Week 13 Picks and Preview - Part 1
Previewing Thursday and Friday of Week 13 of the 2021 college football season
The final week of the regular season is here! All 130 FBS teams are in action AND playing other FBS teams this week. That means 65 games over the course of four days and I have picks for all of them. Given the size of the slate, I will be breaking up the Week 13 preview into two parts: one for the Thursday-Friday games and one for the Saturday games. Let’s get to the football!
The Picks
Thursday, November 25th
Ole Miss @ Mississippi State, 6:30 PM CT
Pick: Ole Miss +2.5, Under 64.5
The perfect way to cap off your Thanksgiving day is with another edition of the Egg Bowl. Weird things tend to happen when Ole Miss and Mississippi State meet on the football field, and this year should be no exception with Lane Kiffin and Mike Leach as the two head coaches. This game will feature an interesting clash of styles with Leach’s Air Raid attempting to keep pace with Kiffin’s up-tempo spread. The difference in this game should be the Ole Miss defense which has played better in the last few weeks. I think the Rebels can get enough stops to pull out the win, so I’m taking the points here with Ole Miss. (If you don’t remember how the 2019 Egg Bowl ended, take a quick trip down memory lane with the video below. We can only hope this year’s game is as entertaining as that one.)
Friday, November 26th
Kansas State @ Texas, 11:00 AM CT
Pick: Kansas State +3, Over 52.5
I would feel better about taking the Wildcats in this game if Skylar Thompson was confirmed to be playing in this game. I don’t think he ends up playing, which is a concern, but it may not matter facing a Texas team that is completely lost on the field. As if Texas wasn’t dealing with enough, part-time QB Hudson Card has been ruled out for the game leaving the injured Casey Thompson as the lone available scholarship QB. Kansas State’s rushing attack is the one thing you can count on in this game, so I will take the points with Kansas State at home. I also like the Wildcats to win outright and hand Texas their 7th straight loss.
Iowa @ Nebraska, 12:30 PM CT
Pick: Iowa +1, Over 41
Nebraska is not nearly as bad as their record would indicate, but that doesn’t mean they are suddenly a good team. The defense is very good, but the offense is non-existent, especially now that Adrian Martinez won’t be playing QB. The story is similar in Iowa where an underwhelming offense must be bailed out by the Hawkeyes’ offense every single week. Under Scott Frost, Nebraska is good at losing close games by one possession and I expect more of the same in this game. Unfortunately, 1 point is not enough for me to take the Cornhuskers, so I’m taking Iowa.
Missouri @ Arkansas, 2:30 PM CT
Pick: Missouri +14.5, Under 62.5
After pulling off the big upset last weekend against Florida, this week will show how much of that win was Missouri and how much was a Florida team on its last legs. I tend to believe it’s more of the latter since Dan Mullen was fired the following morning. However, the Tigers did get the win and now face an Arkansas team that is definitely beatable. The Razorbacks showed well against Alabama last weekend, but this spread is a little too big, especially with the hook. I like the points here with Missouri.
Washington State @ Washington, 7:00 PM CT
Pick: Washington +1, Over 43.5
The Apple Cup could challenge the Egg Bowl in terms of potential absurdity this year with an interim coach for both teams. While Rolovich was not fired for performance reasons, Washington State wasn’t a powerhouse in the Pac-12 prior to his departure. Of course, neither was Washington, which ultimately led to the firing of Jimmy Lake. With two evenly matched teams, the easy pick in this game is Washington getting points at home, so that’s what I’m going to take. Give me the Huskies on Friday night.
Other games I’m watching:
Ohio @ Bowling Green (+6), Friday 11:00 AM CT
Boise State @ San Diego State (+2.5), Friday 11:00 AM CT
Cincinnati (-14) @ East Carolina, Friday 2:30 PM CT
TCU (+15) @ Iowa State, Friday 3:30 PM CT
UNC @ NC State (-6), Friday 6:00 PM CT
Dogs of the Week
I went 0-3 last week after UAB failed to pull out the win over UTSA. For the final week of the season, I’m doubling down with three picks on Thursday/Friday and three more picks on Saturday.
Bowling Green +195 over Ohio
Kansas State +130 over Texas
Ole Miss +110 over Mississippi State
Let me know what you think of my picks on Twitter @CFB_Connor. Thanks for reading! Have a Happy Thanksgiving!