College Football Picks Week 12: Odds, Predictions, Schedule, Rankings for Top 25
A big week for the Pac-12 is approaching. The conference's top five teams are all ranked within the top 16 of the AP Top 25 poll, and four of them will be playing against each other on Saturday.
No. 7 USC and No. 16 UCLA will meet at the Rose Bowl, while No. 12 Oregon will host No. 10 Utah. Those matchups could greatly impact the Pac-12 standings, helping decide which two teams will meet in the conference championship game on Dec. 2.
The Trojans are the top-ranked Pac-12 team and may be the conference's only chance at sending a school to the College Football Playoff. However, they'll likely need some help to get there. They may not get any this week, considering the country's top six teams are all playing unranked opponents.
Here's a look at the full Week 12 schedule for teams ranked in the AP poll, along with odds and predictions for each. Then, we'll further break down the two marquee Pac-12 matchups of the week.
Week 12 Schedule, Odds, Picks
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Thursday, Nov. 17
SMU at No. 21 Tulane (-3), 7:30 p.m. ET, ESPN
Saturday, Nov. 19
Navy at No. 17 UCF (-16.5), 11 a.m. ET, ESPN2
Illinois at No. 3 Michigan (-17), noon ET, ABC
No. 4 TCU (-2.5) at Baylor, noon ET, Fox
Austin Peay at No. 8 Alabama (no line), noon ET, ESPN+
Louisiana at No. 20 Florida State (-24), noon ET, ESPN3
No. 19 Kansas State (-7) at West Virginia, 2 p.m. ET, ESPN+
No. 25 Oregon State (-7) at Arizona State, 2:15 p.m. ET, ESPN2
Boston College at No. 18 Notre Dame (-21.5), 2:30 p.m. ET, NBC
No. 1 Georgia (-22.5) at Kentucky, 3:30 p.m. ET, CBS
No. 2 Ohio State (-27) at Maryland, 3:30 p.m. ET, ABC
Miami at No. 9 Clemson (-19), 3:30 p.m. ET, ESPN
No. 14 Penn State (-19) at Rutgers, 3:30 p.m. ET, Big Ten Network
No. 23 Coastal Carolina at Virginia (-3.5), 3:30 p.m. ET, ESPN3
No. 22 Cincinnati (-17.5) at Temple, 4 p.m. ET, ESPNU
Georgia Tech at No. 13 North Carolina (-20), 5:30 p.m. ET, ESPN2
No. 5 Tennessee (-21) at South Carolina, 7 p.m. ET, ESPN
No. 14 Ole Miss (-3) at Arkansas, 7:30 p.m. ET, SEC Network
No. 24 Oklahoma State at Oklahoma (-6), 7:30 p.m. ET, ABC
No. 7 USC (-2.5) at No. 16 UCLA, 8 p.m. ET, Fox
UAB at No. 6 LSU (-15), 9 p.m. ET, ESPN2
Colorado at No. 15 Washington (-31.5), 9 p.m. ET, Pac-12 Network
No. 10 Utah at No. 12 Oregon (-2.5), 10:30 p.m. ET, ESPN
Odds via DraftKings Sportsbook. Picks in bold against the spread.
USC Should Pass Challenging Test Against UCLA
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USC may be off to a 9-1 start, but its schedule hasn't been challenging to this point. Its most difficult game took place on Oct. 15, when it faced Utah on the road. And that resulted in the Trojans' lone loss thus far, a 43-42 defeat.
That was the only game USC has played against a team that was ranked at the time, but that's about to change. This week, the Trojans will take on No. 16 UCLA before closing out the regular season against No. 18 Notre Dame.
Will USC be up to the task? It should be, as long as sophomore quarterback Caleb Williams continues to play the way he has for much of the season.
In his first year with the Trojans, the 19-year-old has thrown for 3,010 yards, 31 touchdowns and only two interceptions. He's also rushed for 283 yards and six scores.
After a 6-0 start, UCLA has lost two of its last four games. This past Saturday, it got upset by Arizona, falling 34-28 at home. It was a disappointing outcome for UCLA (5-2 in Pac-12 play), which is now behind USC (7-1), Oregon (6-1) and Utah (6-1) in the conference standings.
There should be a lot of offense at the Rose Bowl on Saturday night. The Bruins rank second in the Pac-12 with 504.1 total yards per game, while the Trojans are third at 499.4. The matchup between the two teams could be a high-scoring shootout.
When USC played that type of game at Utah, it ended up on the wrong end of the final result. But that experience should help the Trojans, which are only 2.5-point favorites. Because of that small spread, feel confident in betting on USC to clear it, as it will win by three or more points and prove it's the better team.
Oregon Will Bounce Back in a Big Way
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Oregon's College Football Playoff dreams likely ended on Saturday, when it lost 37-34 at home against Washington. It snapped the Ducks' eight-game winning streak, as they hadn't suffered a defeat since their season opener against Georgia.
Even though Oregon are unlikely to reach the CFP, it could still win the Pac-12 title. And that would get the Ducks a spot in the Rose Bowl. So there's still plenty for them to play for.
However, they face another tough opponent in Week 12, when they host Utah. The Utes have lost two games this season (against Florida and UCLA), but they also own a win over USC, which started their active four-game winning streak.
It will be quite interesting to see what happens when the Ducks have the ball. Oregon has the best offense in the Pac-12 (527.7 total yards per game) and Utah has the conference's best defense (327.9 total yards allowed per game). Which side will prevail?
The prediction here is that the Utes won't be able to stop the Ducks' high-powered attack. Oregon senior quarterback Bo Nix is having a stellar season, as he's passed for 2,775 yards, 24 touchdowns and five interceptions. He still had a solid showing in the loss to Washington, too, as he threw for 280 yards and two TDs and ran for 59 yards and a score.
Oregon is too talented of a team to lose two straight games at home, so bet on the Ducks to win by at least three points as 2.5-point favorites this week.
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