Week 13 College Football Predictions: The Forgotten Week

Week 13 College Football Predictions: The Forgotten Week

Week 12: 3-2, Season Record 51-27 

Guys, sorry I'm late. At least this week is pretty boring for games. Kansas State already beat WVU on Thursday, and nobody in the top 5 plays a meaningful game. The best game between two ranked teams might be USC vs UCLA, so no, there is no best ranked game this week. Which is why I wanted to take a second to highlight my favorite mascot in college sports, the the Stanford Tree. Some of you may not be aware, but the Stanford Tree is a tradition started by the Stanford band due in large part to the fact that Stanford hasn't ever  gotten around to deciding on an official mascot. So in 1975, a bunch of drunk college kids threw some green leafy substances on a costume and paraded around the band section. Trust me, this is not the craziest thing they've done. The tree has only gained in notoriety since its inception. Though it's all good natured fun, the Stanford Tree seems to have become everyone's friend that gets way too drunk and then you're worried for the rest of the night where they wandered off to. For me though, it's one of the few mascots that I actively look for during any sporting event. 

Baylor 42 - OSU 13

I mostly want to use this game pick as a way to beg the playoff committee not to let Baylor in. What is the committee's criteria for teams? Who knows, but if it were me: Resume, quality of wins, and when necessary quality of losses. Baylor has beaten exactly 2 ranked teams. TCU gave up a 21 point lead in the 4th quarter, which is the most upsetting blown lead for me this year outside of Texas-UCLA and every goddamn FSU game. And Oklahoma has been criminally overrated dating back to LAST season when they beat Alabama in a bowl game. "Trevor Knight for Heisman", blow me. Outside of those wins, look at the rest of their schedule: SMU, Northwestern St (really???), Buffalo (REALLY????), Iowa State, Texas (GODDAMMIT), and Kansas. This team is the FSU of the Big 12. No strength of schedule to stand on. Their loss is a weird one, 41-27 on the road against WVU. They were actually tied going into the 4th quarter but Clint "Tricky" Trickett led the Mountaineers to 14 unanswered points to take the win. Running up against character limit per post for commentary, Baylor sucks, trust me, committee no select them. 

UCLA 30 - USC 22

Once again, I'm not really sure what to make of the PAC 12. UCLA was hyped up all offseason and then just sucked for about 5 weeks before coming out of nowhere to blow out a decent Arizona State team. They've made it to the later portion of their schedule with only 2 conference losses, and control their own destiny in the division, if they win out, they go to the championship game. For USC, they have to wonder what might have been this year. They've lost 3 games this year, the Boston College one being inexcusable, but the loss to ASU was on a hail mary as time expired, and Utah beat them on a touchdown pass with 8 seconds left. They could easily be undefeated in conference play, and probably top 10 nationally with a little bit of luck. The matchup is probably pretty even, but it's at home for UCLA where they have, oh Jesus they're only 2 and 2 this year. Wow, I admit I thought their home record would bolster my pick a little here. Well, go Bruins. 

Arkansas 34 - Ole Miss 30

Hey, nevermind, maybe this week will be interesting after all! Ole Miss got a breather after an emotional loss against Auburn by just demolishing what seems to be a Christian Middle School. But they play an Arkansas team on the road who's had an incredibly interesting season. Big loss to Auburn to start the year, they then won on the road convincingly against Texas Tech. Then two rollercoaster games for them, losing in overtime to Texas A&M, and in regulation by one point to Alabama. Then Georgia stomped them, which surprised me. They got back on track though by losing another close game to Mississippi State. BUT, then they finally broke the SEC streak and beat LSU last week. My point is that they've played consistently well against tough competition and eventually they're going to win a few of those games. I think Ole Miss is one of them. And everyone pour one out for Laquan Treadwell. 

Tennessee 38 - Missouri 27

A Tennessee win, now that's something I haven't called for in a long time. Tennessee has looked surprisingly competent since getting blown out by Ole Miss. After that game, they fought the good fight in a loss to Alabama, but then beat South Carolina in overtime and stomped Kentucky. Which sounds simple, but its the SEC East we're talking about here. Any signs of competency must be acknowledged in a year where not much has gone right for any team in that division (R.I.P Muschamp face gifs). Missouri is actually leading the East right now, but a loss puts them in a losing tie for first place with Georgia, who holds the tie-breaker after beating them 34 to 0 in Columbia. Ouch. 

Speed round since I only have about 5 minutes before games start:

Arizona 38 - Utah 31 Go fighting Rich Rods!

Oklahoma 40 - Kansas 38 The disrespect for Oklahoma is real. 

Minnesota 37 - Nebraska 34 Pack it up, Big 10, you had a good run. 

Louisville 30 - Notre Dame 24 Bring back Charlie Weis!

Boston College 27 - FSU 23  It's going to right one day!