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Notre Dame will not take the field this weekend, enjoying a bye before its matchup with Navy next weekend. Despite the Irish being idle, the college football landscape offers several significant games in Week 8.
The downtime provides Notre Dame's coaching staff an opportunity to hit the recruiting trail, conduct a self-scout to diagnose what went wrong at BYU, and allow players to recover. Additionally, the staff can scout Miami, the opponent for the biggest game of the year.
The Fighting Irish Wire staff—Tim Healey, Sunny Verma, Kevin Smith, and Michael Chen—offer their picks for the weekend's top games.
Pittsburgh Panthers (5-2) at No. 1 Miami Hurricanes (6-0)
Saturday, Oct. 24 at 11 a.m. CDT on ESPN
Healey: Miami looks like a national title contender once again. While Notre Dame may challenge the Hurricanes in a few weeks, that is a concern for later. For now, Pittsburgh does not appear capable of pulling off an upset. Some years, Pitt is dangerous, and a couple of weeks ago the Panthers might have been. But Healey is not convinced they are, and he is sure Miami will handle them without issue.
Verma: The Hurricanes have momentum after climbing to No. 1. He expects them to win comfortably.
Smith: Miami's stay at No. 1 could last longer than most previous teams because it is undoubtedly a national title contender. Pittsburgh could put up a fight, but the Hurricanes should roll to a win.
Chen: The No. 1 curse has struck often, and Pittsburgh is a solid opponent. However, the Panthers lack the depth to keep pace with Miami, whose undefeated run toward the Irish continues.
No. 6 Indiana Hoosiers (6-1) at Michigan Wolverines (4-2)
Saturday, Oct. 24 at 11 a.m. CDT on FOX
Healey: Michigan is a mess—a talented mess that can win some games, but still a mess. Meanwhile, Indiana barely lost to a title-contending Ohio State team; if a wide receiver's foot had been placed better, the Hoosiers might still be undefeated. Healey picks Indiana.
Verma: He has a sneaky feeling about this game. He does not think Michigan wins outright, but the change at quarterback could be what wakes the Wolverines up. Indiana is good but not last year's team. Verma predicts Indiana squeaks out a win at the Big House.
Smith: He still firmly believes the Wolverines should be 3-3 (you know why). That said, Michigan is a hot mess and will not pick itself up completely anytime soon, especially after benching Bryce Underwood. Indiana, on the other hand, battled Ohio State and could have found a way to win. Coming off a loss, the Hoosiers will slip past Michigan and continue to rack up wins.
Chen: This is a huge game for both teams, as the Hoosiers look to rebound from a close defeat to Ohio State and the Wolverines are making a quarterback change. Indiana will start slow but will have more than enough left in the tank for a solid road win.
No. 18 LSU Tigers (5-2) at Auburn Tigers (4-2)
Saturday, Oct. 24 at 11 a.m. CDT on ABC
Healey: LSU is hard to read. Auburn just orchestrated a big upset. Healey has been getting his butt kicked in most of his non-Notre Dame picks. He is currently in search of scratch paper and a dartboard—tossing darts at paper labeled "LSU" and "Auburn" would probably work better. But since no dartboard is handy, he will shrug and take a ranked LSU team.
Verma: Flip a coin in the SEC this season. Auburn, coming off a huge upset last week, will try to ride that momentum with LSU coming to town. Verma thinks Auburn goes two for two in upsets and gets a big victory at home.
Smith: The SEC does not really know what it wants to be right now. There are upsets one after another, and the stunner Auburn pulled off against Alabama is the latest. If Auburn were to beat LSU, it would not be an upset considering LSU's losses to Ole Miss and Kentucky in recent weeks. Smith thinks Auburn has this one at home.
Chen: Interestingly, Auburn was not ranked after beating then-No. 1 Georgia to set up a top-25 matchup. They are still a very good team, and Chen still does not believe in LSU. The home Tigers get a second big win in a row.
No. 7 Ole Miss Rebels (5-1) at No. 19 Texas Longhorns (4-2)
Saturday, Oct. 24 at 6:30 p.m. CDT on ABC
Healey: This is where we learn if Texas is truly in a bad place this year or is not as bad as some say. Can they rebound from back-to-back losses? Or were they overrated from the start? Ole Miss, meanwhile, is quietly very good. If the game were at Ole Miss, Healey would take the Rebels. Since it is at Texas, the game is tougher to call. He will go with the Rebels, as he has a feeling Texas is still a bit rattled.
Verma: Is Texas's season spiraling downward? Oddly, Verma trusts Ole Miss more than what is going on in Austin right now. With whispers of Sark's job security already circulating, he is going with the Rebels.
Smith: He immediately says he is going with Ole Miss. Arch Manning is extremely overrated, and Texas will never be the team it wants to be in the SEC, especially with Steve Sarkisian at the helm. There is too much good going for the Rebels, and they will knock off the Longhorns with ease. Smith honestly believes the loss to Florida was a fluke, so Ole Miss will have this matchup in the bag.
Chen: Another SEC team that is not nearly as good as everyone thought is Texas, which has tons of talent but cannot put it together. They will try again, but it will not be easy, as the Rebels have built a very good program over the last few seasons. Ole Miss in a very close one.
No. 14 Houston Cougars (6-1) at No. 10 Utah Utes (6-0)
Saturday, Oct. 24 at 9:15 p.m. CDT on ESPN
Healey: Utah, like BYU, is playing the "we're really good but get no respect because no one sees our games" card. Houston is a very quiet 6-1. Healey thinks Utah takes a close one.
Verma: Big game for both teams if they have College Football Playoff hopes. Verma thinks Utah wins.
Smith: Utah is quietly putting itself into the College Football Playoff consideration, and honestly, why not? The thought of having two Utah-based teams (BYU) in the CFP is wildly interesting. Smith likes the Utes to pull this one out against the Cougars.
Chen: PAC-12 after dark vibes with this one, as most will be getting ready for bed. However, this one will be worth staying up for, as both offenses put up tons of points. It will be a high-scoring affair, as the Utes find a way late to pull it out and stay undefeated.
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This article originally appeared on Fighting Irish Wire: FIW staff picks winners of the top Week 8 games in college football.
Originally reported by yahoo.