Week 8 college football picks: Alabama-Texas A&M, Ohio State-Penn State, more

At this point of the season, we should have a pretty good idea of where most teams belong in the national pecking order. It’s clear squads like Alabama and Ohio State are title contenders, while others such as Michigan State and Notre Dame will struggle to reach bowl eligibility. Yet there’s another group of teams that remains difficult to classify. How good is West Virginia? Is Utah a threat to win the Pac-12? Can Nebraska make the College Football Playoff? The second half of the season will provide answers to those questions and more. This weekend’s slate of games is headlined by a showdown between top-10 teams in the SEC West (Alabama-Texas A&M), but don’t overlook other intriguing matchups in the Big Ten East (Ohio State-Penn State) and Big 12 (West Virginia-TCU). A panel of Sports Illustrated writers and editors (Andy Staples, Pete Thamel, Lindsay Schnell, Brian Hamilton, Joan Niesen, Colin Becht and Gabriel Baumgaertner) made its picks for every big game.

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