Week 8 picks, preview: Eastern Michigan, Michigan State face uphill climbs with injuries

Saturday offers plenty of inflection points for the 2026 season for teams across the state of Michigan.

Can Western Michigan seize control of the MAC race? Can Central Michigan bounce back and get on track for a bowl? Can Eastern Michigan overcome it's rash of injuries? Can MSU do the same, and pick up a conference win, at last? Can Michigan spin forward into more success with Tommy Carr at quarterback?

There's no shortage of potentially big narrative shifting moments for these teams, and plenty of good matchups to be excited about with five games scattered across the noon and mid-afternoon windows.

Dig in to picks and previews below.

Michigan vs. Indiana, noon, Fox

This game, in terms of roster, is closer than the rankings or runs of success over the last two seasons would indicate. Indiana is still very, very good, but Michigan has a Top 20-ish roster. Offensive line health has hamstrung some of Michigan’s potential, as the defense has shined, but nothing has been a bigger anchor for the Wolverines than the lack of quality quarterback play. Now Michigan is reportedly turning to Tommy Carr as the starter and there’s hope the offensive operation can be, simply, better. The hope there would lie in Carr just being a better operator of the offense as coordinator Jason Beck wants it called and run, even if Carr isn’t as physically gifted as Underwood. And confidence is a major factor, but for Carr and the rest of the team having belief. 

But Indiana’s front on defense is still really, really, good, and nearly helped the Hoosiers beat Ohio State to stay undefeated last week. If Josh Hoover and Nick Marsh are more precise on a 4th and 4 throw, Indiana might’ve just beaten Ohio State. And Hoover, who apparently hurt his arm against Ohio State, didn’t show up on the injury report. A fully healthy and newly-hungry-off-a-loss Indiana is probably not the opponent Michigan would want, as opposed to the Hoosiers having escaped with a win. This game will be close and competitive, but Indiana’s mind-numbing execution returns and the Hoosiers pull out a one-score win. 

Indiana 31, Michigan 26

Western Michigan at Toledo, noon, CBSSN

If this ended up being a MAC title preview, that probably wouldn’t surprise a lot of people — though Ohio might have something to say about it. Toledo already has a conference loss while the Broncos are 3-0 in the MAC, so it could also be something of an elimination game for the Rockets, or certainly put them behind the eight ball with a loss. Those are the stakes, and the game is also being played days removed from an industrial disaster causing a cloud of noxious gas — gylcidyl methacrylate — to hover over the city of Toledo. As for the game itself, there’s oodles of good-on-good, from WMU’s offensive line vs. Toledo’s defensive front to the Rockets offense trying to hit big plays against the Broncos’ defense. 

Starting with when WMU is on offense, the dangerman the Broncos needs to account for is Toledo edge Andrew Zock, a transfer who followed Jacobs from Mercer to Toledo. He’s got seven sacks already this season and detonated EMU’s protections last week. But WMU might have an answer to such a disruptive group with its veteran and improving offensive line (and tight ends who are showing up) in the run game. And on the flip side, Western Michigan will need its defensive front to hold up vs. the run and disrupt John Alan Richter while the likes of Jarvarius Sims and Josh Franklin blanket opposing receivers, namely Adjatay Dabbs. WMU is tied with a plethora of teams with 16 sacks, good for No. 38 nationally. Toledo is tied for No. 9 with 21. And 13 of WMU’s sacks have come in MAC play, and 12 such have come for Toledo vs. the conference. With so much good, it’s hard to pick — these teams are evenly matched. But lean on WMU’s continuity and progress through its build vs. a Year 1 regime. 

Western Michigan 23, Toledo 20

Central Michigan vs. Miami (OH), 1 p.m., ESPN+

While there’s been plenty of attention on Central Michigan’s offense, it actually rushes at about the same rate as the aforementioned Broncos and produces a slightly better EPA/play. That’s not to say the offense on the whole has been better for CMU, but that the failure isn’t wholesale but in the margins of fouled-up gamescript. In general, the Chippewas just need to score more and earlier and maybe just benefit from some better aesthetics. This might not be the week for it, though, as CMU is possibly without quarterback Angel Flores (concussion) and facing the No. 22 rush defense in the country in Miami (OH). The RedHawks give up just 99.29 yards per game. And while Central Michigan has fleshed out the passing game into a 15-to-20 attempt-a-game proposition, it’ll need to be the run game that shows up. 

The good news is running back Jayden Clerveaux is back out of concussion protocol, meaning CMU should have a full suite of rushers at the tailback position again. But more than anything, Central Michigan’s defense needs to step it up after back-to-back weeks where it got run over. And Miami (OH) presents distinct challenges in that regard, turning into a rough-and-ready running offense due to quarterback injury, averaging nearly 200 yards a game in conference play on the ground. This one has all the makings of a low-scoring, low-possession, run-centric game. Miami (OH) merely adopted that of late, while Central Michigan is Bane. The Chippewas get a badly needed win, both for the vibes and the bowl outlook. 

Central Michigan 22, Miami (OH) 17

Michigan State at UCLA, 3:30 p.m., CBS

MSU continues to play well, play hard, and has given itself very real chances to win the past two weeks. The odds of a team playing the last two games that MSU has and going 0-2, frankly, is probably really low. And yet that’s where the Spartans find themselves, traveling to play a Top 10 upstart UCLA team in the Rose Bowl on Saturday. And MSU is still brutally injured, with four top corners, a star linebacker, top running back, backup quarterback and numerous others out. Starting QB Alessio Milivojevic, RB Jaziun Patterson, LT Ben Murawski and linebackers Caleb Wheatland and Brady Pretzlaff are all questionable. If Milivojevic can’t go, true freshman Kayd Coffman would be in line to start. And UCLA is already playing a backup QB.

In general, UCLA feels ripe to pick up a loss, but this doesn’t seem like the spot for it. MSU plays hard and smart and does all the things you’d want to see, but the talent deficit is too big and the way UCLA wants to play on offense is relatively quarterback proof with the impressive run game. Don’t be surprised by MSU making this a game, as the Spartans have been wont to do of late in conference play, but also don’t expect this to be the moment that MSU breaks through. 

UCLA 35, Michigan State 23

Eastern Michigan at Ohio, 4 p.m., ESPNU

Ohio has lost one game at home since 2022, and that streak isn’t ending this weekend. The Bobcats might be the best shot to make the MAC title game not playing in Toledo on Saturday, as the Bobcats are undefeated in conference and sizzling since quarterback Nick Poulos returned from a concussion. And even without him, the Bobcats were getting it done with rushing and defense. Now the Bobcats can get it done with rushing, defense and passing. And Eastern Michigan enters banged up beyond belief. 

The Eagles have myriad injuries, from offensive line absences to a rotation in the secondary to now quarterback Noah Kim being banged up and perhaps questionable for the second-straight week. EMU at 4-4 is still well within its means to make a bowl game but a season that had so much promise and with such a complete roster has been undone by a rash of injuries and EMU’s late bye costing this team a chance to get healthy for a stretch run just yet. The Eagles will battle hard but come up short vs. Ohio. 

Ohio 30, Eastern Michigan 24