NCAAF · 1 hour ago

10 Bold Predictions for Week 12 of College Football

TJ Inman

Host · Writer

10. TCU Brings Chaos to Big 12 Title Race
If the BYU Cougars win out, they'll have a chance at a rematch with the Texas Tech Red Raiders, likely needing a win to get into the College Football Playoff. If BYU loses again, chaos ensues, and a whole lot of possibilities come into play. The TCU Horned Frogs have not had a great season and are just 3-3 in the league, but the offense is still competent. The BYU Cougars are licking their wounds after getting blasted by Texas Tech. TCU goes into Provo and receives a big late-night win behind a nice performance from Josh Hoover and the dangerous Horned Frogs receivers.

Week 12: TCU at BYU (-6.5)

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1. Clemson Ends Louisville's ACC Title Dreams
The Clemson Tigers have had a disastrous season, but they have shown fight in the past two weeks and have clearly not given up on the campaign. Dabo Swinney’s squad had Duke beat, but an awful pass interference call gave the Blue Devils a chance. They scored, plus got a two-point conversion to win 46-45. Clemson responded by locking up the Florida State Seminoles, jumping out to a 15-0 lead and coasting to a 24-10 win. Quarterback Cade Klubnik looks relatively healthy, and he’s playing at a really high level. The defense answered the bell after giving up 46 points to Duke. They now play Louisville on Friday night, and the Cardinals look like a different team without star running back Isaac Brown. Clemson finds a way to hand Jeff Brohm his second-straight loss and eliminates Louisville from the ACC Championship Game chase.

Week 12: Clemson at Louisville (-3.5)

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2. Mason Heintschel and Pitt Stun Notre Dame
I have been not so subtly pointing towards this game for weeks, and Pitt’s chance to prove its worth has arrived. Notre Dame has beaten up on overmatched opposition for weeks after losing to Texas A&M and Miami to open the season, and they are closing in on a College Football Playoff bid. The Fighting Irish have to get by the Pitt Panthers first, though. Since inserting freshman Mason Heintschel into the lineup, Pitt is unbeaten, and they have wins by 41, three, 17, 19, and 15 points. That includes an impressive 53-34 romp over North Carolina State, and the Panthers had a bye week to get ready for this game. Notre Dame is excellent, but I think this could be a special run that Pitt is on with Heintschel, and I like Pat Narduzzi’s ability to pull off a shocker at home. The Panthers have a talented receiver corps that can have some success against Notre Dame’s secondary.

Week 12: Notre Dame at Pittsburgh (+10.5)
3. Fernando Mendoza Throws 4 TDs and Becomes Heisman Favorite
Ohio State quarterback Julian Sayin and Indiana quarterback Fernando Mendoza are currently deadlocked at +165 to win the Heisman Trophy. They certainly are not the only contenders, but those two Big Ten gunslingers have separated themselves as the primary leaders in the race. Mendoza, fresh off a remarkable game-winning drive at Penn State, has not put up monster stats recently, and he’s going against a tough Wisconsin defense that just held Washington to ten points, but that changes this Saturday. The Hoosiers are going to roll the Badgers, and Mendoza will throw for four touchdowns and rush for one more to surpass 35 total touchdowns on the season. This is very likely Mendoza’s final home game in Bloomington, and he’ll make it count with a big performance.

Week 12: Wisconsin at Indiana (-30.5)
4. West Virginia Downs Arizona State
Rich Rodriguez has a big task on his hands, and the rebuild in Morgantown is extensive, but the Mountaineers appear to have begun figuring things out. In the past two weeks, WVU has won back-to-back Big 12 games, with a ten-point win at Houston and a home triumph over Colorado. Scotty Fox has been inserted at quarterback with 58 yards rushing and 202 yards passing, and they limited Colorado to just 1.3 yards per carry and 51 yards rushing total. The Mountaineers now travel to Arizona State, and the Sun Devils are limping into this game at 6-3. I think Rodriguez finds a way to get the victory on the road over the wounded Arizona State Sun Devils and grab their fifth win of the season.

Week 12: West Virginia at Arizona State (-11.5)
5. Oklahoma Rattles Simpson and Upsets Tide
Brent Venables and the Oklahoma Sooners have had a full two weeks to prepare for this road matchup at Alabama. The Sooners are No. 1 in the country with four sacks per game, and quarterback John Mateer should be close to fully healthy after the bye week. While he was limited, Oklahoma may have found a running game to complement him, and Alabama has struggled with mobile quarterbacks during Kane Wommack’s tenure as defensive coordinator. The Crimson Tide have been playing very well, but Oklahoma matches up well and grabs a signature victory in Tuscaloosa.

