As usual, all times Eastern and all predictions wrong.

Noon: Wofford @ North Dakota State (NCAA Division I Quaterfinal, ESPN2): Honestly, I don’t have many thoughts on this other than I think it’d generally be more interesting if the Bison (pronounced ‘Bizon’) won, so let’s go with them.

3:00: Army vs. Navy (@ Philadelphia, PA; CBS): This is the game of the day, obviously, with the requisite lead-in to the Hiesman ceremony. Look, the main reason to watch here is that it should be a close game, but that I actually like Army to win in the first time since… well, the first time that I can ever recall. Maybe I need to go back through this site’s archives, but that’s besides the point. Last year’s game was a massive upset, this year’s won’t be.

As usual, all times Eastern and all predictions wrong.

Friday
8:00: Southern California vs. Stanford (Pac-12 Conference Championship @ Santa Clara, CA; ESPN): I’ll be at this game! At any rate, it’s hard to know what to make of this rematch. USC beat Stanford 42-24 but that was literally back in September. Suffice it to say, things have changed, including the part where USC later got shallacked by a Notre Dame team that the Cardinal just easily beat. USC has since struggled in conference play as well, so I’m going to pick the mild upset and go with Stanford here.

Saturday
Noon:

• Memphis @ Central Florida (American Conference Championship; ABC): Memphis is solid and all, but UCF is pretty dang good. Going with the Knights here.
• Akron vs. Toledo (Mid-American Conference Championship @ Detroit, MI; ESPN): Saturday early afternoon MACtion? Sure, why not! That said, Toledo is a huge favorite, and for good reason. That’s never stopped underdogs in the MAC title game before, but still, this should be a straightforward Toledo win.
• North Texas @ Florida Atlantic (Conference USA Championship; ESPN2): Roll Owls.

12:30: Oklahoma vs. Texas Christian (Big 12 Conference Championship @ Arlington, TX; FOX): Everyone is saying that Gary Patterson and TCU will have Oklahoma’s number in this rematch and ruin Oklahoma’s chances at the playoff to prove how dumb the Big 12 having a title game is. Therefore, I’m going against the grain and thinking the Sooners win easily.

4:00: Georgia vs. Auburn (Southeastern Conference Championship @ Atlanta, GA; CBS): It’s hard to beat at team twice in the same season, but Auburn is actually pretty good? They’ve already shutdown Georgia and just shut down Kirby Smart’s master in the worst performance anyone has seen out of the Tide in years. It’s hard for me to pick against the Tigers here.

7:30: Troy @ Arkansas State (ESPN2): Neal Brown just’s sitting here waiting, Tennessee. I mean, he beat LSU! (And will probably beat Arkansas State.)

7:45: Fresno State @ Boise State (Mountain West Conference Championship; ESPN): Fresno won round one down in Fresno, but given home field advantage I like Boise in the rematch.

8:00:

• Wisconsin vs. Ohio State (Big Ten Conference Championship @ Indianapolis, IN; FOX): I like Ohio State is going to win. There I said it. Now it’s time to hedge. For starters, it depends on which version of Ohio State, and more specifically, J.T. Barrett shows up. If it’s Good Ohio State/JT then I think they’ll win. Otherwise, this Wisconsin team is a pretty dang good version of Wisconsin (I mean, they’re undefeated!) and will win if Ohio State is anything less than 100%.
• Clemson vs. Miami (Atlantic Coast Conference Championship @ Charlotte, NC; ABC): I don’t think Miami is that good and that Clemson will win easily.

As usual, all times Eastern and all predictions wrong.

Noon:

• Georgia @ Georgia Tech (ABC): TO HELL WITH GEORGIA
• Ohio State @ Michigan (FOX): All right, it’s hard to think of anything to say about this game that hasn’t already been said. If you don’t have a rooting interest in any of these other games, this is probably where you want to me. I like Ohio State, but boy howdy is it super dependent on which version shows up.
• Florida State @ Florida (ESPN): Ugh. Uh, FSU? Florida has looked completely checked out the past two weeks.
• Indiana @ Purdue (ESPN2): Purdue had a kind of out-of-nowhere result last week with an upset at Iowa, and I like them to continue the trend at home against the Hoosiers.
• Kansas @ Oklahoma State (FS1): Kansas is capital-B Bad.
• East Carolina @ Memphis (ESPNU): Unless Memphis isn’t awake for this 11 AM local time start, or is just looking ahead to UCF next week, they shouldn’t have any issues here.
• Connecticut @ Cincinnati (ESPNEWS): Ugh. Uh, Cincy?
• Louisville @ Kentucky (SEC): The Fightin’ Lamar Jacksons seek revenge for last year’s demoralizing loss, and once again you’d have to predict them to win.
• Tulane @ Southern Methodist (CBSS): Maybe keep an eye on this one, this could be lit. Though if that happens, that would definitely be in SMU’s favor.

