Yes, it is Rivalry Weekend, with the Ohio State-Michigan, Alabama-Auburn, etc., etc. But the fun doesn’t stop there in Week 13. This is also Bowl Eligibility Weekend, where in many cases, an in-state rival is trying to keep its opponent home for the holidays.
There are 10 matchups between Power Five teams where at least one team is trying to become bowl eligible, with six of those being in-state matchups. Baylor-Texas Tech, Purdue-Indiana and Tennessee-Vanderbilt features both teams at 5-6, where the winner moves on and the loser puts the equipment away until spring.
Elsewhere, Florida can keep the hated Seminoles bowl-less for the first time in 36 years, Herm Edwards can make even more friends at Arizona State by finishing off 5-6 Arizona and Penn State can end Maryland’s hopes of extending its bizarre season. Even the Notre Dame-USC game has the subplot of USC missing a bowl for something other than probation for the first time since 2000.
So enjoy the big matchups, but keep an eye on the bowl-eligibility games. Those desperation games are going to be fun as well.
It appears yours truly and the Rivals analysts will finish over .500 (and therefore be bowl eligible), while our guests from the Rivals publishers network and Yahoo Sports won’t quite make it. But that’s OK as this week offers one more chance at glory for college football editor Cody Brunner from Yahoo, Antony Dasher from UGASports.com and Mike Farrell, The Godfather of college football recruiting and Grand Poobah of the Rivals analysts.
Oklahoma (-1.5) at West Virginia, Friday, 8 ET, ESPN
I’m thinking this is going to be high scoring. Both teams are averaging 40 points and 500 yards per game. Oklahoma has scored at least 44 points in its last four wins over WVU. The ‘over’ has hit each of the last four times the two teams have played. OU has hit the ‘over’ in nine of 10 games this year — WVU in six. The over/under is 83.5. Yes, lots of points. OU gets a few more than WVU.
Trocchi’s bet: Oklahoma to cover, $50
Brunner: Oklahoma
Dasher: Oklahoma
Farrell: Oklahoma
Washington (+3) at Washington State, Friday, 8:30 ET, FOX
Mike Leach dropped a little Fast Times at Ridgemont High knowledge at Tuesday’s press conference, which I would say indicates he’s not too tight for the second straight Apple Cup that features both teams being ranked. Washington has won five straight in the series, all by at least 10 points and has covered the last four years. But the Cougars are 9-1 ATS this season while Washington is 2-8. Wazzu does it again.
Trocchi’s bet: Washington State to cover, $75
Brunner: Washington State
Dasher: Washington State
Farrell: Washington State
Michigan (-4) at Ohio State, Noon ET, FOX
Couple of trends to be aware of: In games with spreads under 30, Ohio State is 1-6 against the spread and Michigan is 6-2 this season. However, the underdog has covered five of the last seven in this series. But it's hard to pick Ohio State after its uneven season, despite the home field. The Revenge Tour continues.
Trocchi’s bet: Michigan to cover, $100
Brunner: Michigan
Dasher: Ohio State
Farrell: Michigan
Auburn (+24) at Alabama, 3:30 ET, CBS
Interesting fact: Per College Football Reference, since 1969 there have been 10 rivalries that have had more games while both teams ranked in the top 10 than Alabama-Auburn, including Colorado-Nebraska and Ohio State-Penn State (Nebraska-Oklahoma has the most). Is the Iron Bowl overrated? Not really, but both teams just don’t seem to be great at the same time very often. Alabama is going to want to pour it on after last year’s upset.
Trocchi’s bet: Alabama to cover, $100
Brunner: Alabama
Dasher: Alabama
Farrell: Alabama
Notre Dame (-10.5) at USC, 8 ET, ABC
This game is drowning in subplots, from Clay Helton’s job status to Notre Dame’s undefeated season to USC’s bowl eligibility to ND’s five-year streak of losing its final regular-season game. As to the actual football, there’s no reason to think USC is going to be able to hang with ND on either side of the ball. Irish win big.
Trocchi’s bet: Notre Dame to cover, $200
Brunner: Notre Dame
Dasher: Notre Dame
Farrell: Notre Dame
Season Standings
Trocchi: 35-24-1
Rivals analysts: 32-27-1
Rivals publishers: 24-35-1
Yahoo Sports: 21-38-1
One more that I like: Stanford (-6.5) at UCLA
UCLA has a chance to end the season with some nice momentum in Year One of Chip Kelly, and they are facing a Stanford team that hasn’t been overly impressive the past two months. This is a big game for the Bruins and they should at least keep it close.
Trocchi's bet: UCLA to cover, $100
Trocchi’s Season Stats:
38-32-1, minus $55
