College football picks: Best money line parlays for Week 8 include Missouri, LSU

Week 8 of the 2025 college football season has every team in the top 25 in action, with five games pitting ranked schools against each other. The top 25 saw a 20% overhaul last week as five programs dropped out of the rankings following losses - including Illinois, which lost as the No. 17 team to No. 1 Ohio State 34-16.

The highest-ranked team to depart was then-No. 15 Michigan as it was defeated 31-13 by USC, which returns the rankings at No. 20 after being as high as No. 21 three weeks ago. The Trojans are participating in one of this week's games that involves two ranked teams as they take on No. 13 Notre Dame at 7:30 p.m. on Saturday.

Other Week 8 contests between ranked schools on Saturday include a trio of SEC showdowns that begins with No. 10 LSU against No. 17 Vanderbilt at noon ET. No. 5 Ole Miss faces No. 9 Georgia at 3:30 p.m. ET, while No. 6 Alabama hosts No. 11 Tennessee at 7:30 p.m. ET. Finally, No. 15 BYU meets No. 23 Utah at 8 p.m. ET in a Big 12 matchup.

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Vanderbilt is a 2.5-point favorite against LSU at FanDuel Sportsbook, while the total is set at 48.5. Ole Miss is a 7.5-point underdog against Georgia, with the total set at 53.5, and Alabama is an 8.5-point favorite in its matchup with Tennessee while the total is set at 58.5. Notre Dame is favored by 9.5 points against USC with the total set at 61.5, and BYU is a 3.5-point underdog versus Utah while the total is set at 49.5.

Even though Week 8 kicked off with three games on Tuesday and two more on Wednesday, the possibilities for parlays are abundant as 55 additional contests take place this weekend, beginning with one on Thursday. SportsLine has revealed its top three-leg parlays, with one involving favorites and another consisting of underdogs. 

SportsLine's top three-leg favorites parlay would bring a return of +487, while the parlay involving three underdogs offers a +1120 return.

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Money line favorites parlay for Week 8

Old Dominion vs. James Madison

James Madison (5-1, 3-0) seeks its fifth consecutive victory overall and fourth straight in Sun Belt play when it hosts Old Dominion. The Dukes are coming off a 24-14 triumph over Louisiana in which Alonza Barnett III threw for 290 yards and connected for three touchdowns with Landon Ellis, who finished with six catches for 120 yards. James Madison also excelled on the ground as Wayne Knight posted his second 100-yard performance of the season by gaining 111 yards on 20 carries.

Old Dominion (4-2, 1-1) had its four-game winning streak snapped last week as it was trounced 48-24 at Marshall. Quarterback Colton Joseph had 266 passing yards in the loss, throwing for one touchdown while running for another. The redshirt sophomore had 13 TD passes with only three interceptions over his last five games and has rushed for a score in all but one contest this season.

The Dukes, who are the first team in Sun Belt history to get off to 5-1 starts in four consecutive seasons and have yet to allow an opponent to register 300 total yards in 2025, have had the upper hand against the Monarchs of late. After losing the first two games in the all-time series, James Madison has won all three meetings since joining the FBS in 2022. SportsLine's Inside the Lines team's projection model sees the winning streak continuing as the Dukes defeat the Monarchs in 68% of its simulations.

Hawaii vs. Colorado State

Hawaii (5-2, 2-1) seeks its third consecutive victory when it visits Colorado State (2-4, 1-1) in a Mountain West matchup. The Rainbow Warriors have gotten off to their best start through seven games since beginning 2018 with a 6-1 record and have turned it up offensively of late. Hawaii scored 44 points in back-to-back games to defeat Air Force and Utah State, with QB Micah Alejado throwing for more than 400 yards and three touchdowns in each contest and wideout Jackson Harris eclipsing 100 receiving yards on seven catches in both wins.

Colorado State halted its three-game losing streak with a 49-21 triumph over Fresno State last week. Jackson Brousseau had only 144 passing yards in the victory but threw three TD passes, including a pair to tight end Rocky Beers. The Rams, who also ran for three scores against the Bulldogs, have found the end zone on 76.5% of their trips to the red zone this season after doing so just 54.5% of the time in 2024.

The Rams are 16-12 in the all-time series, including a 10-3 mark at home. But the Rainbow Warriors have won three of the last four meetings after losing seven straight, with both of the last two victories being one-score decisions. The ITL team's model doesn't believe Hawaii will prevail on Saturday as its simulations have Colorado State winning 71% of the time. 

Missouri vs. Auburn

No. 16 Missouri (5-1, 1-1) looks to extend its winning streak against unranked opponents to 22 games when it visits Auburn (3-3, 0-3) in a showdown between SEC teams. Missouri, which is playing its first contest on the road this season, is hoping to bounce back from a 27-24 loss to Alabama that caused it to drop two spots in the rankings. Ahmad Hardy was limited to 52 yards on 12 carries in the defeat, ending his streak of seven consecutive 100-yard performances, but is second in the nation this season with an average of 130.3 rushing yards per game and nine touchdown runs.

