IMHO ... yes you "can" run 8 rods Pushing cranks. I don't advise running any of them "straight out" the front of the boat, as you may end up with lines around your trolling motor prop. So, with that in mind, you could run 4 angled off each side of the bow ... which would require some of them to be of different lengths to allow for a couple of feet of separation of your lines.
I only run 4 rods when Pushing ... a 14' rod & a 10' rod out each side -- but, I'm normally Pushing jigs, & just occasionally both jigs and cranks at the same time. But, like you, I'm a newbie at Pushing only cranks ... so I will defer to those that are more experienced.