Week 12 Preview

Week 11 finally gave us the chaos we have all been waiting for! For the first time in my lifetime, 2, 3 and 4 all lost in the same week. Though that didn’t change up the rankings too much (only Washington fell out of the top 4), it made the last couple weeks of the season even more exciting. It should be a crazy finish.

How I fared: 3-3 last week, 48-20 overall

Notable Games
9Oklahoma at 14West Virginia Oklahoma looked strong last week against a struggling Baylor. Since their two early losses, the Sooners have been undefeated and have been the clear frontrunners in the Big 12. West Virginia has also had a great season but have not been winning their games by the same margins. The Mountaineers had a hard-fought game with Texas last week and are probably a little beat up. Oklahoma still has a chance to make the playoff, but they need to win out and get some help. I think Baker Mayfield has another good game and keeps the Championship hopes alive for OU. I am picking Oklahoma.

22Washington State at 10Colorado This is a very interesting matchup. These are the teams leading their divisions in the Pac 12. Washington State is the lone unbeaten in conference play. The Cougars go on the road to Colorado this week then finish up the regular season hosting Washington next Friday. Colorado needs the win to stay at the top of the South division because of their loss to USC. The Buffs have been strong on defense this season (the best in the Pac 12 at the moment) but they haven’t faced a team with the firepower of the Cougars. I think this will be a close one, but WSU will end up being too much to handle. I am picking Washington State.

23Florida at 16LSU LSU looked great against Arkansas last week. Arkansas looked great against Florida two weeks ago. That means LSU should look amazing against Florida this week. I think Florida is way overranked. They did not look very good in person, especially on offense. I don’t think there is any way the Gators can score enough points to beat LSU. I expect Fournette and Guice to have another great game. Florida fans may have a tough time watching this one. I am picking LSU.

Kansas State at Baylor Baylor is sliding fast. Not only did they lose to Oklahoma last week, but they lost QB Seth Russell to an awful ankle injury. Russell had to sit out most of last season after breaking his neck. After starting a very promising 6-0, the Bears have dropped their last 3 and have fallen out of the rankings. Kansas State is coming off a bye week and will be looking to become bowl eligible. This game will come down to the Baylor players. Have they given up on the season? Will they be able to get up for this early game even though it’s at home? We’ll have to watch to find out. I am picking Kansas State.

San Diego State at Wyoming This should be a great game. These two teams are at the top of their divisions, but Wyoming is now only holding on by a thread. Thanks to their 3OT loss to UNLV (I still can’t believe it), the Cowboys are only ahead of Boise State thanks to beating them. SDSU’s closest completion is UNLV (hilarious). I am interested to see how Wyoming responds. This is a must win game for them. San Diego State needs this win to try to prove to the committee they deserve to be ranked. I am picking San Diego State.

Tulsa at UCF Tulsa is coming off a heartbreaker to Navy. The Golden Hurricane came up 2 points short against the Midshipmen last week. UCF, on the other hand, is coming off two strong wins. That being said, Tulsa has the better offense. QB Dane Evans has looked very good this season and has done a lot for his team. I think Tulsa’s offense will be too much for the UCF defense. I am picking Tulsa.

Arkansas at Mississippi State The Hogs had a tough time against LSU last week. It wasn’t pretty at all. They looked like a completely different team than they did against Florida. Mississippi State got trounced by Bama last week. The Bulldogs need to win this game as well as the Egg Bowl to be bowl eligible, so they will be playing for something. Arkansas is trying to finish strong and get to a good bowl game. If they go into Starkville underestimating MSST, it could lead to the 4th straight loss in the series. That’s right, I haven’t seen us beat Mississippi State since I’ve been a student here. Hopefully that changes after this weekend.

Top 25
Chattanooga at 1Alabama
2Ohio State at Michigan State
Indiana at 3Michigan
4Clemson at Wake Forest
5Louisville at Houston (Thursday)
Arizona State at 6Washington
7Wisconsin at Purdue
8Penn State at Rutgers
11Oklahoma State at TCU
Oregon at 12Utah
13USC at UCLA
Alabama A&M at 15Auburn
17Florida State at Syracuse
Maryland at 18Nebraska
Missouri at 19Tennessee
UNLV at 20Boise State (Friday)
Buffalo at 21Western Michigan
24Stanford at California
UTSA at 25Texas A&M

Other Games
Arkansas State at Troy (Thursday)
Miami at NC State
Virginia Tech at Notre Dame
South Florida at SMU
Ole Miss at Vanderbilt