12:20: Boston College @ Syracuse (ACC): Boston College figures to continue their late-season surge, while the Orange have been doing pretty much the opposite.

12:30: Duke @ Wake Forest (ACC/RSN): Despite I watched what Duke did to my own team last week, I still like Wake a lot here. They’re a better all around team.

3:30:

• Alabama @ Auburn (CBS): You could pretty much make this a bracket. The winner here plays Georgia in the SEC championship, and the winner there makes it into the playoff. Who will win? Auburn has looked fantastic since they lost to LSU, a string of 30+ point wins in their wake (including demolishing Georgia earlier this month). Bama has, of course, been Bama, but here’s the thing: who have they played? Their best win is either LSU or Mississippi State, which isn’t quite a Georgia-quality win at this point. I still take the view that you bet against the Tide at your risk, but this is the most vulnerable Alabama team in years.
• Wisconsin @ Minnesota (ABC): After losing to Northwestern, it’s safe to say the boat is pretty much sunk for Minnesota. I like the Badgers to retain the Axe here.
• Iowa State @ Kansas State (ESPN2): Not technically a rivalry, though it does have a fun nickname (“Farmageddon”) and is one of the most played rivalries in the history of college football (8th longest, 100 straight meetings). The Cyclones have been one of the most interesting teams in football, but even K-State got into the act last week by putting an already lethargic Oklahoma State team in a sleeperhold. With the game in the Little Apple, I’m leaning slightly toward the home team.
• North Carolina @ North Carolina State (ESPNU): UNC’s lost season figures to come to a merciful end.
• Pennsylvanian State @ Maryland (BTN): Maryland is feisty this year, but it hasn’t often translated into wins, a trend that figures to continue against the Nittany Lions.

3:45: West Virginia @ Oklahoma (ESPN): West Virginia isn’t especially good this year, but they’re still dangerous enough to wreck Oklahoma’s chances of making the playoff. I’m not going to predict that, but there’s a chance.

4:00:

• Michigan State @ Rutgers (FOX): Rutgers is better this year, but… nah.
• Northwestern @ Illinois (FS1): Northwestern.
• Temple @ Tulsa (ESPNEWS): Temple.
• Vanderbilt @ Tennessee (SEC): Should I predict that Tennessee will finish its first ever winless SEC season with a loss here? Eh, why the hell not, let’s do this.

4:30: Arizona @ Arizona State (Pac12): As usual, Khalil Tate figures to just be too much for the Sun Devils. Take advantage of the opportunity to watch this if you get Pac-12 Network.

7:00: Oregon State @ Oregon (ESPN2): The Civil War has a reputation, but I don’t think an Oregon State team that is winless against FBS teams is much of a threat for the Ducks.

7:30:

• Clemson @ South Carolina (ESPN): These Gamecocks are improved, sure, but of their five SEC wins, three of them have come against teams that have fired their coach. Clemson has looked more like Clemson of recent weeks, and so I don’t think they’ll have issues here.
• Texas-San Antonio @ Louisiana Tech (ESPNU): Looking over these two teams’ records, I’m actually leaning toward UTSA a little bit. I didn’t figure on that, but here we are.
• Texas A&M @ Louisiana State (SEC): With the reports that Sumlin is out regardless of the result of this game, I’d have to guess that they might be a little bit flat. I like LSU here.

8:00:

• Washington State @ Washington (FOX): Well, the Apple Cup isn’t quite as hype as we thought it’d be when both of these teams were undefeated, but this still figures to be a lot of fun. Wazzu can still make it to Santa Clara with a win, but I think the Huskies are a better team and they always have an edge at home.
• Notre Dame @ Stanford (ABC): Speaking of taking advantage of a time slot to watch Khalil Tate, you can even see Bryce Love in primetime on broadcast television! That said, Notre Dame is a better all-around team than Stanford is this year. This figures to not be a good look for the Pac-12, especially if Washington wins the Apple Cup (and Stanford proceeds to the Pac-12 title game on tiebreakers).

9:00: Brigham Young @ Hawaii (CBSS): BYU, but avoid this unless you really need video footage from somewhere sunny and warm right now.

