Top-Five Teams Among Five Best Games of the Week

Source: BetUs

High-Profile Matchups to Shake Up College Football Playoff Rankings

The top seven teams in the College Football Playoff rankings remained the same after the final Week 11 result rolled in. It’s a safe bet that will not be the case this week.

Two of the top seven teams are underdogs this week as third-ranked Oregon plays at No. 23 Utah and No. 7 Michigan State is at No. 4 Ohio State. No. 5 Cincinnati and No. 10 Wake Forest also have very tricky games.

It won’t be the easiest week to predict for those who bet online with so many compelling conference showdowns, but it should be a fun week for college football fans from coast to coast.

Michigan State Spartans at Ohio State Buckeyes

Odds: Ohio State -19

What to know: The Ohio State Buckeyes have covered in five of their last six games when listed by the college football spread as favorites of at least 19 points.

The Big Ten has certainly not lacked for compelling matchups in recent weeks and this has the potential to be one of the best ones yet.

The Ohio State Buckeyes (9-1, 7-0 in the Big Ten) had a pair of challenging conference tests against a physical Penn State team and then a surprisingly tight affair against the hard-luck Nebraska Cornhuskers. Perhaps that is why there were some who thought that last week’s Purdue game had upset potential written all over it.

Ohio State was the Big Ten favorite at the start of the season and looked it by cruising past a Boilermakers’ team that already had beaten a pair of top-10 ranked teams. The Buckeyes topped the 600-yard mark in total offense for the third time. Michigan State (9-1, 6-1) ranks last in the Big Ten in total defense.

It has been interesting to watch which of the Ohio State receivers would take over the game. Jaxon Smith-Njigba, Garrett Wilson and Chris Olave each have more than 50 catches. Smith-Njigba is already over 1,000 receiving yards. Wilson isn’t far away from joining him, and it isn’t out of the realm of possibility that Olave could also end the season as a 1,000-yard receiver.

Speaking of dynamic playmakers, Michigan State running back Kenneth Walker is the national leader with 1,473 rushing yards. He leads the nation with 19 runs of at least 20 yards, which is 12 more than the Ohio State defense has surrendered.

Walker and Ohio State quarterback C.J. Stroud are among the three favorites for the Heisman Trophy and this game could easily shake up the pecking order for the most prestigious individual award in the sport.

Wake Forest Demon Deacons at Clemson Tigers

NCAA odds: Clemson -4½

What to know: The scores and odds total has gone under in nine of Clemson’s last 13 games against Wake Forest.

The Clemson Tigers (7-3, 5-2 ACC) have been the dominant force in the Atlantic Coast Conference, winning the last six ACC titles. It is make or break time for Clemson when the division-leading Wake Forest Demon Deacons (9-1, 6-0) come to town. The Tigers need to defeat Wake Forest and then hope for Boston College to upset the Demon Deacons in their regular-season finale. If both of those things happen, Clemson will once again be playing in the ACC Championship Game.

The Tigers have lost to three nationally ranked teams by a total of six, seven and 10 points, but they have been pretty much written off this season.

Wake Forest can score points in a hurry but also allows the opposing team to score almost as quickly. The Demon Deacons have scored at least 34 points in five of the last six games and only lost once during that span.

Clemson ranks last in the ACC in total offense so it remains to be seen if the Tigers can capitalize on Wake Forest’s generous nature on defense.

Arkansas Razorbacks at Alabama Crimson Tide

Odds: Alabama -21

What to know: Arkansas has failed to cover against the college football odds in four of its last five games when listed by the sportsbook as a double-digit underdog.

It was not a pretty sight the last time the Arkansas Razorbacks (7-3, 3-3 SEC) faced one of the Southeastern Conference heavyweights.

Arkansas was held under 100 yards both rushing and passing in a 37-0 loss to top-ranked Georgia to start a three-game losing streak. Games against Arkansas-Pine Bluff, Mississippi State and Louisiana State won’t prepare the Razorbacks for what is coming next as they head to meet the Alabama Crimson Tide (9-1, 5-1).

Bryce Young will look to solidify his place as the Heisman Trophy favorite after throwing more touchdown passes than he had incomplete passes in Alabama’s win over New Mexico State. The sophomore joins Western Kentucky’s Bailey Zappe as the only Football Bowl Subdivision players with more than 3,000 passing yards and 30 touchdown passes while completing more than 70 percent of his passes.

A bigger issue for Arkansas might be blocking Crimson Tide linebacker Will Anderson, who is leading the country with 23 tackles for loss and 12½ quarterback sacks.

A win would secure the dream SEC Championship Game matchup of Alabama meeting up with Georgia since the Crimson Tide already own the tiebreaker against SEC West second-place team Ole Miss on the strength of a 42-21 win last month.

SMU Mustangs at Cincinnati Bearcats

Odds: Cincinnati -11½

What to know: Southern Methodist has lost its last two American Athletic Conference games when listed as an underdog.

The undefeated Cincinnati Bearcats (10-0, 6-0 AAC) haven’t had many games on their schedule since their win over Notre Dame to impress the people who vote on the Associated Press Top 25 poll or College Football Playoff rankings. That will change on Saturday when Southern Methodist (8-2, 4-2) is in the house.

The visiting Mustangs’ only blemishes are losses to Houston by seven points and to Memphis by three points. Now comes another challenging road game for an SMU team that ranks sixth nationally in total offense.

Cincinnati keeps on winning but the Bearcats hardly looked like a national championship contender while dispatching of Navy, Tulane, Tulsa and South Florida in the last four weeks. They will need to be significantly better because SMU can make the Bearcats pay for lackluster play in a way their previous four opponents could not.

Oregon Ducks at Utah Utes

Odds: Utah -3

What to know: The total has gone over in Utah’s last six games.

Division leader against division leader with two weeks left in the regular season, it doesn’t get much better than that.

Perhaps this is a preview of the Pac-12 Championship Game, although North-leading Oregon (9-1, 6-1 iPac-12) has a little more margin for error than South-leading Utah (7-3, 6-1) does.

Utah has given up more than 200 rushing yards in each of its three losses and, other than a blowout win over Stanford, the Utes had to work for each of its six conference wins.

Oregon’s defense has had its ups and downs but any unit with potential No. 1 overall draft pick Kayvon Thibodeaux is one to be feared.

Utah can get after the quarterback as well. Juniors Mika Tafua and Devin Loyd have combined for 14 1/2 sacks and 31 tackles for loss.