With two weeks remaining within the common season, the schedule is brimming with convention championship and Faculty Soccer Playoff implications, together with undefeated underdogs, a crowded SEC race, potential chaos within the Large 12 and a top-five Large Ten conflict between Indiana and Ohio State.
Let’s rank the highest 10 video games of Week 12, beginning with honorable mentions and counting down.
Honorable Point out: No. 24 UNLV at San Jose State (Fri.), No. 25 Illinois at Rutgers, Sam Houston at Jacksonville State, Western Kentucky at Liberty, Kentucky at No. 3 Texas, Wisconsin at Nebraska, Washington State at Oregon State, No. 22 Iowa State at Utah.
(All level spreads come from BetMGM; click on right here for reside odds. All kickoff occasions are Jap and on Saturday until in any other case famous.)
10. Colorado State (7-3) at Fresno State (5-5), 10:30 p.m., CBS Sports activities Community
This can be a sneaky important recreation within the CFP race. UNLV is twenty fourth within the CFP rankings, however Colorado State is above the Rebels within the Mountain West standings at 5-0 and in second place behind No. 12 Boise State. The Broncos, who’re presently projected right into a top-four seed and first-round bye within the Playoff bracket, may gain advantage from one other win towards a ranked UNLV within the Mountain West championship, however CSU controls UNLV’s odds to get there. Margins are skinny: Boise State dealing with the unranked Rams as an alternative of the ranked Rebels may very well be the distinction between a first-round street journey and first-round bye, relying on how issues play out within the ACC and Large 12. Earlier than we are able to get to any of that, Colorado State is a street underdog at Fresno.
Line: Fresno State -3.5
9. No. 13 SMU (9-1) at Virginia (5-5), Midday, ESPN2
The Mustangs can lock up a spot within the ACC championship recreation with one win over the following two weeks. Miami, which hosts Wake Forest, must win out, with Clemson lurking and hoping for a stumble or two. Odds are that SMU will win its method into the convention championship, however the CFP jockeying is an element as properly. The Mustangs are presently simply exterior the 12-team discipline, and might want to win out the common season in convincing vogue — and perhaps see a few two-loss SEC groups slip up? — in the event that they wish to keep any likelihood at an at-large spot.
Line: SMU -9.5
8. No. 4 Penn State (9-1) at Minnesota (6-4), 3:30 p.m., CBS
Penn State has misplaced its final two journeys to Minnesota, together with in 2019 when the Nittany Lions have been additionally fourth within the CFP rankings. Whereas nonetheless mathematically alive within the Large Ten race, it’s uncertain Penn State will sneak into the convention championship. It additionally has a somewhat pedestrian resume regardless of its top-four rating — hooray helmet bias! — and will not have the ability to dangle within the Playoff image with a second loss. The mercurial Gophers, who had gained 4 in a row earlier than a current loss to Rutgers, will attempt to check that theorem in a semi-rivalry matchup with a forgotten trophy.
Line: Penn State -11.5
7. No. 9 Ole Miss (8-2) at Florida (5-5), Midday, ABC
The Rebels’ possibilities of reaching the SEC championship are minuscule, however Ole Miss is sitting fairly within the CFP standings and is in line for an at-large bid if it may keep away from a 3rd loss over the following two weeks. Quarterback Jaxson Dart is 373 yards shy of eclipsing Eli Manning as Ole Miss’s profession passing chief and will set the document with a giant day towards the Gators.
However Florida is contemporary off a pleasant upset of LSU regardless of being out-possessed by the Tigers 41:43 to 18:17. After struggling weeks of Billy Napier hot-seat drama, the Gators are one win away from reaching bowl eligibility and might shake up the Playoff race with one other upset on Saturday.
Line: Ole Miss -10
6. No. 7 Alabama (8-2) at Oklahoma (5-5), 7:30 p.m., ABC
It’s been fairly the journey for Alabama, between the wild win over Georgia, losses to Vanderbilt and Tennessee, after which resounding wins over Missouri and LSU. In any case that, the Tide are well-positioned to succeed in the SEC championship in Kalen DeBoer’s first season on the helm, with the Sooners on the street and the Iron Bowl in Tuscaloosa left on the schedule.
Coming into the weekend, profitable out doesn’t assure Bama a spot within the title recreation, however that’s the most certainly vacation spot. The Sooners have a top-20 protection at 4.8 yards per play allowed, so we’ll see if an Oklahoma staff that’s misplaced 4 straight to FBS opponents can decelerate Alabama and quarterback Jalen Milroe, who has 32 whole touchdowns for the season.
