Week 12 NCAA Football Betting

Michael Robinson’s look at the college weekend: The Michigan Wolverines and Ohio State Buckeyes game is the biggest of the year, and perhaps the biggest of this century, but there are a lot of other great match-ups this week on “Rivalry Saturday”.

The other big game of the week is USC (8-1) hosting California (8-2). This game holds a lot of significance even though Cal lost last week at Arizona, 24-20. The loss dropped the Golden Bears out of any consideration for the national championship game. However, the winner of this contest gets an automatic berth into the Rose Bowl.

The other reason everyone around the nation will watch this game is that USC is ranked 3rd in the BCS Standings. That was somewhat unexpected as the Trojans moved ahead of Florida, and it means that USC may find themselves in the national championship game if they win their last three games.

That might be easier said than done with Notre Dame and UCLA still on the docket, but don’t put it past Coach Pete Carroll and his talented squad. After struggling though a mid-season slump, USC has won their last two games over Stanford and Oregon by a combined score of 77-10.

Those two wins came on the efforts of an efficient offense, and an opportunist defense that forced six turnovers. Looking ahead to this match-up with Cal, three of the last four games have been very close, although USC did have a 35-10 road blowout last year.

Cal came into this season with hopes of a record breaking rushing attack. Running back, Marshawn Lynch has done his part with 1,090 yards at 6.5 yards per carry. However, Justin Forsett has seen his numbers decrease markedly at 422 yards and 4.3 yards per carry.

For California to beat USC, they will need to throw the ball successfully as they have done in the past. Quarterback, Nate Longshore leads the Pac-10 in passing yards (2,393) and touchdown throws (21). Nine of those touchdown passes have gone to the electric DeSean Jackson, who is also an incredible punt returner.

USC has won 31 straight home games, and 21 straight home PAC-10 games, and that is why the Trojans are 6 point favorites.

Other teams still alive for a national title include Rutgers (9-0) favored by 6.5 points at Cincinnati (5-5). Notre Dame (9-1) is favored 31.5 points at home over Army (3-7), and Arkansas (9-1) is 14.5 points favored at Mississippi State (3-7).

In the SEC, Auburn (9-2) and Alabama (6-5) meet up in what is one of the most storied rivalries in college sports. Auburn is trying to bounce back from a humiliating 37-15 home loss to Georgia. Bama has had a disappointing season overall, and are just 2-5 in the conference. Surprisingly, Auburn is 5-0 all-time against Alabama in Tuscaloosa, and they are three point road favorites on Saturday.

The ACC Atlantic division has a very interesting battle in Maryland (9-1) and Boston College (8-2, 4-1 ACC Atlantic). Maryland is tied with Wake Forest atop the division at 5-1, and the two teams play each other next week in Maryland. The Terrapins can not afford to look past this week though, as BC is 6-0 at home, and a seven point favorite in this game.

As mentioned above, Wake Forest is fighting for a spot in the ACC championship game, and they will play Virginia Tech this week to help meet that goal. Virginia Tech (8-2, 4-2 ACC Coastal) has a four game winning streak (as does Wake Forest), and they hope to continue their hot play as two-point road favorites.

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