College football week 12 thread: All the Brigham Young Dudes

Official decided to put an end to this chicanery.

 

Texas-Arkansas is one of those games that HAVE to be played at least a week before Turkey Day, as we all know the status of that other game that involves bonfire.

 

Was that wrong? Should I not have done that?



His coach is slightly less than thrilled.

Georgia coach Kirby Smart rips safety Jake Pope for celebrating with Ole Miss fans after loss: ‘What an idiot’

However, others find curious the things that do and do not bother Kirby Smart.

 

Proof that Washington state might not fully be part of B1G country yet:

I had to cover a local Veterans Day parade for my shop today. It was breezy, in the low 40s with drizzle so I wore my Iowa Hawkeyes winter hat.

Before I shoot the event I track down the organizer for some info about the parade … and he joked, “You’ve got a lot of nerve to wear that hat after what they did to my team.”

“Well, it’s been a tough year for U-W after just about everyone left from last season’s championship game team,” I replied.

“Oh, I’m not talking about the Huskies. I’m from Wisconsin. Go Badgers!”

 

Mid-week bonus edition. Even without speaking, Lauren looks yummy.

 

Charlie Strong calls Wednesday night MACtion. Huh.

 

When LSU showed up I was waiting for him to slip and fall off the rock.

 

Late in the half, Miami of Roethlisberger up 17-7 against Kent State. When the Flashes scored their opening touchdown, it was their first lead all season. In Game 10.

 

BYU only a 2.5 point favorite hosting KU.
Something seems horribly wrong with this number.

 

BYU has been weirdly undervalued all season. They're 7-2 ATS. Of the nine games, they've been underdogs in four and favored by three points or less in three others including this week. They didn't cover against Oklahoma State (8.5-point favorites) and Utah (-3) — which, of course, were two of their last three games.
Kansas is coming off a surprisingly easy beatdown of Iowa State, so maybe it's two trend lines intersecting.

 

Games I like this week:
• UCLA +3.5/ML at Washington — UCLA weathered a rough early-season schedule (four games in a row vs. teams that have been or are currently ranked in the top 10, plus some brutal travel) and have quietly gotten on a roll on the back side of it. They’ve won three in a row and, for our purposes here, seem to be getting great lines because of those early struggles. They haven't been favored since the opener at Hawaii. Keep on keepin’ on, Bruins. Best mediocre team in the country and 6-1 ATS in their last seven — with the 1 being a 21-17, last-minute loss to Minnesota that might have been a push depending on when you got it.
Also pairs nicely with the other Friday night game of Houston +1/ML at Arizona. Arizona has fallen apart. Lost five in a row, with three of those by 20+ points. Houston has won three of its last four and gotten its act together after a brutal first half of the season.

• BYU -3 vs. Kansas — Did you know that, since 2019, BYU is 30-3 in night games? This one kicks off in the late night window. Give me the hard partyin’ Mormons.

• LSU -4.5 at Florida — Florida has some fight in them, but they’re running out of bodies. LSU has sucked the suckiest suck that ever sucked the last game and a half, but I think they can out-talent Florida here and win pretty comfortably.

• Tennessee +10 at Georgia — This line is at least three points too big, right? Seems like it should be a one-score game either way.

• Arizona State +9.5 at Kansas State — Another game that seems more like it ought to be a five or six point spread. I’ll take the points.

• Memphis -14 vs. UAB — We’re getting into that magical time of year when awful teams with coaches on the brink of getting fired lose interest. In those special cases, give me the decent team with something to play for giving a reasonable amount of points.

And some games I want to like but can’t:
• Boston College +19 at SMU — Right as soon as I thought Boston College was fading, they came out and ran all over a decent Syracuse team. I’m not sure which one shows up this week, so this is a pass.
Same goes for Virginia +23 at Notre Dame. Virginia put a stake into Pitt’s heart last week. They probably have a puncher’s chance of staying within three touchdowns, but could just as easily lose 45-14. No thanks.

• Ohio State -28.5 at Northwestern/Penn State -28.5 at Purdue — Should be two lopsided wins for Ohio State and Penn State, but these also seem to be the kind of games that are suddenly 17-7 late in the third quarter for some bizarre reason. One or the other is going that way and I can’t figure out which, so ... pass.

• South Carolina -12 vs. Missouri — Missouri just keeps lingering like a stale fart. By all rights they should be 5-4 or 4-5. How they're still in the top 25 is a mystery on par with the pyramids and Bigfoot. Lucky? Good? I have no idea. I think South Carolina can manhandle them, but I have no idea which number the Mizzou roulette wheel comes up on this week, so ... nope.