College Football Picks Week 13: Predictions on Top 25 Games on Upcoming Schedule
Week 12 in college football was a light appetizer that left us hungry for the gluttonous main course that is Week 13.
A slate chock-full of rivalry games spans three days with spots in the Big 12, Pac-12 and SEC Championships on the line. Oh, and did we mention there's a de facto College Football Playoff quarterfinal happening as well?
With so many big games on the docket to feast on during Thanksgiving weekend, it will be hard to get all of our predictions right. As we've learned from this season, perfection in anything regarding college football is hard to achieve.
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No. 1 Alabama at No. 6 Auburn
No game has more on the line in Week 13 than the Iron Bowl.
The top-ranked Alabama Crimson Tide rolled to a Week 12 win over Mercer to remain atop the rankings, but their claim to the throne will be threatened by the No. 6 Auburn Tigers.
Before you can even look at the playoff implications this game has, you have to take a long glance at the SEC West standings. The winner of this contest will get one more chance to impress the playoff committee in Atlanta against the Georgia Bulldogs.
The Tide have had a stranglehold on the rivalry since Nick Saban arrived in Tuscaloosa. The head coach is 7-3 against Auburn, with his last loss coming on the Kick Six in 2013. Alabama has also pitched a pair of shutouts during that span.
Since Saban's first victory in the series in 2008, the winner of the Iron Bowl has been ranked in the top 10.
Alabama has been ranked either first or second entering an Iron Bowl in which it won in that span, while Auburn was second and fourth in the nation in 2010 and 2013, respectively.
What we're getting at here is both teams know how to prepare for the big game with everything on the line. Alabama has a proven leader at quarterback in Jalen Hurts, who helped the Tide remain undefeated in Week 11 with a comeback win over Mississippi State.
Auburn has a spectacular one-two punch on offense in quarterback Jarrett Stidham and running back Kerryon Johnson, the latter of the two could make a late charge at being a Heisman Trophy finalist in the next two weeks.
In Auburn's two games against ranked opposition in SEC play. Stidham threw for 264 yards against Mississippi State and 214 in the victory over Georgia. However, he was shut down in nonconference action by Clemson, as he failed to reach triple digits in the passing yards column. Johnson didn't play against Clemson, but he did rack up 167 yards on the ground versus Georgia.
The best game of the weekend is expected to live up to its billing, and no matter who comes out on top, we should have an instant classic on our hands.
"It should be one for the ages, but we've got to come out and play because if we don't, we'll lose," Johnson said, per AP's John Zenor. "We've got to protect the ball. We've got to limit our penalties. We've got to execute, and I'm confident that we'll come out on top if we do that."
Prediction: Auburn 21, Alabama 17
No. 14 Washington State at No. 15 Washington
For the second time in two weeks, a Pac-12 showdown highlights the prime-time schedule. In Week 13, the big game out west is the Apple Cup, which is being contested in Seattle this year.
On the line for the Washington State Cougars and Washington Huskies are bragging rights and Washington State's spot in the Pac-12 Championship.
With a win, the Cougars will earn a second game against USC by virtue of a head-to-head tiebreaker with Stanford; if the Huskies win, Stanford will head to Levi's Stadium based off head-to-head.
Washington's playoff and Pac-12 Championship hopes were derailed in two road losses in which they posted their two lowest point outputs of the season. The Huskies have outscored their opponents 264-86 at home this season.
Luke Falk and the Cougars are 2-0 against ranked teams, but they suffered both of their losses on the road as well in conference play. The team that didn't play a true road game until October 7 is making its fifth road trip in seven games.
A 2-2 road mark doesn't inspire a ton of confidence, but Falk has thrown for over 300 yards in each of the Cougars' victories over top-25 opponents.
Prediction: Washington 37, Washington State 31
No. 22 South Florida at No. 13 UCF
If you're looking for an interesting game to follow on Friday before all the major rivalries take to the gridiron on Saturday, keep your eyes on the clash between the South Florida Bulls and UCF Knights.
South Florida, led by former Texas coach Charlie Strong, has the opportunity to end UCF's undefeated season and New Years' Six bowl hopes in one swoop.
The Bulls haven't played a difficult schedule, and their lone loss of the campaign came at the hands of Houston, who is one of the better teams in the American West.
On the other hand, UCF has run through every team from the American East leading up to South Florida and has knocked off Memphis, SMU and Navy from the American West.
UCF has also showed no sign of slowing down as the coaching rumors linger over the program and head coach Scott Frost, who is one of the hottest candidates on the market.
Prediction: UCF 38, South Florida 21
Remaining Top 25 Predictions
No. 2 Miami (FL) 31, Pittsburgh 16
No. 3 Oklahoma 37, West Virginia 10
No. 4 Clemson 27, South Carolina 21
No. 5 Wisconsin 24, Minnesota 6
No. 7 Georgia 27, Georgia Tech 24
No. 8 Ohio State 36, Michigan 17
No. 20 Stanford 20, No. 9 Notre Dame 17
No. 10 TCU 49, Baylor 7
No. 12 Penn State 41, Maryland 20
No. 16 Mississippi State 30, Mississippi 26
No. 17 Memphis 55, East Carolina 17
No. 18 Oklahoma State 63, Kansas 7
No. 19 LSU 14, Texas A&M 10
No. 21 Michigan State 37, Rutgers 17
No. 23 Northwestern 45, Illinois 7
Virginia 31, No. 24 Virginia Tech 27
Fresno State 24, No. 25 Boise State 21.
Follow Joe Tansey on Twitter, @JTansey90.
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