Top 10 college football games of Week 13: Indiana-Ohio State, Army-Notre Dame and Big 12 battles
With two weeks left in the regular season, the schedule is packed with implications for the conference championship and the College Football Playoff, including undefeated underdogs, a crowded SEC race, potential chaos in the Big 12 and a top-five Big Ten clash between Indiana and the state of Ohio. .
Let’s rank the top 10 games of Week 12, starting with honorable mentions and counting down.
Honorable mention: No. 24 UNLV at San Jose State (Friday), No. 25 Illinois at Rutgers, Sam Houston at Jacksonville State, Western Kentucky at Liberty, Kentucky at No. 3 Texas, Wisconsin at Nebraska, Washington State at Oregon State, No. 22 Iowa State in Utah.
(All point spreads are from BetMGM; click here for live odds. All kickoff times are Eastern and Saturday unless otherwise noted.)
10. Colorado State (7-3) at Fresno State (5-5), 10:30 p.m., CBS Sports Network
This is a secretly important play in the CFP race. UNLV is 24th in the CFP rankings, but Colorado State is 5-0 over the Rebels in the Mountain West standings and in second place behind No. 12 Boise State. The Broncos, currently projected in a top-four seed and first-round Playoff round, could benefit from another win against ranked UNLV in the Mountain West Championship, but CSU controls UNLV’s chances of getting there come. The margins are thin: Boise State facing the unranked Rams instead of the ranked Rebels could be the difference between a first-round road trip and a first-round bye, depending on how things play out in the ACC and the Big 12. Before we can go any further Anyway, Colorado State is a road underdog in Fresno.
Line: Fresno State -3.5
9. No. 13 SMU (9-1) at Virginia (5-5), noon, ESPN2
The Mustangs can secure a spot in the ACC championship game with one win over the next two weeks. Miami, which hosts Wake Forest, needs to win, while Clemson lurks and hopes for a stumble or two. There’s a good chance SMU will win its way to the conference championship, but CFP jockeying also plays a role. The Mustangs are currently just outside the 12-team field and will have to win the regular season in convincing fashion – and maybe see a few SEC teams slip with two losses? – if they want to retain any chance of a big spot.
Line: SMU -9.5
8. No. 4 Penn State (9-1) at Minnesota (6-4), 3:30 p.m., CBS
Penn State has lost its last two trips to Minnesota, including in 2019 when the Nittany Lions were also fourth in the CFP rankings. While still mathematically alive in the Big Ten race, it’s doubtful Penn State will sneak into the conference championship. It also has a rather pedestrian resume, despite its top-four ranking – yay helmet bias! – and may not be able to stay in the Playoff picture with a second loss. The erratic Gophers, who had won four straight before a recent loss to Rutgers, will look to test that proposition in a semi-rivalry game with a forgotten trophy.
Line: Penn State -11.5
7. No. 9 Ole Miss (8-2) at Florida (5-5), noon, ABC
The Rebels’ chances of reaching the SEC Championship are minuscule, but Ole Miss is decent in the CFP standings and is in line for an at-large bid if it can avoid a third loss in the next two weeks. Quarterback Jaxson Dart is 300 yards away from eclipsing Eli Manning as Ole Miss’ career rushing leader and could set the record with a big day against the Gators.
But Florida is fresh off a nice upset of LSU, despite being outscored 41:43 to 18:17 by the Tigers. After dealing with weeks of Billy Napier drama, the Gators are one win away from reaching bowl qualification and can shake up the Playoff race with another upset on Saturday.
Line: Ole ma’am -10
6. No. 7 Alabama (8-2) at Oklahoma (5-5), 7:30 p.m., ABC
It’s been quite a ride for Alabama, between the wild win over Georgia, losses to Vanderbilt and Tennessee, and then resounding victories over Missouri and LSU. After all that, the Tide are well positioned to reach the SEC Championship in Kalen DeBoer’s first season at the helm, with the Sooners on the way and the Iron Bowl in Tuscaloosa still on the schedule.
Going into the weekend, beating Bama doesn’t guarantee a spot in the title game, but that is the most likely destination. The Sooners have allowed a top-20 defense of 4.8 yards per play, so we’ll see if an Oklahoma team that has lost four straight to FBS opponents Alabama and can slow down quarterback Jalen Milroe, who has totaled 32 has touchdowns for the season.
