Odds courtesy of OddsShark.com
Usually the best Friday of college football action each regular season is Black Friday – i.e. that shopping holiday the day after American Thanksgiving. That’s this Friday in Week 13 and there are a handful of ranked teams in action.
From the Big 12 at noon ET, No. 15 Iowa State visits No. 20 Texas. The latter was off in Week 12, although that wasn’t the plan for the Longhorns as their game at Kansas was postponed to December 12 because of COVID-19 issues with the Jayhawks. This will be the home finale against Texas, which has kept its chances of reaching the Big 12 title game alive with a three-game winning streak. However, a loss here and the rumors of Coach Tom Herman being fired will return in force.
Iowa State controls its destiny to reach the Big 12 Championship Game and will get there for sure by winning out. Coach Matt Campbell’s team still could with a loss. Texas is -1.5 and covered the past four in this series.
No. 2 Notre Dame probably will run the table in the regular season and reach the ACC title game if the Irish can win at No. 25 North Carolina at 3:30 p.m. ET on Friday. Both were off in Week 12. The Heels aren’t out of the running for a spot in the conference championship game but would be with a loss. The Irish are -4.5 and have won 12 straight against the ACC.
The Civil War is renewed as No. 9 Oregon visits Oregon State at 7:30 p.m. ET on Friday. It’s already the home finale for the Beavers simply as the Pac-12 started so late. Oregon is -14 and has won 11 of the past 12 in this series.
Penn State-Michigan would normally be one of the biggest games of the year in the Big Ten, but when those two meet Saturday at noon ET in Ann Arbor it’s instead arguably the nation’s two biggest disappointments and two big-name head coaches in UM’s Jim Harbaugh and PSU’s James Franklin with questionable futures. Michigan is -2 and 5-1 ATS in the past six in the series.
It’s an important game from the Pac-12 South Division as surprising Colorado visits No. 19 Southern Cal at 3:30 p.m. ET. First-year coach Karl Dorrell has worked wonders with the Buffs, who had their game last Saturday against Arizona State canceled due to COVID-19. That could actually work in Colorado’s favor eventually. The Trojans are -13 and the home team is 6-1-1 ATS in the past eight meetings.
Clearly the marquee matchup on Saturday, though, is the Iron Bowl as No. 22 Auburn visits No. 1 Alabama at 3:30 p.m. ET. About the only SEC coach who seems to know how to beat Nick Saban on an occasional basis is Auburn’s Gus Malzahn. The Tide are -24.5 and on a 36-game home winning streak.
