College Football Picks Week 13: Predictions for Top 25 Games on Updated Schedule
The college football world will be fixated on two rivalry clashes with plenty of College Football Playoff ramifications Saturday.
The Ohio State Buckeyes and Michigan Wolverines take center stage in the first window of games. Ohio State is coming off a thrashing of the Michigan State Spartans at home, a game in which quarterback C.J. Stroud increased his stock in the Heisman Trophy conversation.
Michigan has not beaten the Buckeyes in the Jim Harbaugh era, and it is winless in the series since 2011.
Saturday's other important rivalry matchup pits the Oklahoma Sooners against the Oklahoma State Cowboys in one of the final Bedlam matchups while both schools are in the Big 12. Oklahoma State has an outside shot at making the College Football Playoff. It needs some help along the way, but if it beats Oklahoma and wins the Big 12 Championship Game, it could make a case for the No. 4 seed.
Oklahoma fell off the playoff radar through its loss to the Baylor Bears. It needs a lot of help to reach the top four, and the only way that can happen is if it wins Bedlam.
Week 13 Top 25 Schedule and Odds
Thursday, November 25
No. 8 Ole Miss at Mississippi State (-1) (7:30 p.m. ET, ESPN)
Friday, November 26
Boise State (-2.5) at No. 22 San Diego State (noon ET, CBS)
No. 17 Iowa at Nebraska (-3.5) (1:30 p.m. ET, BTN)
No. 4 Cincinnati (-14) at East Carolina (3:30 p.m. ET, ABC)
Missouri at No. 25 Arkansas (-14.5) (3:30 p.m. ET, CBS)
Colorado at No. 16 Utah (-24) (4 p.m. ET, Fox)
North Carolina at No. 24 NC State (-6.5) (7 p.m. ET, ESPN)
Saturday, November 27
No. 1 Georgia (-35) at Georgia Tech (noon ET, ABC)
No. 2 Ohio State (-7.5) at No. 6 Michigan (noon ET, Fox)
Texas Tech at No. 9 Baylor (-14) (noon ET, FS1)
No. 19 Houston (-32.5) at UConn (noon ET, CBSSN)
No. 21 Wake Forest (-4.5) at Boston College (noon ET, ESPN2)
No. 15 UTSA (-12) at North Texas (2 p.m. ET, ESPN+)
No. 3 Alabama (-19.5) at Auburn (3:30 p.m. ET, CBS)
Oregon State at No. 11 Oregon (-7) (3:30 p.m. ET, ESPN)
Penn State at No. 12 Michigan State (-1.5) (3:30 p.m. ET, ABC)
No. 18 Wisconsin (-6.5) at Minnesota (4 p.m. ET, BTN)
No. 14 Texas A&M (-6.5) at LSU (7 p.m. ET, ESPN)
No. 10 Oklahoma at No. 7 Oklahoma State (-3.5) (7:30 p.m. ET, ABC)
No. 20 Pittsburgh (-11) at Syracuse (7:30 p.m. ET, ACC Network)
No. 5 Notre Dame (-18) at Stanford (8 p.m. ET, Fox)
No. 13 BYU (-7) at USC (10:30 p.m. ET, ESPN)
All rankings based off Sunday's AP Top 25 release.
Predictions against the spread in bold. Odds via DraftKings Sportsbook.
No. 2 Ohio State (-7.5) at No. 6 Michigan
Ohio State lit up one of the FBS's worst passing defenses Saturday to put itself in prime position to secure the No. 2 seed in the College Football Playoff.
C.J. Stroud threw for 432 yards and six touchdowns in the win over Michigan State to put himself at the front of the Heisman conversation. If Stroud and the Buckeyes can also beat Michigan in convincing fashion, the freshman quarterback could be lifting the Heisman in New York on December 11.
Michigan has a much better passing defense than Michigan State, but it has still been susceptible to some high yardage concessions. The Wolverines gave up 332 total yards to the Penn State Nittany Lions in a game in which Penn State's top two receivers made 13 catches for 153 yards.
Michigan outgained Michigan State in its loss to the Spartans, but that game was lost because Kenneth Walker ran all over the Wolverines. Ohio State has a running back in TreVeyon Henderson who could wreak the same havoc as Walker did October 30.
Ohio State averages over 11 points and 112 yards per game more than Michigan, and it has playmakers at every major position, including a triple threat at wide receiver in Chris Olave, Garrett Wilson and Jaxon Smith-Njigba.
Michigan will not be as overmatched as Michigan State was against the Buckeyes, but it will be hard for it to keep pace if Ohio State's offense continues to score at a high rate.
The Wolverines need a perfect defensive performance to at least stay within the 7.5-point spread, but that may not be possible with the way Ohio State is moving the ball on offense.
No. 10 Oklahoma at No. 7 Oklahoma State (-3.5)
Oklahoma State's defense is one of the best units in the FBS.
The Cowboys held three of their past four opponents under 10 points. They come into Bedlam off a shutout of the Texas Tech Red Raiders.
Mike Gundy's team can beat Oklahoma in Bedlam with its strong defensive play, and that would increase the team's playoff hopes. Oklahoma State needs the Alabama Crimson Tide to lose and for the Cincinnati Bearcats to stumble in one of their final two games to feel comfortable about their playoff spot.
If Cincinnati wins out, the Cowboys will be fighting for the No. 4 seed with the Notre Dame Fighting Irish, whose only loss occurred at home to the Bearcats.
Oklahoma State will give up a few points to Oklahoma, but if it contains the Sooners—like it has every other team in the Big 12—it should cover comfortably at home.
The Sooners defense allows over nine points per game more and has not held an opponent under 20 points since a 16-13 win over the West Virginia Mountaineers on September 25.
Lincoln Riley's team boasts a talented offense, but Caleb Williams and Co. were slowed down by the Baylor Bears' impressive defense in Week 11. Baylor held Williams to 142 passing yards and restricted the Sooners to 260 total yards. The Bears laid out a game plan that showed how the Sooners can be stopped.
If Oklahoma State follows that plan and forces Williams into more uncomfortable situations in the pocket, it could create a few turnovers and gain a stronghold in the game.
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