College football Week 12: Best bets to take to the bank

The best bets for college football Week 12 feature two heavy favorites in the SEC, a ranked underdog out of the Big Ten and two Over/Under totals.

The COVID-19 pandemic continues to rear its head in relation to the 2020 college football season. Four SEC games were postponed or canceled last week in addition to several others and the trend has continued for Week 12. In fact, some intriguing options for best bets of the week in college football were taken off the table for that very reason.

For instance, the Houston-SMU matchup seemed like a prime spot for playing the over total but that game has been called off for Week 12. The same play would’ve been interesting for a clash between Ole Miss and Texas A&M as both teams are primed to put up big numbers in that matchup. But alas, we have to look elsewhere to find our best bets.

In doing so, these are the games and the wagers we’ve found that should thoroughly pique your interest. These are the college football best bets this week, from picks against the spread to Over/Under totals. Note: All odds are via The Action Network.

Best bets for college football Week 12

5. North Alabama vs. BYU – Under 58.5

The way that Zach Wilson and the Cougars have played this season, it wouldn’t be hard to imagine BYU being able to hit the over on their own. After all, North Alabama is winless while having played far fewer games than the Cougars, which all points to a heavy BYU win.

While that may be true, the expectation should be for BYU to jump out to a monstrous lead early on in this game and then taking their foot off the gas. That’s, in large part, due to the fact that North Alabama may not be able to score. And with that whole situation in mind, the under is actually the right play.

4. Florida (-31) vs. Vanderbilt

You would be hard-pressed to find someone who didn’t believe that Kyle Trask and the Florida Gators aren’t clearly the second-best team in the SEC right now. And at the same time, you’d probably find even fewer people who didn’t agree that Vanderbilt is the worst team in the conference. Translation: This one isn’t going to be close.

If there’s one concern about Florida covering a spread this large, it’s that they may either let off the throttle late in the game or that the less-than-stellar version of their defense will show up in this game. For me, though, the Gators’ offense is so superior to every other unit in this game, it’ll be enough to push them to win by more than 31 points.

3. Liberty vs. NC State – Over 66.5

When Liberty went up to Blacksburg to play Virginia Tech, they were two-touchdown underdogs. After a wild ending, though, the Flames picked up the win over that ACC opponent. Now they draw another as they head to Raleigh to face NC State as an underdog once more. However, it’s a bit too tricky to call any bet on the spread a best bet.

Instead, the over feels like an easy call. Liberty has averaged 40.5 points per game this season while NC State has given up 33.9 per game. On top of that, we saw Liberty concede over 30 points to Virginia Tech. With this total not being all that high given the numbers each team has put up this year, feel confident betting on the points to pour in.

2. Wisconsin vs. Northwestern (+7)

Wisconsin has been dominant in their first two games of the season, beating Illinois and Michigan each by more than 30 points. However, the Illini were in a bad spot with the roster and the Wolverines are clearly in a bad spot as a program right now. Subsequently, the Badgers’ first major test of the season comes with a road trip to face 4-0 Northwestern.

Both of these offenses have flashed but the Badgers have not been tested against a defense the caliber of the Wildcats’. Furthermore, neither of these teams are going to try and light up the scoreboard. While the under is somewhat enticing, I think the more likely result is that this is a close game and, if Northwestern does lose, it won’t be by more than a touchdown.

1. Kentucky vs. Alabama (-29.5)

After their rivalry game against LSU was called off, Mac Jones and the Alabama Crimson Tide are back in action again and figure to just continue forging ahead towards the College Football Playoff. They’ve been the best team in the country and that doesn’t figure to stop against a team like Kentucky. The question is how bad they’ll beat the Wildcats.

My answer: Pretty badly. Kentucky’s defense is good but not infallible and Bama’s offense should be able to consistently have success in this game. More importantly, the Wildcats offense remains a viable problem and they can’t remotely hope to keep the pace with the Tide in this matchup.

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