Monday, November 13, 2023

NCAA 2023 Week 12 picks

 Lots of games can determine bowl eligibility, and some games make a big difference in determining conference championship matchups.

Tuesday Nov 14

Toledo Rockets at Bowling Green Falcons : Toledo may have already clinched their division, but don't expect them to slack off.  The national media is ignoring them, despite having only one loss (the team that beat them, by the way, was Illinois).  TOLEDO by 20

Western Michigan Broncos at Northern Illinois Huskies : The worst thing that could possibly happen to the Broncos last week happened -- the Huskies lost, and they lost big.  How does that affect the Broncos?  Now the Huskies want a big win, and they are certainly capable of delivering that.  NORTHERN ILLINOIS by 17

Akron Zips at Eastern Michigan Eagles : Akron won a conference game!  Savor that, guys it may the last one you get this year.  EASTERN MICHIGAN by 16

Wed Nov 15

Central Michigan Chippewas at Ohio Bobcats : Ohio is still hoping to get to the MAC Championship, so every game counts.  Central Michigan needs a win to become bowl eligible.  Something has to give here.  OHIO by 13

Buffalo Bulls at Miami Ohio Redhawks : The Redhawks still have a couple of teams breathing down their necks.  This win sends them into the conference championship.  MIAMI OHIO by 16

Fri Nov 17

Colorado Buffaloes at Washington State Cougars : Coach Prime used time during his postgame press conference to apologize to the fans for the team's performance.  It sounded like an assessment of the season, even though there were two more games to play.  How will his team respond to that?  Will it fire them up, or will the concede?  The Cougars are vulnerable, but their opponents have to be looking for that.  WASHINGTON STATE by ten

Sat Nov 18

Top 25

#1 Michigan Wolverines at Maryland Terrapins : Maryland has lost their footing, and battling one of the roughest defenses in the conference is no way to get it back.  MICHIGAN by lots

Minnesota Golden Gophers at #2 Ohio State Buckeyes : This the last game before the Big Game.  The Buckeyes will use this as a warm-up, much to the chagrin of the Gophers.  OHIO STATE by lots

North Alabama at #3 Florida State Seminoles : Late in the season for a FCS opponent.  FLORIDA STATE by lots

#4 Washington Huskies at #16 Oregon State Beavers : At last we have a Top Five team with a worthwhile opponent!  Won't change the end result, though.  WASHINGTON by 12

#5 Georgia Bulldogs at Tennessee Volunteers : Well, there goes any chance the Vols had of making back into the Top 25.  GEORGIA by 15

#6 Oregon Ducks at Arizona State Sun Devils : Oregon gets a break after their battle with Utah last week.  OREGON by lots

#7 Texas Longhorns at Iowa State Cyclones : Well, it HAD been a good year for the Cyclones... TEXAS by lots

Chattanooga at #8 Alabama Crimson Tide : Another SEC wipeout of the FCS.  ALABAMA by lots

Rutgers Scarlet Knights at #9 Penn State Nittany Lions : The Nittany Lions want a strong win to erase last week's disappointment.  Achieved.  PENN STATE by lots

#10 Louisville Cardinals at Miami Hurricanes : Miami fell a bit short against their rival Florida State.  That might indicate they are strong enough to pull off this upset (and they might), but I think the disappointment of ":almost" will affect their concentration.  LOUISVILLE by six

#11 Oklahoma Sooners at BYU Cougars : With two losses, the playoffs are a distant dream for the Sooners.  So is the Big XII title game, being on the losing end of tiebreakers against both of the teams ahead of them.  Now they just want a shot at a New Year's Day bowl.  This win will be important.  OKLAHOMA by lots

Florida Gators at #12 Missouri Tigers : Aside from a big loss to Georgia, the Tigers have had a good season.  They can carry that through to the bowls.  MISSOURI by 18

Wake Forrest Demon Deacons at #13 Notre Dame Fighting Irish : Three losses are enough for the Irish.  They want to close out strong.  NOTRE DAME by 23

#14 SMU Mustangs at Memphis Tigers : The Tigers had early success, and even spent some time in the Top 25.  The season has flipped, and now the Mustangs are the team to contend with Tulane in the conference.  SMU by ten

Gerogia State Panthers at #15 LSU Tigers : Easy win for the Tigers.  LSU by lots

Appalachian State Mountaineers at #17 James Madison Dukes : The Dukes are riding a strong unbeaten wave.  App State isn't quite as strong as they have been in previous years, so don't expect an upset here.  JAMES MADISON by 23

UL Monroe Warhawks at #18 Ole Miss Rebels : This looks like an easy week for most of the SEC.  OLE MISS by lots

#19 North Carolina Tar Heels at Clemson Teigers : The Heels barely escaped with a win last week.  They don't want this one to be as close, although Clemson may have something to say about that.  NORTH CAROLINA by six

#20 Kansas State Wildcats at Kansas Jayhawks : Upset alert!  The Jayhawks are a good team this year, and the chance to beat their in-state rival is enough to spur the team.  KANSAS by four

Abilene-Christian at #21 Texas A&M Aggies : Okay, this is just getting ridiculous now.  TEXAS A&M by lots

UMass Minutemen at #22 Liberty Flames : The unbeaten team nobody is talking about wants some attention.  A big win here might be a good start.  LIBERTY by lots

UNLV Running Rebels at #23 Air Force Falcons : Air Force wants to bounce back from their loss in Hawaii.  The Rebs are a good team this season, so they certainly won't make that bounce back easy.  AIR FORCE by eight

New Mexico Lobos at #24 Fresno State Bulldogs : The Bulldogs suffered a massive upset last week, but they get a nice chance to bounce back.  FRESNO STATE by 24

#25 Utah Utes at Arizona Wildcats : The Cats have already upset two ranked Pac-12 teams.  Could this be their third?  UTAH by 11

Big Ten

Illinois Fighting Illini at Iowa Hawkeyes : The Illini need one more win to be bowl eligible,.  Not this week.  IOWA by three

Michigan State Spartans at Indiana Hoosiers : Neither team will play in a bowl game.  This one is just for pride.  Nobody is more proud (may we say arrogant?) than the Hoosiers.  INDIANA by eight

Purdue Boilermakers at Northwester Wildcats: Three weeks ago we were about ready to discount the Wildcats for the season.  Now they are one game away from bowl eligibility.  Purdue has lost theirs, but they would love to play spoiler.  NORTHWESTERN by eight

Nebraska Cornhuskers at Wisconsin Badgers : The Badgers have hit the skids lately.  Now both teams are playing for bowl eligibility.  I think Wisconsin will find their footing, but Nebraska could pull off the upset and push Wisconsin's postseason hopes to next week.  WISCONSIN by four

MAC

Kent State Golden Flashes at Ball State Cardinals : At this point in the season, the MAC usually play all of their games by Friday.  If Kent State hopes that a later start will reverse their fortunes, I think they'll be disappointed.  BALL STATE by 17


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