College Football Week 12 Odds, Predictions & Best Bets To Back Today

The stakes are high as can be as we enter the home stretch of college football betting in Week 12, with several do-or-die games and matchups on tap as the conference title game picture comes into full view.

All eyes will be on the Pac-12 as No. 5 Washington takes on No. 13 Oregon State in primetime, with the Huskies underdogs for the first time all season and getting points at Reser Stadium.

We've also got No. 2 Georgia looking to stay unbeaten as the Bulldogs head to Tennessee as a -10 favorite. 

Those are just a few of the best options for another loaded slate of college football odds and sports betting apps entering Week 12.

College Football Week 12 Odds

College Football Week 12 Best Bets

Maryland +19 Over Michigan 

Michigan went into Happy Valley and beat up on Penn State without coach Jim Harbaugh Saturday. They’ll be without their head coach on the sideline once again this weekend in Maryland, where the Wolverines are -19 favorites as they look to stay unbeaten ahead of the big Nov. 25 showdown against No. 1 Ohio State in Ann Arbor. 

Maryland snapped a four-game losing streak with a 13-10 win at Nebraska to become bowl eligible at 6-4. The Terrapins have dropped seven straight to Michigan, but they gave the Wolverines all they could handle last season and nearly pulled off the upset in a 34-27 loss. 

This could be a tricky spot for Michigan. It was another emotionally draining week with a cloud of suspicion and serious allegations overhead. The Wolverines shut down a one-dimensional Penn State offense that was so bad the offensive coordinator got fired after the game. Maryland can throw it a bit, and all the outside distractions will take a toll at some point. 

Miami +1 Over Louisville

The Hurricanes fought admirably in a road loss at rival Florida State last weekend, so they’re just looking to play spoiler the rest of the way at 2-4 in conference. They’ve got a chance to do exactly that against a top-15 Louisville team that’s flown considerably under the radar this season. 

The Cardinals have solid wins over the likes of Notre Dame, Duke and North Carolina State, but a lone loss at Pittsburgh sticks out and holds Louisville back big time in the College Football playoff rankings. They’re only favored by a point here and need a win to stay on track for an ACC title game showdown with Florida State. 

We’re still not very high on the Cardinals and the Hurricanes are better than the record suggests. They’ve had some bad luck in a few big spots and killed themselves with turnovers. Things looked much better against the Seminoles and we expect another strong performance Saturday.

Utah +1 Over Arizona

This would have been a truly shocking line just two months ago, at which point the Utes would have been two-touchdown favorites at least. Possibly more. But the Wildcats have proved they’re not a laughingstock anymore. Far from it. Freshman QB Noah Fifita has led the Wildcats to four straight wins and they’re now ranked inside the top 20 for the first time since 2015. 

Utah has had to make do without star QB Cam Rising all season, with whom they probably don’t have three losses. But all three losses came against teams currently ranked in the top 10. This is still a dangerous team with an elite defense, and the Utes are just a one-point road underdog heading into Tucson. 

We’re surprised the Wildcats are favored. We’ve backed them to cover the spread throughout Fifita’s run, but this Utah defense should be able to shut down the passing attack to an extent and give Arizona problems it hasn’t faced since Fifita took over. 

Georgia -10.5 over Tennessee

The Vols are officially out of the SEC East race thanks to last week’s blowout loss at Missouri. Tennessee never even got off the bus in a 36-7 loss, but there’s no time for self-pity with the No. 2 Georgia Bulldogs coming to town. 

Georgia is a -10 favorite after another blowout win last week at Ole Miss, during which star tight end Brock Bowers returned from injury sooner than most expected. That win coupled with the Vols’ loss guaranteed the Bulldogs a spot in the SEC title game for a third straight season. 

But there’s still plenty to play for in terms of College Football Playoff seeding, with the Bulldogs looking to move into that No. 1 spot currently held by Ohio State.  

The bottom line is that the Vols just got pounded by Georgia Lite. The Dawgs are playing as well as they have all season and Tennessee hasn’t risen to the occasion against any decent opponents this season. Not even close.

UCLA +7 Over USC

Two would-be Pac-12 contenders have seen their dreams come crashing down in recent weeks. The Bruins suffered back-to-back upset losses against Arizona and Arizona State, while the Trojans have lost four of the last five, with all four losses coming against top-20 teams. That’s just the luck of the draw some years. 

That shouldn’t put too much of a damper on this rivalry matchup, especially after last year’s epic 48-45 win over the Bruins in Pasadena. 

This one is pretty simple. There’s no way we trust USC to cover a full touchdown with that defense. UCLA hasn’t exactly been lighting up the scoreboard, but everyone puts up points on the Trojans and they don’t have anything left to play for.

Kansas State -8 over Kansas

Kansas State is very much alive in the Big 12 title race despite an overtime loss at Texas two weeks ago. All it needs to do is win out and see Longhorns upset in one of their last two regular season games against Iowa State or Texas Tech. Oddsmakers have the Wildcats as a one-score favorite after their 59-25 win over Baylor Saturday. 

The Jayhawks fell out of contention in a 16-13 home loss to Texas Tech and lost quarterback Jason Bean to injury in the process. It sounds like he should be ready to go in time for this one, but we’re going to keep a close eye on his status and this point spread throughout the week. 

Kansas remains optimistic that Bean is gonna play. We’re not convinced he’ll be out there, nor playing at 100% if he suits up. Tough spot for the Jayhawks here.

Washington +2.5 over Oregon State

The pressure continues to build with every win for the Huskies, who moved to 10-0 over the weekend in a 35-28 win over Utah. And they’re in for one of their biggest challenges yet when they travel to Corvallis to take on the Beavers. 

Oregon State controls its own destiny with remaining games against Washington and Oregon, with an opportunity to throw the conference race – and the entire CFP picture – out of whack over the next two weeks. Oddsmakers like their chances – the Huskies are underdogs for the first time all season, and they’ve only covered the spread once in their last six matchups.

We’re putting our faith in Michael Penix. The line is understandable as the Beavers will be an extremely tough out, especially with a rejuvenated D.J. Uiagalelei under center. But Penix has stepped up in every big spot this season and he’ll be the X-factor again in an incredibly evenly-matched ball game. 

Texas -7.5 over Iowa State

Texas has the clearest path to the Big 12 title game – win and they’re in. The Longhorns hold the tiebreaker over Kansas State and can book their ticket to Arlington with wins over Iowa State and Texas Tech. But oddsmakers have this as a relatively close matchup, with the Longhorns favored by a touchdown. 

Iowa State hasn’t looked like much this season, but the Cyclones have won four of the last five and demolished BYU, 45-13 last weekend. They’d love to play spoiler in the final weeks and have taken three of the last four matchups against the Longhorns. 

As well as the Cyclones are playing at the moment, we trust the Longhorns to rise to the occasion. The CFP is now firmly in their sights and Texas will be ready to go from the jump, winning and eventually covering by any means necessary.