10:00: Colorado @ Utah (FS1): It’s not only the Battle of the Rockies, it’s the Battle of Last Place Teams In the Pac-12 South. Nonetheless, Utah’s the better team, they’ve just had some bad luck this year. I like the Utes here.

10:15: Utah State @ Air Force (ESPN2): Air Force just, well, hasn’t been good this year. I don’t figure that will change with this game.

As usual, all times Eastern and all predictions wrong.

Noon:

• Mississippi State @ Arkansas (CBS): Novembert seems to be a thing of the past, especially now that the man who hired Brett Bielema was just fired. Have to like Miss State here.
• Virginia @ Miami (ABC): Well, it’d be kind of on-brand for modern day Miami to score a huge win over a top-tier opponent and then immediately flatline against Virginia, but somehow I just don’t see that happening.
• Michigan @ Wisconsin (FOX): The best indicator of the kind of week we’re looking at for Week 12 is that this is the consensus best game going. Which, well, that’s probably true, and Michigan is the best team between Wisconsin and their trip to Indianapolis in a couple of weeks. That said, this still a reloading Michigan team that has some severe issues on offense that figure to be tough to overcome in Madison.
• Texas @ West Virginia (ESPN): The Longhorns managed to break the 30-point barrier for the first time in a month last week by walloping Kansas 42-27. Unfortunately for them, West Virginia is not Kansas.
• Louisiana-Monroe @ Auburn (ESPN2): Tigers.
• Texas Christian @ Texas Tech (FS1): Texas Tech hasn’t beaten a single Big 12 team with a pulse, a trend that doesn’t figure to change now.
• Central Florida @ Temple (ESPNU): We’re only a week away from USF-UCF!
• Southern Methodist @ Memphis (ESPNEWS): If you get tired of watching large men crash into other large men to move the ball a few yards at a time, then boy howdy do I have an offer for you! (If you get ESPNEWS, that is.) Because there will be POINTS in this game. The over/under is 110 points. Given that there’s a non-zero chance that the halftime score could be 52-50, I’d say take the over. Outside of that, though, Memphis should win.
• Minnesota @ Northwestern (BTN): I have no opinion on this game. Northwestern, I guess?
• Cincinnati @ East Carolina (CBSS): Don’t watch this unless you’re flipping into the see the replay of something rare and/or dumb, like a one-point safety for something. (Which, given the announcers CBSS usually has, would be hilarious because I suspect they would have no idea what’s going on.) As for who’s going win? Uh, ECU I guess?

12:20: Pittsburgh @ Virginia Tech (ACC): I do so enjoy beating VPI, but they should be able to get back on track at home against a struggling Pitt team.

3:00: Arizona State @ Oregon State (Pac12): Remember those salad days of early October when the Sun Devils ripped off consecutive wins over Washington and Utah and we were all “hey, maybe they have a really good defense!” Yeah, it didn’t last. They should still be able to take the Beavers, though.

3:30:

• Illinois @ Ohio State (ABC): Buckeyes.
• Navy @ Notre Dame (NBC): Provided Notre Dame can get up for this game at all, they should be able to take this one. This Navy is good, but not as good as the Navy teams that have given Notre Dame fits in the past.
• Kentucky @ Georgia (CBS): Kentucky is probably the second or third best team in the SEC East right now, which says more about the relative state of Florida and Tennessee football right now, but still. Anyway, it was fun to watch Georgia lose last week (and lose badly, at that), but they should be able to run over, around, and through Kentucky.
• Oklahoma @ Kansas (ESPN): Sooners.
• Kansas State @ Oklahoma State (ESPN2): Kansas State won’t win this game, but I sort of consider it a compliment to Bill Synder that I can’t just write off a 5-5 K-State completely.
• Syracuse @ Louisville (ESPNU): The Fightin’ Lamar Jacksons should be able to handle Syracuse, but the usual problem will be that Lamar Jackson does not play also defense.
• Purdue @ Iowa (BTN): In some way, the fact that Purdue is associated with fun football again is still pretty good for Year 1. The Hawkeyes though, yeah, they’re probably going to win.
• San Jose State @ Colorado State (CBSS): Rams.
• Georgia Tech @ Duke (ACC/RSN): It’s not going to rain tomorrow. There’s a lot of factors that go into whether or not you’re a good rain team. To be clear, there are no good rain teams (except Michigan State). Classically, run-oriented teams are considered to be good in the rain, which may well be true. Like many assumptions along those lines, Georgia Tech is often lumped in that category, which results in announcers being shocked when Paul Johnson says things like “we’re not a good rain team”. This is because the stereotype imagines a bunch of guys in mud-stained, soaked jerseys, running backs being literally slippery, and just the lines crashing into other lines. But that’s not really Paul Johnson’s game. Remember, the option offense works on the principal of using numbers to gain leverage against the defense to hit big plays. This means you need linemen that are able to move and receivers that can hold their blocks. If it’s wet, both of these things are much more difficult. And that doesn’t even account for the slipperiness of a pitched ball.
  But yeah, it’s not going to rain tomorrow.
  As mentioned before, beating VPI is always fun. A great relief for me especially is that we finally manged to not only get a lead in the final minutes but hold it. This team is one of the most snakebit Tech teams I’ve ever seen in close games and it was fantastic to finally get one in the bag. Now, though we need to win a road game for the first time this year against a team that we’ve generally found to be tricksy the past few seasons. Hopefully we’re up to the task in Durham.

