This Week in College Football: Week 13

Georgia Tech coastal division champions? Maryland to the Big Ten? I don’t know about any of that, but what I do know is there’s actual college football being played all week

As usual, all times Eastern and all predictions wrong.

Tuesday, November 20
7:00: Akron @ Toledo (ESPN2): Well, Toledo’s been pretty solid this year. Akron, at 1-10, less so.

Thursday, November 22
7:30: Texas Christian @ Texas (ESPN): Texas has been on a 4-0 roll after the Disaster in Dallas during the Red River Shootout. TCU can point to their upset of WVU a few weeks ago, but Texas has generally been better over the last few weeks and they appear to be a more solid team at this point in the season. Nonetheless, this will probably still be more interesting than watching the Patriots dismantle the Jets.

Friday, November 23
11:00:

  • Syracuse @ Temple (ESPN2): Last one out of the Big East, turn off the lights. That aside, looking at the records of the Big East teams and their stats and trying to discern any noticeable patterns is an exercise in madness. The ‘Cuse should win, but will they? Who knows.
  • Ohio @ Kent State (ESPNU): Some early post-Turkey Day MACtion! Early on, this looked like it could decide the MAC East but Ohio went from undefeated to losing three games this year and Kent State has already clinched. So I’ll have to go with the Golden Flashes.

12:00: Nebraska @ Iowa (ABC): Iowa’s offense should be declared a federal disaster area at this point. The Huskers should roll.

2:00: Marshall @ East Carolina (CBSS): This is the Thundering Herd’s last, best change for a bowl game, but I think they’ll probably come up short.

2:30: Louisiana State @ Arkansas (CBS): While LSU making too close to teams they should dominate makes for sublimely entertaining Les Miles press conferences, I don’t really expect a repeat in this one.

3:00: Utah @ Colorado (FX): I’m not sure why you’d watch this, but I feel pretty good about the Utes’ chances here.

3:30:

  • Washington @ Washington State (FOX): We used to make fun of the Apple Cup for featuring two awful teams, but this one will probably be more akin to a train wreck.
  • West Virginia @ Iowa State (ABC): Iowa State is one of the very few Big 12 teams that probably can’t take advantage of WVU’s defense to keep up with them, this finally getting the beleaguered Mountaineers another conference win. That said, the best realignment tweet I’ve seen all day was:

    RT @ericcrawford: RT @joelshaffer2: Word is the Big 12 is in negotiations with the West Virginia defense to join the conference next season
    — Smart Football (@smartfootball) November 20, 2012

7:00: South Florida @ Cincinnati (ESPN): Cincy should win, but see above for my disclaimer about trying to predict anything related to the Big East.

10:00: Arizona State @ Arizona (ESPN): The battle for the Territorial Cup has been pretty even these last few years, and that may make this the most entertaining game of the day. I expect the Sun Devils to win, but keep in mind the last three games have all been decided by four points or less. So if you haven’t been watching football day, this might be a good one to unwind to.

Expect bowl predictions to be up in the next couple days, and the weekend picks column up as per usual on Friday night. Until then, remember, To Hell With Georgia.