College Football Picks Week 12: Odds, Predictions, Schedule, Rankings for Top 25
The race to get to the Pac-12 Championship Game will come into focus in Week 12.
The Washington Huskies lead the conference standings with a 7-0 league record and they are the front-runner to make the College Football Playoff.
However, Michael Penix Jr. and Co. faced some difficulties over the last month and they could face some struggles on the road against the Oregon State Beavers on Saturday,
Oregon State has the toughest two-game stretch of any FBS team in front of it, as it plays Washington and the Oregon Ducks. Two straight wins would likely send the Beavers to Las Vegas.
The Arizona Wildcats and Utah Utes are lurking beneath Washington and Oregon in the league standings.
Saturday's clash between current Pac-12 foes and future Big 12 rivals will serve as an elimination game for the league title game.
For the latest lines on these games, go to DraftKings.
Saturday, November 18
No. 2 Michigan (-20.5) at Maryland (Noon ET, Fox)
Chattanooga at No. 8 Alabama (Noon ET, ESPN+)
No. 9 Louisville (-1.5) at Miami (Noon ET, ABC)
Rutgers at No. 12 Penn State (-19.5) (Noon ET, FS1)
UL-Monroe at No. 13 Ole Miss (-37) (Noon ET, SEC Network)
No. 14 Oklahoma (-24) at BYU (Noon ET, ESPN)
No. 17 Tulane (-9) at Florida Atlantic (Noon ET, ESPN+)
UMass at No. 25 Liberty (-28) (1 p.m. ET, ESPN+)
Appalachian State at No. 18 James Madison (-11.5) (2 p.m. ET, ESPN+)
No. 16 Utah at No. 19 Arizona (PICK) (2:30 p.m. ET, Pac-12 Network)
No. 1 Georgia (-10) at No. 21 Tennessee (3:30 p.m. ET, CBS)
Wake Forest at No. 20 Notre Dame (-25) (3:30 p.m. ET, NBC)
No. 22 North Carolina at Clemson (-7) (3:30 p.m. ET, ESPN)
Minnesota at No. 3 Ohio State (-28) (4 p.m. ET, BTN)
No. 6 Oregon (-22.5) at Arizona State (4 p.m. ET, Fox)
No. 24 Oklahoma State (-7.5) at Houston (4 p.m. ET, ESPN2)
North Alabama at No. 4 Florida State (6:30 p.m. ET, CW Network)
No. 23 Kansas State (-8) at Kansas (7 p.m. ET, FS1)
No. 5 Washington (-1) at No. 10 Oregon State (7:30 p.m. ET, ABC)
Florida at No. 11 Missouri (-10.5) (7:30 p.m. ET, ESPN)
No. 7 Texas (-8) at Iowa State (8 p.m. ET, Fox)
Georgia State at No. 15 LSU (-30.5) (8 p.m. ET, ESPN2)
Oregon State's most ideal path to victory comes through a solid defensive performance.
The Beavers earned three of their last five wins by holding opponents under the 20-point mark.
Oregon State may be able to contain Penix similar to how Oregon and the Arizona State Sun Devils did earlier in the season.
The Ducks slowed down the left-handed Heisman candidate for a stretch of the second half and ASU got a ton of pressure on the quarterback and limited the Huskies to 15 points.
Oregon State must put Penix under pressure from the start, and that could lead to a handful of punts or turnovers.
The Beavers are coming off a six-sack, four-interception performance against the Stanford Cardinal in Week 11.
Of course, Washington is playing at a higher level than Stanford, but that is a good base line for what the Beavers are capable of.
Washington's defense has not played at an elite level in the last month, but it can slow down the home side with interceptions.
D.J. Uiagalelei threw two of his four picks this season against Oregon State's two ranked foes.
A stingy OSU defense and a Washington unit that forces Uiagalelei into difficulty could lead to a lower-scoring game than expected with the Pac-12 Championship Game on the line for both sides.
Washington can afford a loss and still go to Las Vegas, but that would hurt its College Football Playoff chances. Oregon State sits at 5-2 in league play and needs a win to stay alive ahead of next week's in-state battle with Oregon.
Few expected the Utah-Arizona game to have significant Pac-12 Championship Game ramifications on both sides.
Utah is a regular player in the league title game mix. Arizona joined Utah and others this year in the conversation as part of its remarkable turnaround under Jedd Fisch.
The Wildcats need to keep winning to have a shot at Las Vegas, but Utah's experience may be too much for them.
Utah is as battle tested of a program as there is in the FBS. It is 2-3 against ranked foes and it came one possession away from beating Washington last week.
Quarterback Bryson Barnes acclimated well to the starting quarterback role and his success in wins and losses versus Top 25 teams should help Utah pick up a win on the road in Tempe.
Barnes recorded his season high in passing yards last week and he ran for over 35 yards in three of the last four games.
Both defenses are tremendous and the result may come down to one big play from Barnes in either aspect of the offense to keep the Utes in contention for Las Vegas.
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