4:00:

• Maryland @ Michigan State (FOX): Speaking of the weather, the forecast for East Lansing, MI tomorrow is rain throughout the day and a temperature of about 42 degrees at kickoff. SPARTY GONNA ROLL Y’ALL.
• Nebraska @ Pennsylvania State (FS1): Penn State’s just over here, waiting to be called on, bags packed and ready for Indianapolis, you know, just in case. They just need to make sure they don’t look past this one for that theoretical Big Ten title game.
• Houston @ Tulane (ESPNEWS): This Tulane team has been feisty at times this year, but yeah, I don’t like their odds against Houston.
• Alabama-Birmingham @ Florida (SEC): My favorite college football story of the year are your University of Alabama at Birmingham Blazers not only getting back up off the mat after being killed off in the dumbest conspiracy ever but then proceeding to go 7-3 and 5-2 in C-USA play. I mean, look, Florida has superior talent at every position on the two deep, and any logical conclusion has the Gators winning. But screw logic, GO BLAZERS.

6:30: Army @ North Texas (beIN): The last time Army had more than 7 regular season wins was 1996, when they went 10-1 (before the bowl game). Sitting at 8-2, that has to be the target. I like their chances of getting to 9, at least.

7:00:

• Louisiana State @ Tennessee (ESPN): LIGHTNING ROUND. LSU.
• Texas A&M @ Mississippi (ESPN2): TAMU?
• Boston College vs. Connecticut (@Boston, MA; CBSS): This is being played at Fenway Park for some reason. Also, BC.
• Arizona @ Oregon (Pac12): Taking the Fightin’ Khalil Tates here.

7:30:

• North Carolina State @ Wake Forest (ESPNU): Even considering that a lot of widely anticipated contests turned out to be blowouts last week, I still say the unlikeliest result was Wake Forest dropping 64 (64!) on Syracuse. They scored 24 (24!) in the fourth (!) quarter. Exclamation marks! Anyway, NC State actually plays defense, so they probably won’t do that again, and one wonders if they maybe spent all their points allowance in the Carrier Dome last weekend.
• Missouri @ Vanderbilt (SEC): Mizzou is unstoppable right now, which also coincides with the fact that Mizzou got all of the team that are obviously better than them out of the way early. (To give you an idea of how things are going in Gainesville, consider that one of the teams they steamrolled was Florida.) So yeah, I like them here.

8:00:

• California-Los Angeles @ Southern California (ABC): The weather will be perfect and both teams will be wearing their colors. That figures to be about the high point of evening for UCLA.
• California @ Stanford (FOX): The Big Game figures mostly be a Bryce Love showcase in primetime.

10:15: Air Force @ Boise State (ESPN2): It’s odd when Air Force is the worst of three academies, but here we are. Boise should roll.

10:30:

• Utah @ Washington (ESPN): We’re barrelling toward a 3-way tie atop of the Pac-12 North, but in the meantime, let’s consider what should probably be a crucial home win for the Huskers.
• Nevada @ San Diego State (CBSS): Aztecs.

Posting this way late, so this is going to be a lot of LIGHTNING ROUND. But rest assured, this is a pretty great lineup for Week 11!

As usual, all times Eastern and all predictions wrong.

