Another Halloween has arrived. It’s time for tricks… or treats. Considering it’s time for THE WIFE to be a part of our Week 8 Football Betting Picks, we may get a combination of both. Honestly, we already have. My original top confidence pick of the week was the Packers to cover the three and a half points at Lambeau. THE WIFE (that HATES sports) kept blowing me off during what has been a very busy week in our household. Not surprisingly, making football picks is not her top priority. Who knew?

It’s the SportsChump’s priority, however – and it was her turn this week. We can’t disappoint the chump.

So yeah, she was annoyed. This process wasn’t just pulling teeth, but more like a full mouth back-to-back-to-back root canal procedure to get her to come up with her selections. So, she’ll go 5-0 this week, right?! Yeah, probably so.

Oh, and once she sat down, I don’t provide help. I just read off games or wait for her to suggest a team. She will typically just take teams she knows or ones that are tied to the family. Of course, she said, “How about the Packers?”

“That game has already started and I wanted to take them,” I said.

She didn’t care. There was no harsh dialog or anything like that.

At least it wasn’t like that Budweiser commercial from many years ago.

Of course, the Packers covered last night. That would have been a nice start for both of us.

Let’s see how our top six is for the week then, with one of them a phantom pick that doesn’t count.

Contest Reminder

This is a season long contest with potential prizes going out to our winners, so if you want to join in on the fun, drop a comment here or over at the land of the SportsChump.  We take our top five bets of the week against the spread (in both the NFL and College Football). If you beat us and go undefeated, that leads to fun prizes and/or heaps of praise on our websites.

With that said, here are our TOP FIVE picks for the week, including my Week 8 Football Betting Picks. The list is ranked in order of confidence, from 50 “dollars” down to $10.

Week 8 Football Betting Picks – THE WIFE Returns Edition

KP’s Picks: The Wife Hates/Loves Sports

$50: New England Patriots (-6.5) at Miami Dolphins

The Dolphins snagged win one last week. This scrappy Miami team plays hard, but is lacking experience and depth. In his first season in New England, Mike Vrabel swept the two games with the Dolphins last season. The Pats had lost the previous four in the series. This pick is centered around Drake Maye, who has had quite the season turnaround. After starting the year with 1 TD and 6 INT’s over his first three games, Maye followed that with 14 total TD’s and 2 INT’s over his last four. Unless the Dolphins win the turnover battle, they’ll have a hard time hanging with New England’s red hot offense. Both teams rank in the bottom ten in turnover differential, so there’s that to consider. Patriots cover on the road.

$40: Las Vegas Raiders (+1.5) at New York Jets

This game comes with a free dumpster fire to light up. Alright, maybe the Raiders aren’t that bad. The Jets might be, though. Vegas has lost four straight and critics are looking at Kirk Cousins, who has a sub-60% completion percentage in three of those four losses. But before we get too critical of Vegas, let’s look at the schedule. Following a 3-0 start, the Raiders had to face the Chiefs (Mahomes), Patriots (Maye), Bills (Allen) and Rams (Stafford). That’s quite the gauntlet. This is Geno Smith and the Jets. That alone gives me hope that Las Vegas will be able to bounce back, even after traveling cross country. Give me the Raiders and the points on the road.

$30: Purdue Boilermakers at Penn State Nittany Lions (-7.5)

I caught this line early and locked it in. Penn State’s injury list is as long as a CVS receipt. Still, some players are back, while others remain up in the air as of this writing. Cam Smith and LaVar Arrington II are back to boost the defense. On offense, that’s the real need – and the risk to this pick. PSU’s top two WR’s (Koby Howard and Chase Sowell) are questionable heading into the game. My gut says they’ll play, although Howard could be on a snap count. Either way, Penn State’s offense was significantly different when Howard was playing. With them back and PSU coming off a bye (with time to prepare), the offense should show signs of life against Purdue’s 118th ranked pass defense. Penn State covers at home.

$20: Minnesota Golden Gophers (+20.5) at Indiana Hoosiers

PJ Fleck is a scrappy coach and a videographer’s dream. Many are questioning Minnesota’s offense and the ability to hang with the Hoosiers. With this pick, we aren’t looking for them to hang, just not to lose by three TD’s. Last week, Indiana was in a battle with Michigan. To simplify it all, let’s compare Minnesota and Michigan when it comes to offenses. Here’s a list of ranks: Scoring Offense (Minnesota – 83rd, Michigan 119th), Rushing Offense (Minnesota – 132nd, Michigan 101st), and Passing Offense (Minnesota – 75th, Michigan – 127th). In the simplest of terms, the numbers aren’t that different. Again, Minnesota is scrappy. They’ll hang with the Hoosiers for a while. Give me the Golden Gophers and the points.

