In order to be eligible for the nomination, at the GOP convention, a candidate must wing 8 states outright, which discounts the early states and the Iowa caucus.
Which 8 states do you imagine Cruz is going to win outright?
Sorry, where are you getting the 8 state rule?
http://www.thegreenpapers.com/P16/R-Alloc.phtml
Those are the rules governing delegate allocation at the convention as announced and amended by the RNC. (That’s a great website, by the way, I would recommend bookmarking it.)
Again, my comments about ground game were specific: is Trump organizing precinct captains and securing delegates favorable to him should they become “free agents” at the convention? Of the three states (WA, KY, NH) in which I have intimate knowledge of precinct level operations, Trump has minimal precinct level organization.
Texas is a good one to start the list with. And a kinda big one, too.