By Chris Carlson: Week 11 belonged to Michigan, Georgia, Missouri, and UCF, in what turned out to be a good week of action. Week 12 features 4 ranked vs. ranked matchups with the most important contest residing in the PAC-12. On Tuesday the Georgia Bulldogs rightfully moved up to the #1 spot after dismantling Ole Miss. With 5 unbeatens and 4 one-loss teams remaining anything can happen in a stretch of 3 weeks.
Marquee Matchups
#5 Washington vs. #11 Oregon State: The Huskies have been playing with fire for quite a long time so the odds they’ll get burnt continues to rise. Washington takes a trip to Corvallis, Oregon where the Beavers tend to play their best football. We know QB Michael Penix Jr. will sling it all around the yard throwing to a deep Washington WR room. In this game Washington might be best served to put the ball in RB Dillon Johnson hands especially if the weather turns rainy. We know Washington can put up points but so can the Beavers. Neither team has a great defense but the Huskies are giving up 140 rushing yards per game. Oregon State’s rushing attack is close to 200 per game on the strength of RB Damien Martinez and QB DJ U. The unbeaten streak comes to an end on Saturday night.
The Pick: Oregon State -1
#1 Georgia vs. #18 Tennessee: Georgia is coming off a dominate victory over a Top-10 opponent and defeated a highly ranked Missouri squad the week prior, a team that smashed the Vols in Week 11. The Bulldogs were rewarded the top spot in Tuesday’s playoff rankings. Winners of 27 games in a row it’s very difficult to pick against Georgia. Strangely this season Tennessee might be better on defense than offense. One item to keep an eye on is the ability for the Vols to run the ball given they average 213 rushing per contest. Although Georgia’s defense isn’t all that stingy when it comes to the run one can assume the Bulldogs will stack the box and run blitz forcing Tennessee QB Joe Milton III to beat them. This College Football podcaster favors the way QB Carson Beck has played this year and the more talented team across the board.
The Pick: Georgia -10
Under The Radar
#7 Texas vs. Iowa State: The Longhorns have a clear advantage at the line of scrimmage on both sides of the ball. Texas has been barely beaten teams in 3 out of the last 4 games which would be fine if those teams were of the K-State caliber for example. On top of that RB Jonathon Brooks is done for the season putting pressure on recently returned to the lineup QB Quinn Ewers. There’s just something about Texas playing at Iowa State that screams close game once again which makes sense due the fact the last 3 of 4 meetings have been razor close.
The Pick: Texas wins but +7.5 Iowa State.
#17 Arizona vs. #22 Utah: In 2023 Utah isn’t the strong program we become accustomed in years past primarily due to key injuries. Arizona continues to impress winning their last 4 outings. Zona QB Noah Fifita has hit the ground running as a starter and to be fair son of a big farmer QB Bryson Barnes has filled in nicely for Cam Rising. The Wildcats have played good enough at home for this College Football junkie to lean their way in a 50-50.
The Pick: Arizona -1
Saturday Upset Special
Colorado upsets Washington State as a +4.5 road dog.
Memphis upsets SMU as a +8 home dog.
Hardcore Barnburners
#16 Iowa vs. Illinois: Iowa is 8-2 and look to be a lock for the Big Ten title game. Even though there’s a 5-way tie of teams with a 3-4 conference record Illinois could still technically get to Indy. The Illini’s defense is bad enough combined with improving offense to go over the 32 total point’s number. Anything can happen in the ugly football Big Ten West so why not this Saturday.
The Pick: Iowa -3
#10 Louisville vs. Miami: On paper this one is dead even probably because of how crappy the Cards played on the road at Pitt. However Miami QB Tyler Van Dyke has been the complete opposite of consistent in 2023 getting bench before the FSU game. Both teams run the ball effectively and both teams can stop the run meaning something’s got to give in this barnburner style affair. Louisville with more to play is a good enough reason to bet the money line for the W.
The Pick: Louisville money line.
Against The Spread
-Rutgers +20.5 versus #12 Penn State
-Iowa State +8 versus #7 Texas
-Colorado +4 versus Washington State
-Arizona State +24 versus #6 Oregon
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Quick Hits Recap & My Top 4 Plus 2 More
-My Top 6: Georgia, Washington, Michigan, Ohio State, FSU, and Oregon.
-Michigan RB Blake Corum rushed for 145 yards and 2 TD’s in a 24-15 victory of Penn State.
-Buckeyes star WR Marvin Harrison Jr. registered his 6 straight game with a touchdown in a walkover 38-3 win over Michigan State.
-Washington moved to 10-0 after defeating Utah 35-25. The last time the Huskies were 10-0 they split the National Championship with Miami back in 1991.
-Oregon QB Bo Nix threw for 412 yards and 4 TD’s marking the second straight outing throwing 4 touchdowns in a 36-27 win over USC.
-Mizzou RB Cody Schrader became the first player in SEC history with 200 yards rushing and 100 yards receiving in a 36-7 blowout win over Tennessee.
-Oklahoma QB Dillon Gabriel tied a Big-12 record throwing for 5 touchdowns and running in 3 more TD’s.
-LSU QB Jayden Daniels became the first SEC player with 350 passing yards and 200 rushing yards in a single game.
-Illinois QB John Paddock threw for 507 yards and 4 touchdowns in an overtime victory versus Indiana.
Written by Chris Carlson Host of The College Ball Show Podcast available at blogtalkradio.com/ropeadoperadio & Follow on Twitter @RopeADopeRadio