Noon:

• Michigan State @ Ohio State (FOX): Oh geez this is actually at 9:00 AM? We’re off to a pretty good start. I’ll be distracted by my own game, but still. The line on this is making the Buckeyes an insane 17 point favorite or something, which, hey, is possible but sure doesn’t seem probable right now, you know? But this site isn’t about gambling advice, and I think ti’s well established that I pick the winners. So, yeah, I got the Buckeyes here.
• Florida @ South Carolina (CBS): You what you could be watching instead of this? The game before this or the game I’ll take about next. Taking the Gamecocks.
• Oklahoma State @ Iowa State (ABC/ESPN2): So how about that state of Iowa this year, eh? We should’ve seen it coming when Iowa State-Iowa went to double overtime back in September, I guess. Reason says stick with the Pokes, but a view of this season at the moment says go with the Cyclones.
• North Carolina State @ Boston College (ABC/ESPN2): I still like the Wolfpack.
• Arkansas @ Louisiana State (ESPN): Okay, so maybe the Novembert mystique has worn off.
• Nebraska @ Minnesota (FS1): This is definitely a matchup of two Big Ten West teams that aren’t Wisconsin or Iowa. Uh, Gophers?
• Connecticut @ Central Florida (ESPNU): UCF.
• Texas Tech vs. Baylor (@Arlington, TX; FOX/RSN): Red Raiders.
• Louisiana-Lafayette @ Mississippi (SEC): Ole Miss… probably.
• Rutgers @ Pennsylvania State (BTN): Nittany Lions.
• Duke @ Army (CBSS): Army.

12:20: Virginia Tech @ Georgia Tech (ACC): What to even say? I warned you about Charlottesville? That was probably our worst played game of the season and we paid dearly for it.
Moving on this week, though, I can’t figure if playing VPI the week after they got pasted by Miami is a good thing or not. Either way, what I want to see from the Jackets today is just a sense of urgency, a sense that hey, we have to seize our chances for the first this season and do what it takes to win. This team is essentially three plays away from being undefeated. It’s time to harness those feelings and use them toward something productive.

3:00: Wake Forest @ Syracuse (ACC/RSN): The ‘Cuse.

3:30:

• Iowa @ Wisconsin (ABC): Oh hey, it’s the two relevant Big Ten teams. First, there’s this year’s version of #PutPittIn in Iowa, and then there’s Wisconsin, who is undefeated but sports a best win at the moment of… Northwestern. Nonetheless, Iowa hasn’t showed much outside of Kinnick Stadium (i.e., the place where highly ranked Big Ten east teams go to die), so I’m sticking with the Badgers here.
• Georgia @ Auburn (CBS): I’m going with Georgia here but pulling hard for Auburn.
• Florida State @ Clemson (ESPN): Well, uh, FSU looked kinda okay last week? Uh, yeah, stick to Iowa-Wisconsin or UGA-Auburn.
• West Virginia @ Kansas State (ESPN2): This might also be fun, actually, in the sense this is about as far apart as two teams can be in the Big 12 and still be playing the same sport. I think this is a tossup, but I still like WVU here.
• Virginia @ Louisville (ESPNU): Lamar Jackson should be able to do enough to win here.
• Michigan @ Maryland (BTN): Michigan.
• Southern Methodist @ Navy (CBSS): This could be a sneaky good game. SMU is better on paper this year, but I’m going with the Midshipmen at home.

 4:00:

• Southern California @ Colorado (FOX): USC.
• Kentucky @ Vanderbilt (SEC): Kentucky.

5:30: Washington State @ Utah (Pac12): Wazzu has looked terrible on the road, so… Utes? Not sure about this one.

6:30: Western Kentucky @ Marshall (beIN): Hilltoppers.

7:00:

• Alabama @ Mississippi State (ESPN): Bama.
• Purdue @ Northwestern (ESPN2): Purdue.
• New Mexico @ Texas A&M (ESPNU): TAMU.
• Tulane @ East Carolina (CBSS): Tulane!

7:30: Tennessee @ Missouri (SEC): Tigers!

8:00:

• Notre Dame @ Miami (ABC): Why did I essentially skip to here? Because I’m pressed for time and want to go to bed, but also because that’s you’ll be doing. This is the irresistible force and immovable object game of the week. This is also when I think Miami’s penchant for playing it close as long as humanly possible is going to bite them. I’m going with the Domers.
• Texas Christian @ Oklahoma (FOX): If for some reason ND-Miami isn’t working out, flip to FOX. If there’s one team in the Big 12 that could possibly contain Baker Mayfield at home, it’s TCU. But Mayfield is also playing out of his mind right now, so it’s hard to pick against him.

9:30: Arizona State @ California-Los Angeles (Pac12): UCLA.

10:00: Oregon State @ Arizona (ESPN2): Zona.

10:15: Wyoming @ Air Force (ESPNU): Wyoming.

10:30: Boise State @ Colorado State (CBSS): Rams.