College Football Picks

The Arizona State Sun Devils take on the Fresno State Bulldogs in the Las Vegas Bowl on December 15. It looks to be a competitive game, despite some divergent results this season. The Sun Devils finished well but were still only 7-5 this season—more or less also-ran status in the PAC-12 Conference. The Bulldogs won 11 games this season and ended the season on a big note with an overtime win at Boise for the Mountain West Conference title. Read NCAA football handicapper Loot’s pick to cover the spread on this college bowl game.

The historic and prestigious rendering of the Army-Navy Game will be rekindled this weekend for the 119th time when the Navy Midshipmen travel to Lincoln Financial Field for a meeting with the Army Knights. The Knights are enjoying an impressive season at 9-2 SU and are on the verge of just their 3rd 10 win season in school history. On Saturday, Army will be 7 point favorites as they seek their 3rd straight victory over the Midshipmen and 2nd straight claim at the outright Commander in Chief Trophy that includes all 3 teams in the U.S. Military Academy.

The Northwestern Wildcats play the Ohio State Buckeyes at Lucas Oil Stadium on December 1st at 8 PM ET in the Big Ten Championship game. Ohio State dropped just one game all season and that came against Purdue who lit up their secondary for 378 yards in a 49-20 blowout. Northwestern tasted defeat four times this season but like the Buckeyes lost only one game in Big 10 play. The college football betting board has OSU as a consensus -14 favorite with the total offered up at 61 points. Northwestern lost by ten to Notre Dame, but that was at home. Can they stay within two touchdowns at a neutral site against Ohio State? Get handicapper Ted Walker’s take and his free point spread pick.

The Fresno State Bulldogs come to Albertsons Stadium to take on the Boise State Broncos in the Mountain West Conference Championship Game. Both teams are 10-2, with Fresno having won the West division with a 7-1 conference record and Boise taking down the Mountain division with the same mark. Last week, Boise beat a 10-1 Utah State team, 33-24, to win the division and earn a spot in this game. Fresno finished the season strongly and now looks for revenge against their tormentors. Who will be the victor this time around and more importantly who will get the money?

The Stanford Cardinal come to Memorial Stadium in Berkeley for a week 14 PAC-12 showdown with the California Golden Bears. It’s not much of a road trip, with Stanford about an hour from Cal and it should be a well-contested game between these 7-4 teams. Both teams have won two in a row, but the similarities end there. In what has been a wild and woolly PAC-12 this season, each season’s path to this spot has been very different. Read on to get Loot’s free college football pick.

The Big 12 Championship game goes on Saturday with the Texas Longhorns battling the Oklahoma Sooners at AT&T Stadium, Arlington, TX. The betting shops have listed OKL as a -7.5 point spread favorite with the total line on the board at 78 points. The Sooners have the better winning percentage losers of just one game, but that came against the Longhorns! Texas lost three games this season, but all three were decided by five or fewer points. Check out how college football prognosticator Keith Franks see this game will play out.

Late Saturday night the no. 2 ranked Clemson Tigers will look to maintain supremacy in the ACC when they seek their 4th straight ACC Championship against the Pittsburgh Panthers at Bank of America Stadium in Charlotte. The Tigers have clearly been the class of the ACC this season and will be 25 point favorites to earn their 4th straight trip to the College Football Playoffs. For Pittsburgh, the Panthers had a 4 game winning streak snapped at the hands of Miami last week in a disappointing 24-3 loss. Despite the loss, the Panthers have been playing well and perhaps they can bounce back with a strong effort this weekend to make this ACC Championship Game entertaining at the least.

The stage is set for a rematch of the 2017 National Championship Game this weekend when the no. 5 Georgia Bulldogs meet the no. 1 Alabama Crimson Tide inside Mercedes-Benz Stadium in the SEC Championship Game. This week’s SEC Title match-up features the same two teams from last year’s National Championship Game at the same exact venue in Atlanta; only this time it is for a conference championship with an opportunity to seal another bid to the College Football Playoffs. Last year, it was Alabama that captured glory fighting their way back from a 13-0 deficit in a game that sparked Tua Tagovailoa’s career. Can Alabama find the magic again in Atlanta or will Georgia play the spoiler role in the rematch?

Championship weekend has arrived in college football and one of the most popular non-Power 5 teams in the country will have a chance to keep their undefeated record intact when the no. 9 UCF Knights host the Memphis Tigers in the AAC Championship Game. The Knights became one of the most popular non-Power 5 teams after last year’s undefeated season and there self-proclaimed National Championship. While many considered it a joke, the Knights have backed up their 2017 season with another flawless season and the nation’s longest winning streak at 24 games. The Knights beat Memphis earlier this year in a 31-30 thriller and while we expect another exciting match-up; the Knights will have to find a way to win without quarterback McKenzie Milton

The Utah Utes take on the Washington Huskies on Friday in the Pac-12 Conference Championship Game at Levi’s Stadium. The 9-3 Utes have shown a lot of resolve this season and won the South division in the Pac-12. They beat the BYU Cougars on Saturday, 35-27. They will have to beat the North division champion Huskies; also 9-3, coming off a huge win over in-state rival Washington State, 28-15, to earn a spot in the conference title game. It hasn’t been an easy path here for either team. Get our handicappers take on who to bet on.