$10: Ohio State Buckeyes (-6.5) at USC Trojans

QB Julian Sayin is out for the Buckeyes, otherwise this pick would be ranked a lot higher. Is Luke Fahey starting? It hasn’t been announced yet. When Sayin left the game last week against Indiana, the QB play for the Bucks was abysmal. That’s not something I’m used to seeing. But let’s consider a week of preparation and the talent that OSU consistently brings in. On the flip side, there’s Lincoln Riley, who has underachieved and desperately needs this win. It feels like four scores and seven years ago that the Trojans were “championship relevant”. See what I did there? Anyway, I trust the talent of these Buckeyes on both sides of the ball. Ohio State covers on the road.

 

On the Outside Looking In (Others I Considered):

  • Baylor Bears at UCF Knights (-1.5) – Bears coach just canned, UCF coming off big win over BYU
  • Illinois Fighting Illini (-2.5) at Maryland Terrapins – Locksley out, how will Terps respond?
  • SMU Mustangs (-9.5) at Syracuse Orange – SMU is ranked, but most wins are by 10 points or less
  • Wisconsin Badgers (+3.5) at Iowa Hawkeyes – This game could be 9-6, for real
  • Florida Gators at Georgia Bulldogs (-10.5) – I’ll bet this, but leaving out of my top five
  • Northwestern Wildcats (+3.5) at Oregon Ducks – Ducks are 2025’s version of Penn State
  • Mississippi State Bulldogs at Texas Longhorns (-20) – Kamario Taylor is out for the year
  • Carolina Panthers at Green Bay Packers (-3.5) – Was going to be top five, but didn’t get to by Thursday
  • Philadelphia Eagles (+6.5) at Washington Commanders – Two-point game in Week 1; See Raiders-Jets

 

Week 8 Football Betting Picks: SportsChump

Coming Soon!

 

Week 8 Football Betting Picks: Special Guest THE WIFE

KP: Do you know who is good in the NFL?

THE WIFE: No.

KP: How about College Football?

THE WIFE: No.

THE WIFE: I know who’s not though.

This was followed by excessive giggling and yes, she was referring to Penn State, my alma mater.

$50: Navy Midshipmen (+30.5) at Notre Dame Fighting Irish

THE WIFE: I know that Notre Dame is going to win, but I don’t know that they are going to win by that much. Wait, they have to win by how much?

KP: Thirty-one points.

THE WIFE: Take Navy.

$40: Chicago Bears at Seattle Seahawks (-3)

No statement was given. In fact, I asked and it was pretty much refused. This comes as no surprise and it has nothing to do with either of these teams. Read the website name again, if you need to.

30: Wisconsin Badgers (+3.5) at Iowa Hawkeyes

THE WIFE: If I think Wisconsin is going to win, who do I pick?

Yep, moving on…

$20: Baltimore Ravens at Buffalo Bills (-3)

THE WIFE: Why? Because they have a better record, I don’t know.

Yes, she asked me the records – she didn’t know.

$10: Purdue Boilermakers (+9.5) at Penn State Nittany Lions

THE WIFE: It’ll be a close game, but Penn State will win by three.

ME: Yet, you’re still picking them? Also, that’s a very specific prediction!

Note: She did this last minute, so the line change might help her. I locked it in at -7.5.

 

Last Week’s Recap

  • $50: Boise State Broncos (-13) at Washington State Cougars – CORRECT
  • $40: BYU Cougars (-6.5) at UCF Knights – INCORRECT
  • $30: San Francisco 49ers (-2.5) at Atlanta Falcons – INCORRECT
  • $20: New York Giants (+10.5) at Houston Texans – CORRECT
  • $10: Green Bay Packers (+3.5) at Detroit Lions – CORRECT

Season Stats for Kevin Paul at TWHS (Top Five Only)

  • NFL: 5-11 (-$190)
  • CFB: 10-9 (-$40)
  • Overall: 15-20 (-$230)

Season Stats for Kevin Paul at TWHS (By Confidence)

  • $50: 3-4
  • $40: 3-4
  • $30: 1-6
  • $20: 3-4
  • $10: 5-2

Week-by-Week for Kevin Paul and TWHS (Top Five Only)

  • Week 01: NFL: 1-1 (-$20) | CFB 2-1 (-$10) | Week: 3-2 (-$30) | Overall: 3-2 (-$30)
  • Week 02: NFL: 0-2 (-$80) | CFB 2-1 ($30) | Week: 2-3 (-$50) | Overall: 5-5 (-$80)
  • Week 03: NFL: 1-1 ($30) | CFB 2-1 ($20) | Week: 3-2 ($50) | Overall: 8-7 (-$30)
  • Week 04: NFL: 0-2 (-$80) | CFB 1-2 (-$30) | Week: 1-4 (-$110) | Overall: 9-11 (-$140)
  • Week 05: NFL: 0-2 (-$30) | CFB 0-3 (-$120) | Week: 0-5 (-$150) | Overall: 9-16 (-$290)
  • Week 06: NFL: 1-2 (-$10) | CFB 2-0 ($60) | Week: 3-2 ($50) | Overall: 12-18 (-$240)
  • Week 07: NFL: 2-1 ($0) | CFB 1-1 ($10) | Week: 3-2 ($10) | Overall: 15-20 (-$230)

 

Chime in with your top picks for the week. Thank you for visiting The Wife Hates/Loves Sports!

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