College Football Predictions 2018: Picks for the biggest games of Week 8

Oklahoma at TCU (12 p.m. ET, ABC)

Spread: Oklahoma -8

TCU has not recovered from their second-half collapse against Ohio State in Week 3. Gary Patterson’s defense has been customarily strong, ranking 14th in S&P+, but their offense has completely failed them, particularly over the last three weeks.

The Horned Frogs have failed to score 20-points in those three games, and have only eclipsed 400-yards of offense in just one of those games. You could have chalked up the first two games – against Texas and Iowa State – to just running into good defenses, but TCU scored only 14 points last week in the loss to Texas Tech, against a defense that ranks 105th in total defense and gives up 28 points per game.

A big part of the problem has been the struggles of starting quarterback Shawn Robinson, who has posted a QB rating of 125, which ranks ninth in the Big 12. He’s already thrown eight interceptions, and has thrown more than one interception in three of his six starts. It’s fair to wonder whether Gary Patterson will consider pulling the plug on Robinson and hand the ball to Penn transfer Michael Collins.

Oklahoma had a productive bye-week after their Red River loss to Texas that saw them jump back into the AP top 10. The Sooners are itching for a rematch with the Longhorns in the Big 12 Championship game, and they still control their own destiny to get there.

Kyler Murray has been one of the nation’s best, and most efficient, quarterbacks, and has teamed with Marquise Brown to make for one of the nation’s deadliest QB/WR tandems. Brown’s lightning speed is a perfect fit for Murray’s deep-ball. The Sooners offense will be challenged against a good TCU defense, but they’re still likely to find a decent bit of success — plus a struggling offense is just what the Sooners defense needs to get back on track.

Pick: Oklahoma 41, TCU 24