I want to open up this week’s article with the famous words of Mickey Redmond, “Holy Jumpin!” That was one hell of a week 11. 3 of the top 4 teams in the country were upset, throwing the College Football Playoff all out of whack! If you are a fan of chaos and high-stakes football like me, then you are loving life right now. Week 12 will have no shortage of high-stakes football, and as I write this article I’m watching Louisville’s CFP hopes go down the drain. I’m as ready as ever for week 12 so let’s take a look at our big games of the weekend.
#9 Oklahoma vs. #14 West Virginia
When you take a deeper look at Oklahoma’s season, they’ve been brilliant with the exception of their first three weeks of the season. They took some tough L’s to Houston in week 1 and Ohio State in week 3, but since then Baker Mayfield, Joe Mixon, and Samaje Perine have been tearing apart defenses like a 6-year-old with a Christmas present. Oklahoma is riding a 7-game win streak and will be looking to pull off a huge win over West Virginia. That will not be such an easy task for the Sooners when you consider West Virginia has only lost one game this year. With the top defense in the Big 12, the Mountaineers will be hungry to show the CFP committee they are deserving of a spot in the final four. A strong win over Oklahoma would be a huge boost for them.
Prediction: Oklahoma has been on fire since week 3 and will keep it going in this one. Boomer Sooner.
#10 Colorado vs. #22 Washington State
While this game might not have the same CFP implications as some games, it has major implications in the Pac-12 and it should be a battle. Colorado has been electrifying at times this year, even giving UM a run for their money early in the season. Led by Senior QB Sefo Liufau’s 4 touchdown game, the Buffs are coming off a sizable win over Arizona 49-24. Washington State in undefeated in conference play and has the Pac-12 championship perfectly lined up in their crosshairs, and they haven’t lost since week 2. They have the #2 passing offense in the country entering week 12, so it’s fair to say Colorado’s defense may be in for a long day.
Prediction: Washington State pulls off the upset in a shootout!
#16 LSU vs. #23 Florida
If it weren’t for that damn Hurricane Matthew we would have seen this matchup over a month ago! But one plus we can take out of it is that now we get to watch the one man wrecking crew named Leonard Fournette, who happened to be hurt heading into the originally scheduled game. Fournette has established himself as the best running back in the country the past two seasons, and when healthy this season he’s lived up to expectations averaging 130+ yards a game. Florida is hoping they will have the perfect kryptonite to LSU’s rushing attack, and there’s some real reason to believe they could hold him down. The Gators will rely heavy on their run defense that has been the 13th best rushing defense in the nation and the key to their team’s success so far. With a win, Florida will clinch the SEC East, but with a loss, they could choke away their chance.
Prediction: Two words: LEONARD FOURNETTE. LSU will coast off of a huge game from Fournette as they ruin UF’s season.
Quick picks:
USC big over UCLA- UCLA has looked decent in close losses to some good teams the past 5 weeks, but I think they get smacked.
Western Michigan big over Buffalo- With their first College Gameday appearance ever, everyone in Kalamazoo is extra amped. Expect the Broncos to make a statement Saturday. Row the boat.
TCU over OK State- Oklahoma State has looked good but not great all year in my eyes, and TCU just annihilated Baylor. Don’t expect a blowout, but they’ll upset Oklahoma State at home.
Minnesota over Northwestern- This isn’t really a huge game but I liked the matchup a ton and most people are taking Northwestern; I like Minnesota and their stud sophomore RB, Rodney Smith.
Michigan smokes Indiana- A small part of me thinks Indiana could keep up with the Wolverines now that they lost Wilton Speight, but then I remember Michigan’s defense will eat them alive.
Stanford big over Cal- Cal has looked awful against decent competition the past three weeks, and I think this week will be no different. Christian McCaffrey will have fun.
Michigan State ruins Ohio State’s season- Ah, yes. You had to know this was coming from a delusional Spartan fan(hey at least I’ll admit it). Jokes aside, MSU is coming off a blowout of Rutgers in which they finally looked like they put some things together. And yes, OSU is not Rutgers, but I think OSU will get caught with their pants down this week looking forward their matchup with U of M. Oh and if it means anything the forecast is calling for 37 degrees with rain, sleet, and possible snow and 20+ mph winds. Expect it to be a close battle.
That’ll do it for this week of Touchdowns & Tailgates. Get rowdy at the tailgates this weekend (I know I will in the freezing weather), and as always, stay lit my friends!