College Football Week 12 Predictions: Tenn/Geo, So.Car/Mizzo, BYU/Kan, Clem/Pitt and much more

Week 11 saw Ole Miss finally break through, Miami lose, and Alabama win in Death Valley. Week 12 doesn’t seem all that jam-packed, but there are still meaningful games in the SEC, ACC, and Big-12. Another week in the books for November, another slew of highly-ranked teams went down or almost loss. The conference races are wide-open with tiebreakers likely being the ultimate decider. My biggest issue with the playoff rankings is BYU needs to be higher, considering their wins over SMU and Kansas State.

Marquee Matchups

#7 Tennessee vs. #12 Georgia: The Bulldogs return home limping back to Sanford Stadium in Athens, Georgia. Still alive in the SEC race, Georgia must play better overall than they did last Saturday against Ole Miss. The Vols are coming in relatively hot, winners of their last 4 games, including a victory over Alabama 24-17. This SEC marquee matchup is yet another eliminator for a spot in the College Football playoffs. As we all know home field advantage plays a major role in the outcomes in this sport. Add that to the back-against-the-wall mentality Georgia faces, and this podcast believing will see a similar performance from the Bulldogs that we saw in their win over Texas. Combined with the fact that we won’t know if QB Nico Iamaleava will even play until right before kickoff.

The Pick: Georgia -9.5

DraftKings

4.5/5

Tip: Bet Georgia -9.5

• Beck to play well
• Georgia at Home
• Will Vols Starting Qb play

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#21 South Carolina vs. #23 Missouri: The gamecocks are highly underrated at 6-3 when considering their schedule, wins, and competiveness in 2 out of the 3 losses. Missouri was underachieving even with a healthy QB, Brady Cook. Last week the Tigers needed a scoop and score with 30 seconds to defeat a down Oklahoma team. QB LaNorris Sellers and RB Raheim Sanders move the needle for South Carolina on offense. Throw in the Gamecocks defensive line being able to pressure and contain Missour’s rush game is just too much to overcome. It appears we have two programs going opposite directions.

The Pick: South Carolina -14

DraftKings

4.5/5

Tip: Bet South Carolina -14

• Cook to Struggle
• Missouri at Home
• Missouri offense to struggle

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Under The Radar

#6 BYU vs. Kansas: This late-night kickoff Big-12 matchup is flying under the radar a bit. The Jayhawks offense struggled with turnovers to begin the season. Also, Kansas has lost its fair share of close games. Speaking of close games, BYU has a knack of making the uncommon play somewhat common be it on defense or special teams. Will Kansas play the spoiler role as they did last week, beating Iowa State? Putting up 45 points on a solid Cyclone defense is nothing to sneeze at so the Jayhawks are live road dogs no doubt. The Cougars defense will bend but not fully break. It will be interesting to see if they can force QB Jalon Daniels into a few mistakes. Who will run the ball better is a major item as both average very respectable rushing yards per game. The largest difference on paper beyond home field is that BYU gave up around 20 points per game compared to Kansas’s 26. Two weeks in a row knocking off ranked foes is too much to ask for but Kansas will keep it tight.

The Pick: BYU -2.5

#20 Clemson vs. Pittsburgh: Not all that long ago this was seen as a pivotal contest in the ACC race for both. Now it’s a must win for Clemson if they want to keep pace with Miami. The Tigers need the Canes to lose another game because of a tiebreaker result with Louisville. Pittsburgh is a home and will be eager to get the monkey of their back from losing consecutive outings. The over on a point total of 53.5 is reachable but it could depend of the availability of Pitt QB Eli Holstein, who has not been cleared medically. Clemson has played very well when facing non-ranked opponents. Of course Pitt was in the playoff rankings until this Tuesday. On the surface the point spread seems a bit wide. Even if Eli plays to be fair his game had taken a step back in recent games.

The Pick: Clemson -11

Saturday Upset Special

UCLA upsets Washington as a +4.5 road dog on Friday.

Hardcore Barnburners

#16 Kansas State vs. Arizona State: ASU is a sneaky 7-2 foe for the Wildcats as the Sun Devils head on the road upset minded. Coming off a bye, Kansas State wants to get the bad taste out of their mouths from their 24-19 loss to Houston. Kansas State needs this badly trailing Colorado by 1 game with the head to head tiebreaker advantage in the Big-12 standings. Technically Arizona State is still in the race which makes it a perfect spot for a game that comes down to the wire.

The Pick: Kansas State wins but ASU +7.5

#25 Tulane vs. Navy: Tulane is now officially a ranked program and have all the momentum on their side. Navy is still very dangerous and the most important key is ball control. Look for these teams to lean all the way in to the ground and pound game. In that scenario Navy is giving up 156 rushing yards per contest. If the Midshipmen can create turnovers and limit their mistakes they have a great shot. Tulane has a trip to the playoffs still possible if Boise State slips up.

The Pick: Tulane -7

Against The Spread

UCLA as a +4.5 versus Washington

Syracuse +9.5 versus California.

Nebraska +7.5 versus USC.

#7 Tennessee +9.5 versus #12 Georgia. (if Nico starts)

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Quick Hits Recap

-Georgia’s 28-10 loss to Ole Miss was the lowest point total under Kirby Smart dating back to 2016.

-The Bulldogs put up only 245 yards, the fewest also since 2016 and have 11 turnovers over the last 4 games.

-The Indiana Hoosiers are 10-0 for the first time in school history.

-BYU kicker Will Ferrin kicked a 44-yard field goal with 3 seconds left in a 22-21 victory in the holy war versus Utah.

-Georgia Tech’s upset of Miami marked the 2nd time in Yellowjackets history beating a 9-0 team or better since 1936.

-GT rushed for 271 yards in that 28-23 victory over the Canes.

-Tennessee RB Dylan Sampson got his 20th rushing TD piling up 149 yards on 30 carries in a 33-14 win over Mississippi State.

-Alabama QB Jalen Milroe ran for 185 yards and 4 touchdowns overall in a 42-13 butt-whipping of rival LSU. Milroe has the most QB rushing TD’s in a single season with 16 in Crimson Tide history.

-Oregon moved to 10-0 for the third time in program history defeating Maryland 39-18.

Written by Chris Carlson Host of The College Ball Show Podcast available at blogtalkradio.com/ropeadoperadio & Follow on Twitter @RopeADopeRadio