be an intriguing Friday night Big Ten clash. Nebraska is 5-1 and ranked in the AP Poll for the first time since September of last year. It’s also the first instance the Cornhuskers have been ranked this late in the season since 2016. Meanwhile, Minnesota enters at 4-2 with a solid 2-1 start to conference play. 

At first glance, this game could be higher-scoring based on the offenses involved. Nebraska is averaging 41.0 points per game this year (11th in FBS) while Minnesota is at 27.3 PPG. Plus, these teams are a combined 9-3 to the over this season. Yet, we’re looking at just a 46.5 game total that’s actually dropped a bit this week. 

If we dive deeper, the under is the play here. Both defenses have advantages to limit explosive plays and scoring overall in their respective matchups. Nebraska should win this game, and could easily cover the spread, but counting on a lower-scoring outcome is the better bet. 

Nebraska’s defense is especially elite at defending the pass. The Cornhuskers lead all of college football in passing yards allowed per game (118.0) and passing yards per attempt (4.5). The defense also ranks 13th nationally in success rate against the pass and 15th in EPA/Pass. 

This is a problem for Minnesota, which generates most of its offense through the air. Conversely, the Gophers rank 115th in the country in rushing yards per game, 111th in yards per carry, and 125th in EPA/Rush. They’ve struggled to get the ground game going, but will be forced the run the ball more in this matchup. Thus, points and successful drives will be hard to come by. 

On the other side, Minnesota can also keep Nebraska’s offense in check enough. The Gophers rank 27th in the FBS in total defense this year with top-50 units against both the run and pass. The defense also ranks 29th nationally in EPA/Play. 

Nebraska’s offense has been impressive more often than not this year, with QB Dylan Raiola playing well overall. Yet, he’s also been shaky in conference play recently. Raiola has thrown 5 interceptions over the past three games, including 3 last week on the road at Maryland. He could struggle a bit in a second straight road game against an above-average Minnesota defense. 

Let’s take the under for this Big Ten matchup. It’s worth noting that the under has hit in four of the last five meetings between Nebraska and Minnesota, going back to 2019. Plus, add in the under on the Golden Gophers’ team total. 

 

 

 

Best CFB Prop Bets & Other Picks for Friday, Week 8

 

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