College Football Week 12 Top 25 Picks, Odds, Box Score Predictions, Rankings, Schedule

The Notre Dame Fighting Irish have one major hurdle left to clear before they can feel comfortable about a spot in the College Football Playoff.

Notre Dame is on the road in Week 12 against the Pittsburgh Panthers, who have playoff aspirations of their own. Pitt is one of a few teams in the mix to reach the ACC Championship Game.

Saturday's matchup means less for Pitt because it won't count as a conference loss if it falls to Notre Dame. A win, though, would help the Panthers jump in the CFB Playoff rankings and allow them to potentially chase an at-large bid.

The Oklahoma Sooners and Texas Longhorns are in survival spots in Week 12, along with Notre Dame. Oklahoma is on the road to face the Alabama Crimson Tide, while Texas visits the Georgia Bulldogs.

Week 12 Top 25 Schedule and Odds

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Odds via DraftKings Sportsbook.

Friday, November 14

Clemson at No. 19 Louisville (-3.5) (7:30 p.m. ET, ESPN)

Minnesota at No. 7 Oregon (-23.5) (9 p.m. ET, Fox)

Saturday, November 15

Wisconsin at No. 2 Indiana (-30.5) (Noon ET, BTN)

South Carolina at No. 3 Texas A&M (-18.5) (Noon ET, ESPN)

No. 9 Notre Dame (-10.5) at No. 23 Pittsburgh (Noon ET, ABC)

No. 18 Michigan (-10) at Northwestern (Noon ET, Fox)

Arizona at No. 22 Cincinnati (-6.5) (Noon ET, FS1)

No. 25 South Florida (-10) at Navy (Noon ET, ESPN2)

No. 11 Oklahoma at No. 4 Alabama (-7) (3:30 p.m. ET, ABC)

UCF at No. 8 Texas Tech (-23.5) (3:30 p.m. ET, Fox)

No. 20 Virginia at Duke (-6.5) (3:30 p.m. ET, ESPN2)

No. 14 Georgia Tech (-16.5) at Boston College (3:30 p.m. ET, ACC Network)

Iowa at No. 17 USC (-6.5) (3:30 p.m. ET, BTN)

NC State at No. 16 Miami (-14.5) (3:30 p.m. ET, ESPN)

Appalachian State at No. 24 James Madison (-19.5) (3:30 p.m. ET, ESPN )

New Mexico State at No. 21 Tennessee (-39.5) (4:15 p.m. ET, SEC Network)

Florida at No. 6 Ole Miss (-16.5) (7 p.m. ET, ESPN)

No. 15 Utah (-9.5) at Baylor (7 p.m. ET, ESPN2)

UCLA at No. 1 Ohio State (-31.5) (7:30 p.m. ET, NBC)

No. 10 Texas at No. 5 Georgia (-6) (7:30 p.m. ET, ABC)

TCU at No. 12 BYU (-5.5) (10:15 p.m. ET, ESPN)

No. 9 Notre Dame (-10.5) at No. 23 Pittsburgh

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Notre Dame has been in cruise control since it started the season 0-2.

Marcus Freeman's team looks like a CFB Playoff contender and has won seven straight games, all by double figures.

Saturday's trip to Pittsburgh is the only real test remaining for the Irish. A win essentially means they will finish 10-2 and earn an at-large playoff spot.

Notre Dame's biggest key to success will be establishing the rushing attack, led by Jeremiyah Love, who recorded at least 80 rushing yards in each of his last five games.

Pitt owns the third-best rushing defense in the FBS. If the Irish can break a few big runs, they have the potential to run away with the contest.

The home side is riding the wave of momentum created by freshman quarterback Mason Heintschel, who has four 300-yard passing performances in five starts.

Pitt scored at least 30 points in each one of Heintschel's starts, so at minimum, the Panthers should be able to score against the Irish.

The Over 55.5 is the best way to approach the game from a betting perspective given the firepower inside each offense.

Pitt should be able to hang around with its passing attack, and while it may not beat last year's CFB Playoff runner-up, it should give the Irish a test for four quarters.

Prediction: Pittsburgh ( 10.5)

No. 11 Oklahoma at No. 4 Alabama (-7)

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The SEC gauntlet continues for both Oklahoma and Alabama on Saturday.

The Sooners are playing their fifth ranked opponent of the regular season. They are 3-1 in those games, but the loss occurred in the highest-profile matchup against the Ole Miss Rebels.

Alabama is 4-0 against Top 25 opposition. One more win on Saturday should confirm the Crimson Tide's position in the SEC Championship Game. They still have to play the Auburn Tigers, but that game looks like a win on paper.

Ty Simpson has full command of the Alabama offense, and right now, he looks like a difficult quarterback to slow down.

Oklahoma's defense started strong, but its allowed over 20 points in three of the last four games. It could be vulnerable to Alabama's passing attack after it allowed 315 yards through the air in the loss to Ole Miss.

The Sooners need to win to stay alive in the CFB Playoff at-large hunt, but it's hard to conjure up a game plan that suits Brent Venables' team to come out of Tuscaloosa with a victory.

Prediction: Alabama (-7)

No. 10 Texas at No. 5 Georgia (-6)

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The Texas Longhorns are starting to show signs of the team everyone expected them to look like in preseason.

Arch Manning has Texas up to No. 10 in the AP Top 25 and on a four-game winning streak that includes two wins over top-10 foes.

Texas' slow start means, that at 7-2, it needs to win out to feel secure about its CFB Playoff spot.

That's a tough reality to achieve, especially with a Saturday trip to Sanford Stadium on the cards.

Georgia is on a five-game winning streak. The Gunner Stockton-led offense put up at least 20 points in all of those games and eclipsed the 35-point mark on three occasions.

Stockton may not have the name recognition of his counterpart at Texas, but he's got plenty of big-game experience and is capable of outdueling Manning.

A home win would lock Georgia in at 7-1 in league play and knock Texas down to two conference losses. The Bulldogs, who play out of conference twice to end the regular season, would then need help to reach the SEC Championship Game.

At minimum, a win over Texas would continue to position Kirby Smart's team for one of the four first-round byes.

Prediction: Georgia (-6)

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