Line: Alabama -13.5
5. No. 15 Texas A&M (8-2) at Auburn (4-6), 7:30 p.m., ESPN
The Aggies, who haven’t even appeared in a convention championship since profitable the Large 12 again in 1998, totally management their very own future within the SEC with two video games remaining. Subsequent week at dwelling towards Texas is the large one, however A&M can’t get caught trying previous a disappointing Auburn staff that’s lower than a field-goal underdog by itself discipline. Texas A&M seems to be sticking with redshirt freshman Marcel Reed at quarterback, who has struggled at occasions as a passer however is a harmful runner.
Line: Texas A&M -2.5
Texas A&M has quietly remained within the SEC title and Faculty Soccer Playoff hunt. (Tim Warner / Getty Photos)
4. No. 16 Colorado (8-2) at Kansas (4-6), 3:30 p.m., Fox
All that focus on Colorado and head coach Deion Sanders final yr and to begin this season, and but it now feels as if this staff is underappreciated. The Buffs have gained 4 in a row and 7 of their final eight, making them one other staff that controls its personal destiny within the convention standings. If Colorado wins out, it’s going to the Large 12 championship, the place a victory would ship this system to the CFP. That’s a good distance from 4-8 and useless final within the Pac-12 a season in the past.
First up is a visit to Arrowhead Stadium towards a Kansas squad that fought again from a dreadful begin to play Large 12 spoiler, toppling Iowa State and then-undefeated BYU in its final two video games. The Jayhawks are eradicated from the Large 12 race however can nonetheless attain bowl eligibility and spark some extra turmoil within the course of.
Line: Colorado -3
3. No. 19 Military (9-0) vs No. 6 Notre Dame (9-1), 7 p.m., NBC
Military is certainly one of three remaining undefeated groups in FBS, and a possible Playoff disruptor out of the AAC if it may stay unbeaten, together with a nonconference upset of Notre Dame. That shall be a tricky activity towards the sixth-ranked Irish, who knocked off service academy Navy a couple of weeks in the past in a 51-14 blowout.
The Military-Notre Dame rivalry, which dates to 1913, “returns” to Yankee Stadium for the primary time since 2010 — the place it was performed in Previous Yankee Stadium for a few years. The latest assembly was on the Alamodome in San Antonio in 2016, a 44–6 victory for Notre Dame and a part of a 15-game win streak over Military that stretches to 1965. The Irish can’t afford one other loss in the event that they wish to keep in Playoff competition, and can want their top-five protection to close down Military’s triple possibility, which accounts for the nation’s high speeding offense (334.9 yards per recreation).
Line: Notre Dame -14.5
2. No. 14 BYU (9-1) at No. 21 Arizona State (8-2), 3:30 p.m., ESPN
The Large 12’s chaos narrative has turn into cliche at this level, but no person had this one circled because the league’s recreation of the yr coming into the season. A BYU program that gained 5 video games in 2023 and was picked close to the underside of the league, towards an Arizona State staff that was picked dead-last out of 16 faculties, dealing with off in late November with a spot within the Large 12 championship primarily up for grabs. The league’s title race and Playoff eventualities are just a little murky after BYU dropped from No. 6 to No. 14 within the rankings following final week’s loss, however the Cougars have a bodily protection and do-or-die offense. It ought to make for a enjoyable battle towards the assertive (and favored) Solar Devils led by human wrecking ball Cam Skattebo at working again.
Line: Arizona State -3
1. No. 5 Indiana (10-0) at No. 2 Ohio State (9-1), Midday, Fox
Faculty soccer is ruthless. For no matter cause, the dialog on Indiana shifted from feel-good story of the season to potential Playoff fraud in a matter of days. It’s gone from “Can anybody beat Indiana?” to “Who has Indiana crushed?” Whether or not you’re a Hoosier hater or believer, we’re about to get a solution. Undefeated IU travels to Ohio State for yet one more top-five showdown, with the winner properly on its approach to dealing with Oregon within the Large Ten championship and a lock for the CFP.
The Hoosiers have ripped off a dominant 10-game run, however a lot of it got here towards the underside of the Large Ten standings. Now they’re heavy underdogs towards the second-ranked Buckeyes, and Indiana’s resume is arguably weak sufficient to knock the Hoosiers out of the 12-team Playoff image with a loss. Or Indiana may show the doubters improper and put Ohio State — and its depleted offensive line — on the bubble.
Both method, it’s a matchup between two of the highest groups within the sport that can have huge postseason ramifications. That’s a dialog value having.
Line: Ohio State -12.5
(Picture: Justin Casterline / Getty Photos)