Week 12: Oklahoma at Alabama (-6.5)
6. Iowa Goes West and Ends USC's CFP Hopes
The Iowa Hawkeyes have lost a pair of heartbreakers in the Big Ten, dropping close games to Indiana and Oregon in Kinnick Stadium. The Ducks needed a late drive to get into field-goal range as time expired, but it should not be lost that Iowa continues to drag opponents into low-scoring, challenging games. The Hawkeyes will do the same thing this Saturday as they battle the USC Trojans. USC is 7-2, but they have not really faced a team that plays as slowly as the Hawkeyes are going to try to play on Saturday. The closest comparison might be the Northwestern Wildcats, a team that is roughly a budget version of Iowa. Northwestern trailed by only three points at halftime last Friday night against USC before the Trojans pulled away late. The Hawkeyes win a grinding affair by forcing a couple of turnovers, and USC is eliminated from the College Football Playoff conversation.

Week 12: Iowa at USC (-6.5)
7. UNC and Wake Forest Combine for Under 30 Points
Good for the North Carolina Tar Heels. Bill Belichick's squad is figuring things out, and it has improved quite a bit on defense, winning two straight games (Syracuse and Stanford) and limiting opponents to 25 points. Those games come after close losses to Cal and Virginia, and the Tar Heels still have a real shot at a bowl game. They'll meet in-state foe Wake Forest in Winston-Salem on Saturday, and we are headed for an extreme rock fight. UNC's anemic offense will go against a strong Wake Forest defense, while the Demon Deacons have failed to score more than 16 points in a conference game since October 4. The total is nearly 40, and this game will go way under.

Week 12: UNC at Wake Forest (-6.5) | Total of 39.5
8. Baylor Knocks Off Utah in Waco
The best chance the Big 12 has to become a two-bid league is probably for Utah to run the table impressively and finish 10-2 while chaos around the rest of the country drops other teams and pushes Utah into the field. Those hopes come to an end on Saturday night in Waco as the Baylor Bears will use their bye week to prepare and spring an upset on the Utes. Baylor has 190 points in six Big 12 games, and they most recently routed UCF 30-3. Sawyer Robertson puts on a show, and the Bears score 35+ as they improve to 6-4 on the season and make it extremely likely the Big 12 is a one-bid league.

Week 12: Utah (-9.5) at Baylor
9. Georgia Sends a Statement Against Texas
The Georgia Bulldogs have survived a series of close games to keep themselves in prime position for a College Football Playoff bid, but they have failed to look like a genuine title contender. That changed on Saturday afternoon, and there are reasons to believe the Bulldogs are hitting peak form at the right time. Georgia is running the ball well with a deep stable of running backs plus quarterback Gunner Stockton. In addition, Stockton is getting multiple receivers and tight ends involved, and the passing game is looking dangerous. The defense is still struggling to generate much pressure from the front, but coordinator Glenn Schumann has recently turned the linebackers loose, and they are creating havoc on opposing offenses. Texas comes to Athens with a whole lot of momentum, but the Bulldogs rip the Longhorns for an impressive double-digit victory and stamp themselves as a title contender once again.

Week 12: Texas at Georgia (-5.5)
10. TCU Brings Chaos to Big 12 Title Race
If the BYU Cougars win out, they'll have a chance at a rematch with the Texas Tech Red Raiders, likely needing a win to get into the College Football Playoff. If BYU loses again, chaos ensues, and a whole lot of possibilities come into play. The TCU Horned Frogs have not had a great season and are just 3-3 in the league, but the offense is still competent. The BYU Cougars are licking their wounds after getting blasted by Texas Tech. TCU goes into Provo and receives a big late-night win behind a nice performance from Josh Hoover and the dangerous Horned Frogs receivers.

Week 12: TCU at BYU (-6.5)

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1. Clemson Ends Louisville's ACC Title Dreams
The Clemson Tigers have had a disastrous season, but they have shown fight in the past two weeks and have clearly not given up on the campaign. Dabo Swinney’s squad had Duke beat, but an awful pass interference call gave the Blue Devils a chance. They scored, plus got a two-point conversion to win 46-45. Clemson responded by locking up the Florida State Seminoles, jumping out to a 15-0 lead and coasting to a 24-10 win. Quarterback Cade Klubnik looks relatively healthy, and he’s playing at a really high level. The defense answered the bell after giving up 46 points to Duke. They now play Louisville on Friday night, and the Cardinals look like a different team without star running back Isaac Brown. Clemson finds a way to hand Jeff Brohm his second-straight loss and eliminates Louisville from the ACC Championship Game chase.

Week 12: Clemson at Louisville (-3.5)

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10 Bold Predictions for Week 12 of College Football

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