College Football Picks Week 12: Odds, Predictions, Schedule, Rankings for Top 25
Saturday's Big Ten showdown between the Ohio State Buckeyes and Michigan State Spartans kicks off a three-week stretch in which at least one game between Top 25 teams will feel like a College Football Playoff quarterfinal.
The pair of Big Ten East sides come into the clash in Columbus, Ohio, with one loss each. A second loss would derail the playoff hopes of either program.
Ohio State (7-0 league) enters Week 12 in much better shape than Michigan State since it just produced one of its best performances of the season against the Purdue Boilermakers, who upset Michigan State in Week 10.
If Ohio State wins Saturday, it is not out of the clear yet since it has to visit the Michigan Wolverines (6-1) and then play in the Big Ten Championship Game.
At minimum, a win Saturday would eliminate one contender from the playoff hunt and provide some clarity to that picture.
If Michigan State (6-1) wins, it would be in the driver's seat to represent the Big Ten East in Indianapolis.
For the Spartans to win on the road, they need to fix some defensive holes that have popped up in the last few weeks.
Week 12 Notable Schedule and Odds
Friday, November 19
Memphis at No. 17 Houston (-9.5) (9 p.m. ET, ESPN2)
No. 23 San Diego State (-10.5) at UNLV (11:30 p.m. ET, CBSSN)
Saturday, November 20
Charleston Southern at No. 1 Georgia (n/a) (noon ET, SEC Network/ESPN+)
No. 7 Michigan State at No. 5 Ohio State (-18.5) (noon ET, ABC)
Iowa State at No. 12 Oklahoma (-4) (noon ET, Fox)
No. 13 Wake Forest at Clemson (-3.5) (noon ET, ESPN)
Prairie View A&M at No. 16 Texas A&M (n/a) (noon ET, ESPN+)
Illinois at No. 18 Iowa (-12) (2 p.m. ET, FS1)
Georgia Tech at No. 6 Notre Dame (-15.5) (2:30 p.m. ET, NBC)
No. 21 Arkansas at No. 2 Alabama (-20.5) (3:30 p.m. ET, CBS)
SMU at No. 3 Cincinnati (-12) (3:30 p.m. ET, ESPN)
No. 8 Michigan (-14.5) at Maryland (3:30 p.m. ET, BTN)
UAB at No. 15 UTSA (-5) (3:30 p.m. ET, ESPN+)
Nebraska at No. 19 Wisconsin (-10) (3:30 p.m. ET, ABC)
Virginia at No. 20 Pittsburgh (-13.5) (3:30 p.m. ET, ESPN2)
No. 14 BYU (-20) at Georgia Southern (4 p.m. ET, ESPN+)
No. 22 Louisiana at Liberty (-3.5) (4 p.m. ET, ESPNU)
Syracuse at No. 25 NC State (-11.5) (4 p.m. ET, ACC Network)
No. 11 Baylor (-1.5) at Kansas State (5:30 p.m. ET, FS1)
No. 4 Oregon at No. 24 Utah (-3) (7:30 p.m. ET, ABC)
Vanderbilt at No. 10 Ole Miss (-36.5) (7:30 p.m. ET, SEC Network)
No. 9 Oklahoma State (-10.5) at Texas Tech (8 p.m. ET, FS1)
Odds via DraftKings Sportsbook; predictions against the spread in bold.
Rankings based off Sunday's AP Top 25 release.
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No. 7 Michigan State (+18.5) at No. 5 Ohio State
The oddsmakers gave no respect to Michigan State when setting the point spread for Saturday's clash at Ohio Stadium.
The Spartans have been one of the best teams in the country all season long and should hang with the Buckeyes for four quarters.
Whether they can win outright on the road is another question, and it may be a near-impossible task if the Buckeyes play like they did in Week 10.
Ohio State pasted the Purdue defense for 59 points. That was the highest output from Ryan Day's team since a 66-point outburst against the Maryland Terrapins on Oct. 19.
Michigan State's offense produced 77 points in its last two wins, and that is reason to believe that it can stay within two touchdowns and a field goal of Ohio State.
The Spartans have a Heisman Trophy candidate in Kenneth Walker III, and the running back could reel off a few big runs against a Buckeyes defense that allowed 31 points to Purdue.
However, Ohio State boasts its own Heisman candidate in C.J. Stroud, who has 3,036 passing yards, 30 touchdowns and five interceptions. He is facing a Spartans defense that failed to hold each of its last three opponents under 20 points.
Unless the Michigan State defense corrects its recent high concessions, Ohio State should come out victorious, but covering an 18.5-point spread against the seventh-ranked team in the FBS with a Heisman contender may not be manageable, especially if the Spartans are chasing the game late in the fourth quarter.
No. 13 Wake Forest (+3.5) at Clemson
To get to the ACC Championship Game, the Wake Forest Demon Deacons need to beat the team that has ruled over the conference for most of the last decade.
Wake Forest took a step in the right direction in Week 11 by beating the NC State Wolfpack, but now it needs to prove its worth on the road against the Clemson Tigers.
Dabo Swinney's program is not the top-ranked unit that it has been in past seasons, but it carries an impressive defense and is riding a three-game winning streak.
While those results have been nice, Clemson has not faced an offense with the same explosiveness as Wake Forest.
The Demon Deacons posted at least 35 points in each of their 10 games. They produced 45 points in each of their last two victories.
Even in defeat, the Wake offense has been humming on all cylinders. That unit put up 55 points against the North Carolina Tar Heels two weeks ago.
If Wake's offense produces at the same high level, it could outpace Clemson on Saturday. The Tigers have not scored more than 30 points against a Power Five foe all season.
Clemson's best offensive outputs came against FCS South Carolina State and FBS independent UConn, which it beat 44-7 on Saturday.
Wake quarterback Sam Hartman and Co. have a chance to make a huge statement in Clemson on Saturday, and it should do that through the high-powered offense that has posted big numbers against every opponent so far.