Auburn will be attempting to stop a losing streak that reached three games with last week's 20-10 setback against then-No. 10 Georgia. Each defeat during the slide came at the hands of a top 15 opponent, dropping Auburn to 1-18 in its last 19 meetings with ranked schools. Quarterback Jackson Arnold has made 319 consecutive pass attempts without an interception, which is the longest active streak in FBS and the third-longest in SEC history.

Auburn, which has allowed only 519 yards on the ground this season - its fewest through the first six games of a season since permitting 488 in 1999, owns a 3-2 edge in the all-time series. However, Missouri posted a 21-17 victory last year on Jamal Roberts' 4-yard touchdown run with 46 seconds remaining in the fourth quarter. The ITL team's model sees Missouri leveling the overall series as head coach Eli Drinkwitz's squad wins in 70% of its simulations.

Money line underdog parlay for Week 8

LSU vs. Vanderbilt

This SEC clash between No. 10 LSU (5-1, 2-1) and No. 17 Vanderbilt (5-1, 1-1) marks the first with both teams in the top 25 since 1947, when the 18th-ranked Tigers posted a 19-13 victory against the 19th-ranked Commodores. LSU bounced back from its first loss of the season with last week's 20-10 triumph over South Carolina, which was its eighth win in nine games dating back to last year. Quarterback Garrett Nussmeier threw for 254 yards and a pair of touchdowns as he improved to 13-1 as a starter against unranked opponents. 

The Commodores got off to just their second 5-0 start in 80 years before suffering a 30-14 loss at then-No. 10 Alabama last time out. Diego Pavia was held under 200 passing yards for the third time in 2025 after throwing for a season-high 321 against Utah State in his previous contest. Vanderbilt's signal-caller is just 2-5 against ranked teams in his career but is 13th in the nation this year with a 71.4% completion rate.

LSU won last year's meeting 24-17 to extend its winning streak against Vanderbilt to 10 games and improve to 25-7-1 in the all-time series. The ITL team's model believes the Tigers will make it 11 in a row as its simulations have them winning 66% of the time.

Southern Miss vs. Louisiana

Southern Miss (4-2, 2-0) aims to remain perfect in Sun Belt action when it visits Louisiana (2-4, 1-1). The Golden Eagles withstood a late comeback attempt and edged Georgia Southern 38-35 last week to improve to 2-0 in conference play this season. Braylon Braxton threw for a pair of touchdowns, marking the sixth time in as many contests this year he has made multiple scoring passes, while Jeffery Pittman gained 140 yards on the ground and recorded his third consecutive game with two rushing TDs.

The Ragin' Cajuns are coming off their third loss in four contests, a 24-14 setback at James Madison. Sophomore quarterback Lunch Winfield made his first career start and had a pair of touchdown passes after coming off the bench to throw for two scores and run for three others in a 54-51 double-overtime triumph over Marshall in Louisiana's previous game. Winfield also gained 129 yards on the ground in that win and has been the team's leading rusher in back-to-back contests.

Southern Miss, which hasn't started 3-0 in conference play since 2004 while a member of Conference USA, has won 11 of its last 12 meetings with Louisiana and is 42-12-1 in the all-time series. But according to the ITL team's model, the Ragin' Cajuns will get the job done Saturday as they win in 71% of the simulations.

Maryland vs. UCLA

UCLA (2-4, 2-1) seeks its third consecutive victory when it hosts Maryland (4-2, 1-2) in a Big 12 matchup. The Bruins began the season with four straight losses before upsetting then-No. 7 Penn State 42-37 for Tim Skipper's first win as their interim head coach and trampling Michigan State 38-13. UCLA allowed the Spartans to record the game's first touchdown last week before scoring 38 consecutive points as Nico Iamaleava threw three touchdown passes - including a pair to running back Jalen Berger, who also ran for a score.

Maryland's season has been the complete opposite, as it got off to a 4-0 start before suffering one-score home losses to Washington and Nebraska. The Terrapins built a 20-point lead against the Huskies but squandered it en route to a 24-20 defeat and entered the fourth quarter against the Cornhuskers ahead by seven but dropped a 34-31 decision. Despite the setbacks, Maryland is first in the FBS with a plus-10 turnover differential and tied for seventh in the nation with 20 sacks.

The teams are meeting for just the third time overall and first since the Terrapins recorded a 7-0 victory in 1955. UCLA edged Maryland 12-7 in their first clash the previous year. The ITL team's model sees the Terrapins gaining the upper hand in the series, as its simulations say they win 64% of the time.