NCAA Week 13 Picks - Early Games
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Week 12 Results: Rick: 5-8; Flip: 3-10
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Thursday, November 21
7:30 pm NC State at Georgia Tech (-8, 51.5) (ESPN) - Georgia Tech, by virtue of their 28-23 upset win over Miami, became bowl eligible with their sixth win in 10 games. The return of QB Haynes King give the Yellow Jackets an edge in this ACC contest.
The 5-5 Wolfpack is in a tough spot, needing to win wither this game or next week at North Carolina to become bowl eligible. They've only played two road games, one a loss to Clemson, 59-35, and an October 19, 24-23 squeaker, at Cal. From the looks of things, they'll be needing a win over the Tar Heels next week.
Coin Flip: Georgia Tech
Fearless Rick's Pick: Yellow Jackets 34 Wolfpack 20
8:00 pm Purdue at Michigan State (-14, 55) (FOX) - The 1-9 Boilermakers have had their brains beaten in all season long, but mostly in three of their last four games, in huge losses to Oregon, Ohio State and Penn State. Obviously, they are not prime time material.
However, they may have some hope against the 4-6 Spartans, whose wins have come against Florida Atlantic, Maryland, Prairie View, and Iowa. Their last three games have all registered in the "L" column, losing to Michigan, Indiana, and Illinois, the last two not even close.
Coin Flip: Michigan State
Fearless Rick's Pick: Boilermakers 27 Spartans 21
The 6-4 Spartans hav little to gain other than respect here, being already bowl eligible. They did kind of mail in their 42-21 defeat to #13 Boise State last week and may not be emotionally prepared for this home contest.
Coin Flip: UNLV
Fearless Rick's Pick: Rebels 42 Spartans 24
12:00 pm 5 Indiana at 2 Ohio State (-10, 52.5) (FOX) - Indiana, Army, and Oregon are the only teams without a loss at this point in the season. Ohio State's lone defeat was at Oregon, by a mere point, 32-31. A Buckeye win sets up a likely rematch with the Ducks
The Hoosiers haven't played a ranked team all season, and their last win, two weeks ago against Michigan, wasn't a very promising effort, slipping by the Wolverines with a 15-10 victory. Maybe they were looking ahead. Maybe they just aren't that good.
Indiana is a quality team, but the Buckeyes will be charged up for this showdown at the Horseshoe and so will their fans.
Coin Flip: Indiana
Fearless Rick's Pick: Buckeyes 35 Hoosiers 21
Miami has issued blowouts to a bunch of teams this season, though the biggest wins in ACC play were against Florida State and Duke, winning both by identical 22-point margins. 4-6 Wake Forest got blown out by Ole Miss and Clemson, but their other losses have been much closer.
With absolutely nothing to lose - needing wins here and next week against Duke to get to 6-6 - Wake will let it all hang out and hit pay dirt on enough occasions to cover the huge line.
Coin Flip: Miami
Fearless Rick's Pick: Hurricanes 38 Demon Deacons 24
5-5 Florida looked great against LSU with DJ Lagway back at QB, but the beating LSU in the Swamp doesn't compare to what Ole Miss brings. Florida could upset and they could keep this close. It's an iffy proposition, but that's what makes these games so great.
Coin Flip: Ole Miss
Fearless Rick's Pick: Rebels 31 Gators 26
Since that BYU loss, SMU has won seven straight. Besides a 28-27 win at Duke and a 34-27 victory at Louisville, nobody's come closer than 10 points, and that was Boston College last week, 38-28.
Virginia is 5-5 and needs a win here or next week at Virginia Tech to become bowl eligible. That's a reasonable goal, but the Mustangs are after bigger prizes and should roll to an eighth straight win and favoritism in the ACC title game. Virginia beat Pitt, 24-19 a few weeks ago, but they've lost four of their last five, including double-digit losses to Clemson, UNC, and Notre Dame.
Coin Flip: SMU
Fearless Rick's Pick: Mustangs 34 Cavaliers 20
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Sports Home
Cumulative: Rick: 74-104; Flip: 79-99
Friday, November 22
10:00 pm 24 UNLV (-7, 60.5) at San Jose State (FS1) - The Rebels of UNLV are 8-2, their only losses to Syracuse, 44-41, and Boise State, 29-24, so they still have an outside chance at playing in the Mountain West championship in a few weeks, though a win here is an absolute must. They do have to ability to light things up on offense and the defense is serviceable.
Saturday, November 23
12:00 pm Wake Forest at 8 Miami (-24, 66.5) (ESPN) - Miami suffered their first loss of the season two weeks ago at Georgia Tech in a 28-23 defeat. Still among the top three in the ACC along with Clemson and SMU, the hiccup might not have come at a better time for the Hurricanes, as a kind of reality check which may serve to unify their interests.
12:00 pm 9 Ole Miss (-11, 56) at Florida (ABC) - When last on the field November 9, the Rebels were ripping Georgia, 28-10. At 8-2, with a 5-2 conference mark, losses to LSU (29-26, OT), and Kentucky (20-17) are likely to keep them out of the SEC championship game, but not the 12 teams to make the playoffs. They can be fierce on defense and Jaxson Dart is one of the most capable QBs in the country.
12:00 pm 13 SMU (-9.5, 57.5) at Virginia (ESPN2) - ranked just outside the top 12 ostensible playoff teams, SMU hasn't missed a beat this season, with a 9-1 record that includes a 6-0 mark in the ACC. The only loss by the Mustangs was an 18-15 squeaker to BYU, a quality team ranked just below them (14).