Line: Alabama -13.5
5. No. 15 Texas A&M (8-2) at Auburn (4-6), 7:30 p.m., ESPN
The Aggies, who haven’t even played in a conference championship since winning the Big 12 in 1998, completely control their fate in the SEC with two games remaining. Next week at home against Texas is the big one, but A&M can’t be caught looking past a disappointing Auburn team that is less than an underdog at home. At quarterback, Texas A&M appears to be sticking with freshman Marcel Reed, who struggles at times as a passer but is a dangerous runner.
Line: Texas A&M -2.5
Texas A&M has remained quiet in the SEC title and College Football Playoff hunt. (Tim Warner/Getty Images)
4. No. 16 Colorado (8-2) at Kansas (4-6), 3:30 p.m., Fox
All the attention on Colorado and head coach Deion Sanders last year and to start this season, and yet it now feels like this team is undervalued. The Buffs have won four straight and seven of the last eight, making them once again a team that controls its own destiny in the conference standings. If Colorado wins, it will advance to the Big 12 Championship, where a win would send the program to the CFP. That’s a long way from 4-8 and last place in the Pac-12 a season ago.
First up is a trip to Arrowhead Stadium against a Kansas team that fought back from a terrible start to play Big 12 spoilers, toppling Iowa State and then-undefeated BYU in the final two games. The Jayhawks will be eliminated from the Big 12 race, but could still become bowl eligible and cause some additional upset in the process.
Line: Colorado-3
3. No. 19 Army (9-0) vs. No. 6 Notre Dame (9-1), 7 p.m., NBC
Army is one of three remaining undefeated teams in FBS, and a potential AAC playoff upset if it can remain undefeated, including a non-conference upset of Notre Dame. That will be a tough task against the sixth-ranked Irish, who defeated Service Academy Navy in a 51-14 blowout a few weeks ago.
The Army-Notre Dame rivalry, which dates back to 1913, “returns” to Yankee Stadium for the first time since 2010 – where it was played for years at Old Yankee Stadium. The most recent meeting was in 2016 at the Alamodome in San Antonio, a 44-6 win for Notre Dame and part of a 15-game winning streak over Army that stretches back to 1965. The Irish can’t afford another loss if they want that. remain in Playoff contention and will need their top-five defense to shut down Army’s triple option, which is responsible for the nation’s leading rushing attack (334.9 yards per game).
Line: Notre Dame -14.5
2. No. No. 14 BYU (9-1) at No. 21 Arizona State (8-2), 3:30 p.m., ESPN
The Big 12’s chaos story has become a cliché at this point, but no one would have circled this as the league’s game of the year entering the season. A BYU program that won five games in 2023 and was picked near the bottom of the league against an Arizona State team that was picked last out of 16 schools and faced off in late November with a spot in the Big 12 Championship, essentially higher up for grabs. The league’s title race and playoff scenarios are a bit murky after BYU fell from No. 6 to No. 14 in the rankings after last week’s loss, but the Cougars have a physical defense and a do-or-die offense . It should make for a fun battle against the assertive (and favored) Sun Devils led by human wrecking ball Cam Skattebo at running back.
Line: Arizona State -3
1. No. 5 Indiana (10-0) at No. 2 Ohio State (9-1), noon, Fox
College football is brutal. For whatever reason, the conversation in Indiana shifted from a feel-good story about the season to possible Playoff cheating within days. It’s gone from “Can anyone beat Indiana?” to “Who beat Indiana?” Whether you’re a Hoosier hater or a believer, we’re about to get an answer. Undefeated IU travels to Ohio State for another top-five showdown, with the winner on track to face Oregon in the Big Ten Championship and a slot into the CFP.
The Hoosiers are coming off a dominant 10-game run, but much of that came against the bottom of the Big Ten standings. Now they’re heavy underdogs against the second-place Buckeyes, and Indiana’s resume is arguably weak enough to knock the Hoosiers out of the 12-team playoffs with a loss. Or Indiana could prove the doubters wrong and put Ohio State – and its depleted offensive line – on the bubble.
Either way, it’s a matchup between two of the best teams in the sport that will have huge postseason ramifications. That’s a conversation worth having.
Line: Ohio State -12.5
(Photo: Justin Casterline/Getty Images)
