Week 13 college football thread: Don’t It Make My Buckeyes Blue?

Vanderbilt opened the season in Hawaii but did not schedule the 13th game it was permitted. Now the Commodores sit on five wins. Any other athletic department in the SEC would be calling Blacksburg trying to set up a game for championship weekend

 

But they will be 5-7 after this weekend. Can you go to a bowl at 6-7?

Why call Tech? Call Buffalo or Akron, a better chance to win with an equal payday.

 

You’d at least be ahead of the 5-7 teams banking on an APR bailout. (No, Vanderbilt is not on top there, on account of requiring actual classes.)

 

Kind of relieved the Tech-UVA game is off. No way I could have generated the usual amount of hate associated with a bitter rivalry game. Peace be to the UVA program.

 

Of course. Nice uni tribute that Virginia Tech (orange and white) and Liberty (navy) had to their comrades in Charlottesville last weekend.

 

Plus Tech gets to finish its season on the glorious high of knocking off Liberty.

 

EA Sports to launch college football game in '24

 

Games I like this week.
Look, I'm 24-34-1 this season on games I've actually bet on. I just like to do this to work out the logic and see if I was at least on the right track when the dust settles.

Friday
• Arizona -4 vs. Arizona State - Arizona has only covered two weeks in a row once this season. Still, Arizona State is hot garbage as opposed to Arizona's mildly tepid garbage. Hoping the latter smells a little better.

• UCLA -10 at Cal - Cal has put up a bit of a fight here and there, and UCLA could have a letdown, but this line isn't anywhere close to scaring me off.

• North Carolina -6.5 vs. North Carolina State - N.C. State has serious quarterback concerns, right? Even with that turd UNC laid last week I think they're at least a touchdown better at this point than N.C. State.

Saturday
• LSU -9.5 at Texas A&M - This has turned into quite a rivalry over the past five years or so. Ever since Kevin Faulk punched out Jimbo's nephew, it's been on. The Aggies are pretty clearly ready to get this over with, and LSU has plenty to play for and no reason to let up. This seems like a gift.

• Utah -29.5 at Colorado - I've been scared to go with or against Colorado the past few weeks just because the lines have been so huge (30+ each of the past three games), but they're not good enough to trust to cover. They finally crossed back under 30 against a good team and I'm ready to jump on it.

• Illinois -14 at Northwestern - This one opened at -12.5 and has done a good bit of creeping upward. I got it at 14, but now it's 14.5. Illinois is solid enough to trust with that.

• Purdue -11 at Indiana - Two teams that both keep veering out of their lane and then back in like they're dodging deer late at night after a 2-hour ride home, and you wake up from a snooze in the passenger's seat and ask, "What just happened?" Purdue is limping badly down the stretch, but Indiana has looked bad enough that I'll roll against them here. Which means this is a 24-14 Purdue win.

And a couple I steered clear of:
• Mississippi State +2.5 at Ole Miss - Just too much uncertainty here. Mississippi State has not been very good on the road (lost three in a row), and Ole Miss is the kind of team that puts up 700 yards of offense and still gets blown out. I'll watch as a fan and enjoy the train wreck.

• USC -5.5 vs. Notre Dame - Notre Dame has been spunky the second half of the season, if not downright good. Still, that 5.5 number is right in the margin of error. Feels like USC will win this by 7 with a late touchdown, which makes it too close of a game to roll with either side.

• Kansas State -12 vs. Kansas - I think I just ran out of money before I got to this one. But the Sunflower State hates me anyway. Last two times I backed either of these teams they did a 180 from their current trend and screwed me over. Makes it personal. Pass.

 

No brawl during the pregame prayer. This is already one of the milder Egg Bowls.

 

No brawl but we did get Cornpone Alex Jones rambling about God knows what to start.

 

Now that the Cowboys game is salted away, I'm watching the Egg Bowl at least until the Vikings game starts. Gonna need a quick dose of crazy.