CFB Week Eight Preview (National):
4-1 Louisville at #2 Miami, #5 Ole Miss at #9 Georgia,
#11 Tennessee at #6 Alabama Enjoy Huge Spotlights
(DG’s “This Week In CFB” YouTube Show = below)
By David Glenn
North Carolina Sports Network
(last updated Oct. 14, 2025)
The 2025 college football season continues Thursday through Saturday with a compelling Week Eight schedule.
The most prominent games nationally this time (each previewed below) include intra-league clashes in the Atlantic Coast Conference and the Southeastern Conference, led by 4-1 Louisville at #2 Miami (Fri., 7 p.m., ESPN), #5 Ole Miss at #9 Georgia (Sat., 3:30 p.m., ABC) and #11 Tennessee at #6 Alabama (Sat., 7:30 p.m., ABC).
Meanwhile, in the Old North State, East Carolina gets another Thursday night national television spotlight in Greenville, Duke faces a huge opportunity with #12 Georgia Tech visiting Durham, embattled UNC embarks on an important cross-country road trip, and — at the Division Two level — UNC Pembroke hits the road for a showdown that carries conference title implications.
Here are more details on our “Three To See” selections from this week’s national schedule:
National “Three To See,” Game One
Louisville (4-1) at #2 Miami (5-0), Fri., 7 p.m. (ESPN)
This is a fascinating matchup because both teams believe they’re good enough to end up in the ACC championship game, both have fifth-year senior quarterbacks who are on the National Football League’s radar, and both have extremely talented running backs and wide receivers, yet they also are #1 and #2 in the conference in total defense, with each giving up fewer than 300 yards per game.
The quarterbacks are both new transfers from prominent programs — Carson Beck (from Georgia) for Miami, and Miller Moss (from Southern Cal) for Louisville. Beck has been reliable, smart and consistent for the Hurricanes so far, although he hasn’t made many great throws downfield. Moss, on the other hand, has been very up and down and sometimes even panicky for Louisville, which is a major red flag as the Cardinals head to south Florida.
The elite running backs are Miami’s Mark Fletcher and especially Louisville’s Isaac Brown. The top wide receivers include Miami’s Malachi Toney and especially Louisville’s Chris Bell. The Cardinals may actually have the better high-end skill players, but the Canes — under fourth-year head coach Mario Cristobal, a former UM offensive tackle — have had much more reliable QB play from Beck and a more effective offensive line, as well.
Perhaps the only ways for Louisville (a 13-point underdog) to challenge Miami at Hard Rock Stadium would be for the Cardinals to create turnovers on defense and/or for the Cards to get the best possible version of Moss, who hasn’t always looked comfortable or confident behind center in his first year running coach Jeff Brohm’s offense.
That latter scenario definitely won’t be easy against a nasty UM defense led by havoc-wreaking ends Rueben Bain Jr and Akheem Mesidor, linebacker Wesley Bissainthe and a very talented secondary.
National “Three To See,” Game Two
#5 Ole Miss (6-0) at #9 Georgia (5-1), Sat., 3:30 p.m. (ABC)
When Alabama won the national championship under legendary head coach Nick Saban 10 years ago, during the 2015 season, the Crimson Tide’s offensive coordinator was Lane Kiffin, and their defensive coordinator was Kirby Smart. That’s an astounding, college-level gridiron braintrust.
Now Kiffin is in his sixth season as the head coach at Ole Miss, and Smart is in his 10th campaign as the head coach at Georgia. Kiffin and Smart have gone head-to-head only twice in their current jobs. Two years ago, the Bulldogs hammered the Rebels 52-17 in Athens. Last year, the Rebels returned the favor with a 28-10 victory in Oxford, after which the Ole Miss fans stormed the field.
This matchup is back Between The Hedges, at Sanford Stadium in Georgia, one big reason the lower-ranked Bulldogs are eight-point favorites against the higher-ranked Rebels.
UGa has been to the College Football Playoff four times and has won two national championships and three SEC titles under Smart. Ole Miss is still seeking its first CFP trip and hasn’t won the SEC championship since 1963, but the Rebels already have had three seasons of 10 or more victories under Kiffin, and they — along with the Bulldogs — appear to be in great position to make this year’s 12-team playoff.
Both of this year’s new starting quarterbacks, Trinidad Chambliss of Ole Miss and Gunner Stockton of Georgia, have been reliable game-managers, but neither has been a game-breaker.
In fact, the most intriguing matchup of this game may be Ole Miss running back Kewan Lacy against a very stout Georgia defense. Lacy, a Missouri transfer, ranks second in the SEC in all-purpose yards, with 112 per game, but the Bulldogs — led by a probable first-round NFL selection in junior linebacker CJ Allen — are giving up only 17 points per game and allowing less than three yards per rushing attempt.
Georgia needs this one, even more than the undefeated Rebels do, which may be one more reason to believe in the Bulldogs on Saturday afternoon.
National “Three To See,” Game Three
#11 Tennessee (5-1) at #6 Alabama (5-1), Sat., 7:30 p.m. (ABC)
This rivalry game was known for a long time as simply “The Third Saturday In October,” because for decades that’s when the matchup was played, and indeed this year it has fallen back into that spot on the calendar once again.
As most fans would probably guess, Alabama has a significant advantage in this rivalry historically, and in recent decades the Crimson Tide has really been putting it to the Volunteers. In the last 18 head-to-head matchups between Alabama and Tennessee, the Tide has won 16 times.
However, all of that recent dominance came under legendary coach Nick Saban, one of the biggest winners in college football history, and at least for now it’s not clear whether Alabama has any coaching advantage over Tennessee.
Kalen DeBoer is in just his second year at Alabama, after having short but successful tenures at Fresno State and Washington. Josh Heupel is in his fifth year at Tennessee, after a short but successful tenure at UCF.
Heupel has averaged exactly 10 wins per season over these last three years with the Volunteers, and — impressively – he’s 2-2 against the Crimson Tide, with both of those victories in Knoxville, in 2022 against Saban and in 2024 against DeBoer.
This year’s game is back in Tuscaloosa, where Tennessee hasn’t won since 2003, when the Volunteers’ coach was Phillip Fulmer and the Crimson Tide was in its first, disastrous year under Mike Shula.
This season, UT — with App State transfer Joey Aguilar at quarterback — leads the SEC with 48 points per game, but the Volunteers are last in the conference in scoring defense, at almost 30 points per game.
That presents quite an opportunity for Alabama quarterback Ty Simpson, a first-year starter who has become an NFL prospect after his slow start in the Tide’s season-opening loss at Florida State. Simpson is completing 71 percent of his passes, with 16 touchdowns, only one interception and an average of 280 passing yards per game.
Continuing this week’s national theme, it’s very hard to bet against the home team in this one.
NOTE: For the in-state edition of our Week Eight college football preview, including analysis on the highest-profile games, plus schedules and TV/streaming options for all 32 teams (FBS, FCS, Division Two, Division Three) in the Bold North State, please click HERE.
