COLLEGE FOOTBALL WEEK 13 PICKS RECAP AND PLAYOFF PREDICTIONS

There were a lot of big games last week, but none resulted in any big moves near the top of the playoff standings. I missed five games, and three of them were ACC games. Considering I’m a follower of the conference, this is just a little confounding to me.

Florida State escaped again, but unlike the rest of the top teams, they haven’t yet failed to close. I happen to think that’s a great accomplishment, considering three of those wins are against ranked opponents. I’m still surprised that the committee still has Mississippi State in the mix, but if the top four win out, it appears they’ll face Alabama in a semifinal.

My picks for the top four remained unchanged, with Alabama still on top. However, if Arkansas defeats Missouri, the Tide will be facing Georgia in Atlanta for the SEC championship. As good as the Tide is at home, they can be equally mediocre on the road. Of course that close win at Arkansas looks a bit better, considering the Razorbacks’ late run this season.

1.      Alabama

2.      Oregon

3.      Florida State

4.      TCU

Last Week:   20 - 5    .800

Overall:      213 - 81  .722

Kansas State (7 - 2) 27 @ West Virginia (6 - 4) 23: Correct. The Wildcats can still play a big role in the Big 12 race as they end the season at Baylor. Kansas State 26 - 20.

North Carolina (5 - 5) 27 @ Duke (8 - 2) 28: No.  The Blue Devils have pretty much tanked near the end of the season. A probable spot in the ACC Championship game disappeared with losses at Virginia Tech and then getting smoked by the Tar Heels. North Carolina 45 - 20.

Western Carolina (7 - 4) 13 @ (1) Alabama (9 - 1) 38: Correct. Not much to comment on with this one. 48 - 14.

Colorado (2 - 8) 20 @ (2) Oregon (9 - 1) 42: Correct. Oregon smacked around a lesser opponent, but at least they easily won a game they were supposed to. Oregon 44 - 10.

Boston College (6 - 4) 23 @ (3) Florida State (10 - 0) 34: Correct.  Boston College has made a habit of late season upsets over the last thirty years. They almost pulled off another one. Close but no cigar. Florida State 20 -17.

Vanderbilt (3 - 7) 17 @ (4) Mississippi State (9 - 1) 30: Correct.  If you ever want to discount the value of a good head coach in college football, look no farther than James Franklin’s departure from Vanderbilt to go to Penn State.  Mississippi State 51 - 0.

Indiana (3 - 7) 16 @ (6) Ohio State (9 - 1) 41: Correct. This one was a lot closer than the final score for most of the game. The Michigan rivalry game is the only thing standing between the Buckeyes and a slot in the conference championship game. Ohio State 42 - 27.

Oklahoma State (5 - 5) 24 @ (7) Baylor (8 - 1) 38:  Correct. The Bears continued to stay in the hunt for the playoffs. Wins against Texas Tech and Kansas State could force the committee to consider their win over TCU as a tiebreaker, if necessary. Baylor 49 - 28.

(8) Ole Miss (8 - 2) 24 @ Arkansas (5 - 5) 27: Correct.  Talk about a team that just needed one statement win to get untracked! The Hogs pulled off a historic win to post back to back shutouts, the first time a team has done that in over 70 years.  Arkansas 30 - 0.

(19) USC (7 - 3) 20 @ (9) UCLA (8 - 2) 23: Correct.  I think what’s interesting is that there is a lot of football left to be played and the Bruins are in a position to win the Pac-12 South, beat Oregon in the Pac-12 championship and then see what happens. UCLA 38 - 20.

Charleston Southern (8 - 3) 20  @ (10) Georgia (8 - 2) 41: Correct. A great tuneup for Georgia Tech, or maybe not. Georgia 55 - 9.

Rutgers (6 - 4) 17 @ (11) Michigan State (8 - 2) 30: Correct. The Spartans seemed to take out a lot of frustration on Rutgers.  Michigan State 45 - 3.

Washington State (3 - 7) 27 @ (13) Arizona State (8 - 2) 44: Correct. The Sun Devils will be big Stanford fans to beat UCLA, but it won’t matter if they can’t beat Arizona. Arizona State 52 - 31.

Samford (7 - 3) 20 @ (14) Auburn (7 - 3) 47: Correct. Auburn doesn’t seem to be hitting on all cylinders. They better get their act together before taking on Alabama. Auburn 31 - 7.

(15) Arizona (8 - 2) 23 @ (17) Utah (7 - 3) 24: No. The Wildcats’ beat down of Utah kept a number of scenarios alive in the Pac-12 South. Arizona 42 - 10.

(16) Wisconsin (8 - 2) 34 @ Iowa (7 - 3) 21: Correct. The Badgers didn’t overwhelm the Hawkeyes, but still stayed alive in the Big Ten West, and can advance to the championship game with a win over Minnesota. Wisconsin 26 - 24.

(20) Missouri (8 - 2) 30 @ Tennessee (5 - 5) 21: Correct. No surprise here. The Tigers have a big challenge to overcome suddenly tough Arkansas to get to the SEC championship game against either Alabama and Mississippi State.  Missouri 29 - 21.

Kansas (3 - 7) 17 @ (21) Oklahoma (7 - 3) 34:  Correct. Could Bob Stoops be headed to Florida? I’m thinking he’s definitely on AD Jeremy Foley’s short list. Oklahoma 44 - 7.

Georgia State (1 - 9) 14 @ (22) Clemson (7 - 3) 37: Correct. Just a date with in-state rival South Carolina is left in the Tiger’s season. Clemson 28 - 0.

(25) Minnesota (7 - 3)  28 @ (23) Nebraska (8 - 2) 30: No. Nebraska coach Bo Pelini was asked this week what direction the Cornhusker program was headed. If they could have figured out a way to close out the game against the Golden Gophers, the answer might have been a bit easier.  Minnesota 28 - 24.

(24) Louisville (7 - 3) 37 @ Notre Dame (7 - 3) 30: Correct. If Brian Kelly is going to get the Irish back in the national picture, they better get tougher and faster on the defense. Pretty soon, they’ll be replacing service academies with ACC teams.  Louisville 31 - 28

Virginia Tech (5 - 5) 26 @ Wake Forest (2 - 8) 16: No. This was a just plain ugly game. Wake Forest 6 - 3  2 OT.

Miami (6 - 4) 31 @ Virginia (4 - 6) 21: No. I have no idea Virginia where this came from, except that the Hurricanes must have had a huge letdown from their loss to Florida State. For Virginia coach Mike London, the win apparently resulted in another season at the helm of the Cavaliers. Virginia 30 - 13.

Maryland (6 - 4) 24 @ Michigan (5 - 5) 23: Correct. The Terrapins seem to be headed in the right direction.  Maryland 23 - 16.

Oregon State (5 - 5) 23 @ Washington (6 - 5)  34:  Correct.  I have good news and bad news for the Beavers: They can still become bowl eligible, but they have to beat Oregon.  Washington 37 - 13.