The regular season of college football is slowly drawing to an end and I can’t believe how fast it has gone! Week 13 is looking like it could be one of our best weeks all year with major rivalries, top 10 matchups, and of course the race for conference championships. But.. before I dive into how sick these matchups are going to be, I’ve gotta honor a bet I lost over the MSU-Baylor game on thanksgiving to Student Union writer and Baylor student, Austin Brown. The deal was if Baylor won I had to say three nice things about Baylor’s coach Scott Drew, so here we go:
1. Well first off Drew essentially took on a major project with Baylor when he was first hired and has since then turned them into an every year NCAA tournament team.
2. Scott Drew’s recruiting game has been fire when you factor in that Baylor is not a school with a ton of basketball history; he’s landed 3 five-star recruits, and 22 four-star recruits in his time there. Easy money.
3. I’ll tell you what, it seems like a negative thing that he gets under the skin of other coaches in the Big 12, but I love that. He’s a gamer and does what he needs to do to win games. He doesn’t care if rival coaches are butthurt, he’s too busy winning games. Haters fuel him.
Alright, enough about Scott Drew. Let’s talk about college football’s big games this weekend.
#2 Ohio State vs. #3 Michigan
You had to know I was going to start off with this game. It is known as “The Game” for a reason, as these two powerhouse programs have debatably the biggest rivalry in college sports. Basically the football equivalent to Rocky Balboa vs. Apollo Creed, “The Game” has provided some amazing games over the years, and this year should be no different. Whether you like playmakers like Jabrill Peppers & JT Barrett or like the matchup between Michigan’s stellar defense and OSU’s electric offense, there’s something for everyone. With the Big Ten Championship & the College Football Playoff both on the line, these two heavyweights are going to lay it all out on the line. It is going to be epic.
Prediction: OSU will be too much at home, and will win by right around ten points.
#1 Alabama vs. #13 Auburn
Alabama is good every year, but what is different about this year’s team is their QB Jalen Hurts is better than most of the QBs that have led Nick Saban’s teams to national titles. We knew this kid was good at the start of the year, but a lot of people, including myself, thought he would fall off eventually. Well, he proved all the doubters wrong as he’s put together a damn good statline including 30 touchdowns on the season. Meanwhile, the Crimson Tide’s defense has held 8 of their 11 opponents to 10 points or less. Auburn is kind of the upcoming fighter in this one, though, as they started their season off slow, but have since week 3 won 7 of their last 8 games, with a few blowouts of teams like Arkansas. If anyone is on the upswing it is Auburn and I think they could shake things up on Saturday.
Prediction: It’d be fun to see Auburn win, but Bama has this one in the bag. Roll Tide roll.
#4 Clemson vs. South Carolina
Typically, I wouldn’t give this one as much of a look but this is a rivalry game, and you never know with rivalry games. I don’t care if South Carolina is 6-5 on the year, they will be amped up like an 8-year old on three cans of Mountain Dew. Let’s not forget SC beat Tennesee just a few weeks back, and their Freshman RB Rico Dowdle just hung 226 yards on 21 carries against Western Carolina. As far as Clemson goes, you should know how elite they are already. With Heisman contender Deshaun Watson leading the Tigers, they have been borderline unstoppable. They just smoked Wake Forest and they will be looking to do the same to their in-state rivals South Carolina this week.
Prediction: Get the popcorn out, it is going to be a very close game, but Clemson hangs on in the end.
#15 Florida vs. #14 Florida State
It’s been a pretty solid year for both of these Florida teams, but this will be their biggest game so far. The rivalry between these two schools runs deep, but the stage could not be set better than a #14 vs. #15 matchup. The Gators are fresh off a big win over LSU, but their offense has struggled to get things going at times this year. Defensively, the Gators are extremely talented holding teams to a mere 13 points a game. Florida State has one of the best RBs in the nation with Dalvin Cook, who has set multiple FSU record already. Their QB Deondre Francois is a perfect complement to Cook, and he has helped lead FSU to some key wins this year. This rivalry game is going to be a fun game to watch because I look at the two teams as so close in talent.
Prediction: Florida’s defense will keep it close, but FSU and Dalvin Cook come through.
Quick Picks:
#9 Colorado over #22 Utah- The buffs have been awesome and will keep it up this week with a big win over Utah.
#5 Washington over #23 Washington State- This is an early Friday game so I’m in the process of watching it as I write, but I had Washington from the start. Browning is too good..
Ole Miss over Mississippi State- Sorry Stingray Steve, Ole miss has this one.
Alright folks, that’s all for this week. Get super shwasted watching games this weekend, and as always, stay lit my friends.