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College football Week 12 Top 25 schedule and predictions

ByRucker Haringey|
LUBBOCK, TX - NOVEMBER 10: Sam Ehlinger #11 of the Texas Longhorns looks to pass during the game against the Texas Tech Red Raiders on November 10, 2018 at Jones AT&T Stadium in Lubbock, Texas. Texas defeated Texas Tech 41-34. (Photo by John Weast/Getty Images)
LUBBOCK, TX - NOVEMBER 10: Sam Ehlinger #11 of the Texas Longhorns looks to pass during the game against the Texas Tech Red Raiders on November 10, 2018 at Jones AT&T Stadium in Lubbock, Texas. Texas defeated Texas Tech 41-34. (Photo by John Weast/Getty Images)

Week 12 doesn’t give us a ton of matchups between Top 25 teams, but Syracuse’s trip to Notre Dame has huge national implications.

Quite a few of the nation’s top teams are taking a bit of a breather this week. That’s particularly true in the SEC where No. 1 Alabama hosts The Citadel and No. 5 Georgia entertains UMass. Fortunately, there are better games elsewhere in the country.

One of the most interesting games of the weekend comes on Saturday afternoon when Syracuse tries to improve their dream season with a win at Notre Dame. Obviously, the Fighting Irish need to knock off the Orange to keep their College Football Playoff hopes alive. Expect to see a hard-fought battle in South Bend.

UCF fans hoping to keep their unbeaten streak going should get a stern challenge on Saturday night from the Cincinnati Bearcats. It should be a raucous atmosphere under the lights in Orlando. Even so, it should be a very narrow game.

The only other game between two top 25 teams takes place in Austin where Texas hosts Iowa State in a game with big-time Big 12 implications. If the Longhorns want to prove to the nation they’re really back, they need to dispatch the Cyclones.

I’m here to help you get fully prepared for this weekend’s Top 25 slate. See the schedule for every team’s matchup below. As always, the predictions are in bold.

Friday, Nov. 16

  • No. 23 Boise State at New Mexico 9 p.m, CBS Sports Network | fuboTV

Saturday, Nov. 17

  • No. 1 Alabama vs. The Citadel Noon, SEC Network
  • No. 9 Ohio State at Maryland Noon, ABC
  • Idaho at No. 15 Florida Noon, ESPNU
  • No. 16 Penn State at Rutgers Noon, Big Ten Network
  • Middle Tennessee State at No. 20 Kentucky Noon, SECN
  • No. 24 Northwestern at Minnesota Noon, BTN
  • Arkansas at No. 25 Mississippi State Noon, ESPN
  • No. 21 Utah at Colorado 1:30 p.m., Pac-12 Networks
  • No. 14 Utah State at Colorado State 2 p.m., AT&T SportsNet
  • No. 12 Syracuse vs. No. 3 Notre Dame 2:30 p.m., NBC | fuboTV
  • No. 7 West Virginia at Oklahoma State 3:30 p.m., ABC
  • No. 22 Boston College at Florida State 3:30 p.m., ESPN2
  • UMass at No. 5 Georgia 4 p.m., SECN
  • Indiana at No. 4 Michigan 4 p.m., Fox Sports 1 | fuboTV
  • Oregon State at No. 17 Washington 4:30 p.m., P12N
  • Duke at No. 2 Clemson 7 p.m., ESPN
  • Kansas at No. 6 Oklahoma 7:30 p.m., FOX | fuboTV
  • Rice at No. 10 LSU 7:30 p.m., ESPNU
  • No. 19 Cincinnati at No. 11 UCF 8 p.m., ABC
  • No. 18 Iowa State at No. 13 Texas 8 p.m., Longhorn Network
  • Arizona at No. 8 Washington State 10:30 p.m., ESPN

As you can’t see, we don’t have a huge upset pick this weekend. However, if you want to see a team get a real scare, tune in to West Virginia’s trip to Oklahoma State. There will be a ton of points in Stillwater.

We’d like to see Syracuse pull a shocker in South Bend to throw the College Football Playoff into chaos, but the Irish defense is just too strong. Don’t be surprised if that game fails to live up to the considerable hype.

All in all, it’s a good, but not great weekend of college football. You’ve got to work a little bit harder to find the best games this weekend. Blame the complete lack of quality on the SEC slate for the lack of depth as they enjoy their cupcake weekend.

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