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College Football Picks Week 12: The Penultimate Pendulum Swings

The season’s final days are upon us

By brianpellerin
/ new
TCU v Texas Photo by Tim Warner/Getty Images

It is the best of times. It is the worst of times.

The final weeks of the college football season have emerged from the horizon as we approach twilight on the best sport in the country.

Sure, we need to reach the end of the season to crown a champion and the next three weeks will narrow the field of worthy teams down to four. Yes, bowl season is on the horizon, but nothing is quite like a full college football Saturday. Unfortunately, this is our last true one.

And also unfortunately, the slate leaves a lot to be desired.

The only competitions with obvious stakes belong out west to the Pac-12 as they have two top-16 matchups that will determine the Conference of Champions champion.

Elsewhere it’s a lot of huge home underdogs as four of the top five teams in the country hit the road. Could there be a slip up coming for one of them or will they hold the status quo?

That’s for us to predict.

I slumped into only my second sub-.500 of the season going 4-6 last week. My yearlong total is 62-59. Clinging desperately to be above .500. My quest to win a week from you guys continues.

Noleyman asked in the comments if Week 11 would provide our first 10-0 and we were darn close.

Our hero, medav, rattled off an insanely impressive 9-1. He was one of two people who correctly picked Arkansas. The only team to trip them up? Louisville thanks to Malik Cunningham’s injury. It’s tied for the best showing of our season so far and it’s his third solo victory on the year. Congratulations and welcome back to the Comment Section Championship Hall of Fame.

Comment Section Champions:

  • Week 0 — NoleOhana (8-3) yeah, we did 11 games that week
  • Week 1 — OhNoleHeDidnt (7-3)
  • Week 2 — Jason Kuruvilla, DenverNoleFan & mr_britt (8-2)
  • Week 3 — mr_britt & trojan24man (9-1)
  • Week 4 — medav (7-3)
  • Week 5 — medav (7-3)
  • Week 6 — NoleGrad07 (7-3)
  • Week 7 — Noleyman & Noles95’ (8-2)
  • Week 8 — RWHUGHESJR (8-2)
  • Week 9 — NoleGrad07, RWHUGHESJR & Noleyman (6-4)
  • Week 10 — Ukedadnole (7-3)
  • Week 11 — medav (9-1)

Could you be the next Comment Section Champion? Leave your picks below.

If you’re new to the proceedings (which many of you probably are because I’ve only done this for one season), drop your picks in the comments with the spread provided. The following week, I’ll tally up the wins and losses, give a salute to whoever dominates the weekend and add you to our BRAND NEW BULLET LIST OF CHAMPIONS above. Remember, that I’m just a guy with a keyboard, not a gambling pro, so this isn’t advice. Just giving all of us a viewing guide and rooting interest as we watch the football season.

Reminder, I pull all the lines from Tallysight.com because it’s easier to track my picks.

Like I said man, it’s a tough week for games. I got nothing for you.

Brian’s Pick: Navy +16.5

Michigan. Michigan. Michigan. What to do with Michigan. Most metrics say this team is a fraud. But that run game is so so so strong that it makes up for just about everything else. Illinois has been all over the place. They’ve looked great. They’ve looked not so great. I said above that it could be a week that somebody loses. I don’t think Michigan takes the loss, but I’ll have Illinois cover on the shoulders of Chase Brown, Blake Corum and a B1G rushing attack, low-scoring contest.

Brian’s Pick: Illinois +17.5

No. 4 TCU Horned Frogs (-2.5) at Baylor Bears (Noon ET, FOX)

The tiniest favorite of the big five is the TCU Horned Frogs. And it’s a shame honestly. By many of the metrics, TCU has the best strength of record as the Big 12 has a lot of really solid teams that they’ve found ways to beat. The question is: Are the Horned Frogs a small favorite because oddsmakers don’t believe in them or because Joe Public doesn’t believe in them? It’s all about the Bears for me.

Brian’s Pick: Bears +2.5

For my pick and the rest of our staff predictions, click here.

Brian’s Pick: Florida State -24.5

This is a surprisingly low spread for what I expected. K-State is looking like one of the better teams in the country (I’d love to see them versus Florida State in a bowl game). Even without their QB Adrian Martinez, they’ve been great. I expect this week — yes, in Morgantown — not to be a problem for backup Will Howard either because of Mister. Deuce. Vaughn.

Brian’s Pick: Kansas State -7.5

Was last week finally the wakeup for Ohio State? After weeks of scuffling and being just good enough to win, the Buckeyes flipped the switch on the Hoosiers and tore them up. This will be one of the few Big Ten games that the weather won’t be a big problem for. That tells me Ohio State should be back off and running. But I go back to my thoughts on Michigan. Could they be looking ahead?

Brian’s Pick: Maryland +27.5

Kentucky just lost to Vanderbilt last week. Yuck. But these Cats are no slouch. I don’t think they’ll get rolled here. Will Levis is a pro level QB and this Kentucky defense is very good. Georgia is a buzzsaw, but I’ll go with Big Blue.

Brian’s Pick: Kentucky +22.5

I’m done being scared of big spreads with Tennessee. They were up by like 3 touchdowns late last week and were still going no huddle and slinging it with a backup quarterback. That’s a machine built to cover.

Brian’s Pick: Tennessee -21.5

USC is a fraud. This is a team that sits solely on the shoulders of Caleb Williams and, while that dude can do it all, he can do it all forever. UCLA is going to find success in the run game and end USC’s dream of a college football playoff berth.

Brian’s Pick: UCLA +1.5

This is my favorite game on the slate and I’m super excited that it’s going to be a late, late kickoff like it is. That window is perfect for the Pac-12 — PAC-12 AFTER DARK STAND UP — and these two teams are probably the best in the conference this year. The Utes have absolutely dominated Oregon the past two seasons so you’d think they have their number, but Oregon is too good to lose two in a row, especially at home.

Brian’s Pick: Oregon -2.5

Next Up In Florida State Football

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