Week 12 CFB Tailgate Packing List

One might look at the lineup for this weekend and decide it’s a great weekend to catch up on yard work or remember family and friends exist and attend that fall festival downtown….but those are the fans who have not truly paid attention to how this season has unfolded. Much of the SEC, the conference that “Just Means More”, has their standard mid/late November matchups against high school teams which doesn’t help this situation. But there are many conference games expected to be blowouts, with a ton of double digit spreads on the board this weekend. I look at that, and take a look back at the season and think to myself that there is opportunity for absolute chaos to unfold and I cannot wait. Lets dig into these lopsided matchups and see where some upsets may be brewing.

#12 Georgia vs #7 Tennessee (7:30pm EST on ABC)

This prime time SEC matchup looks to be the only decent matchup for Week 12 and it will be an absolute rock fight. Think to yourself, if we went back to 2021 and told people that Tennessee’s defense is what is winning them games and is one of the best in the country, as well as unders hitting on games in 2024, people would throw us into the luny bin. But that is exactly what we have this season, as the Vols defense continues to impress the CFB world and being the key reason Tennessee is still in the running for an SEC title. Take this and combine it with the fact that TN star QB, Nico Lamaleava, is questionable to play, UGA has a liability at QB in Carson Beck, and the dawgs will be on their 4th string running back, this game is going to be a battle between defenses. Expect, even if Nico plays, for a low scoring affair with the team that makes the least amount of mistakes to win the ball game, turnovers and short fields will be massive in a game like this where we do not expect the offenses to do much on either side.

Best Bet: Tennessee ATS +9.5 (-108)

#16 Kansas State vs Arizona State (7pm EST on ESPN)

Twelve teams are still in the running for the Big 12 Championship game and we are on Week 12….Yes you heard that right, TWELVE. These are two of the twelve teams, both with an opportunity to catapult themselves up and essentially eliminate the other from contention. My objective opinion is that the Big 12 football games are some of the most exciting games to watch, no matter what teams are playing, due to the fact that any team can beat one another on any given week. Arizona State is coming off a win over UCF at home where if you look at that game, they essentially escaped the Knights as they scored 21 points on defense/special teams, anyone looking at the stats and covering the score would think UCF won easily. Now with that being said, ASU was missing their star running back, Skattebo, who should be back for this matchup against Kansas State, which will greatly improve their offense ability. Expect this one to be a high scoring affair that comes down to the last 5 minutes, just like every other Big 12 game this season.

Best Bet: Total Points Over 51.5 (-108)

Pittsburgh vs #20 Clemson (12pm EST on ESPN)

With ACC championship contention on the line for both of these teams we have a matchup where the books project a double digit victory for Clemson, but I believe this Pitt team will have something to say about that. Lets not act like Clemson is some powerhouse team this season like they have historically been, Dabo continues to not evolve with the game of football and NIL/Transfer portal world, and if we look back at previous years Pitt has always figured out a way to be a thorn in the Tiger’s side. Pitt is a sneaky 7-2 this season (same record as Clemson) and have lost their last 2 games in a row. My honest prediction is that Pitt has been looking forward to this matchup with Clemson and has most likely been preparing for it for about two weeks, overlooking that previous two teams they have played. Expect Pitt to come out swinging and take an early lead at home causing Dabo to have to figure out how to play from behind, which in the games they have played from behind this season they have come out with an L.

Best Bet: Pitt ATS +11.5 (-108)

Navy vs #25 Tulane (12pm EST on ESPN2)

Navy has been a great story this season starting off 6-0 and then dropping two in a row, one being to #12 Notre Dame. With this hot start they are currently sitting in a great spot to contend for the American Conference Championship. In order to keep this a reality, they have to go through American Conference powerhouse, Tulane. The green wave have steamrolled their way through their conference schedule so far, dropping 71 points in one of their games. The two losses for Tulane came against #12 Kansas State by one score and to, at the time, #15 Oklahoma on the road. This Tulane team is able to hang with anyone and has an offense with QB, Darian Mensah, who has a 177.7 rating against conference opponents and running back, Makhi Hughes, with over 1200 rushing yards on the year and averaging 5.8 yards a carry against conference opponents. The question in this game will be whether Tulane’s defense is able to stop Blake Horvath and the unique Navy offense that can actually throw the ball this season. I expect Navy to try and keep the ball out of the hands of the high powered Tulane offense and attempt to make this game slow with less points scored but Tulane pulls this one out and continues their run through the American Conference.

Best Bet: Tulane ATS -7 (-110)

Big 10 Conference Games……The games the books have correct.

Northwestern vs #2 Ohio State – Buckeyes are favored by 28.5 and I still think this is to low. Hammer Buckeyes against the spread in this game.

Purdue vs #4 Penn State – Nittany Lions are favored by 28.5 in this game and I expect them to make Purdue look like a high school team for yet another week. The “Spoiler makers” are no longer the “Spoiler makers”.

Wisconsin vs #1 Oregon – Listen, people will say “Camp Randall Stadium is one of the toughest places to play”, and “Do we really want to count a coach like Luke Fickell out in this one” to try and make this matchup sound like it is worth turning on the television. Let me remind everyone saying these things about the team called the Oregon Ducks…the team who went into the “Big House” and housed the Michigan Wolverines, beat Ohio State, and looks like the most complete team in the country led by Heisman candidate and 17th year senior Dillon Gabriel who now leads the FBS in most touchdowns ever. Wisonsin does not stand a chance, and if they figure out a way to beat the Ducks I will eat my words and admit I was wrong come Sunday. Hammer the Ducks ATS -13.5 (-112).