There are two weeks left in the 2022 college football regular season, and for the first time in a long time, the Pac-12 is an important player in College Football Playoff conversations in November. USC visits UCLA in a game that will determine if USC can have a chance at a playoff spot with a conference title, despite that loss to Utah. UCLA is already out of the playoff after falling to Arizona, but they can ruin the Trojans’ hopes with a win at the Rose Bowl. Oregon also faces Utah; Oregon is already out of the playoff picture after that loss to Washington, but if Utah can win out, and if chaos ensues, they could climb the ladder. Let’s take a look at the top five NCAA Football betting matchups you should consider for the coming weekend.
NCAA News: Top 5 Betting Picks for Week 12
→ Saturday, November 19
Illinois Fighting Illini at #3 Michigan Wolverines
(12:00 pm ET, ABC)
Illinois started out 7-1 and then laid a couple of eggs against Michigan State and Purdue. Tailback Chase Brown is tops in the FBS with 1,442 yards, averaging 5.15 yards per carry. However, he is questionable against Michigan after leaving the Purdue game with an injury. Without him, the Michigan defense, which is #1 in the nation against the run, will be even more difficult to penetrate.
#4 TCU Horned Frogs at Baylor Bears
(12:00 pm ET, FOX)
TCU finally played 60 minutes of defense at Texas last week, permitting only 28 net rushing yards and 3.3 yards per offensive play. However, the final score was just 17-10, and it’s still hard to see how a series of wins over multiple-loss teams will get TCU into the College Football Playoff. The Frogs need to win out, including the Big 12 Championship, to have a chance of clinging to a top-four spot. Baylor got thrashed last week at home by Kansas State, so TCU will need to win, and win big, for this victory to have any style points.
#1 Georgia Bulldogs at Kentucky Wildcats
(3:30 pm ET, CBS)
Earlier in the season, this looked like potential trouble for the Bulldogs, as Kentucky quarterback Will Levis showed the potential to put up huge numbers. However, Levis went down to injury, and even when he came back, the Kentucky O-line could not give him time in the pocket. Georgia has permitted just 11.6 points per game, ranked second in the nation. They have permitted nine offensive touchdowns, but three have come in the fourth quarter when the game was pretty much over. Kentucky has only broken the 21-point mark in SEC play once this year, and they have only scored five touchdowns combined in their last three games. Kentucky lost at home to Vanderbilt last week, so they seem to be done.
#7 USC Trojans at #16 UCLA Bruins
(8:00 pm ET, FOX)
If UCLA had not lost to Arizona last week, we would have the first matchup between UCLA and USC as top-ten teams since the days of Rodney Peete and Troy Aikman. Both teams have elite offenses that can score in bunches and defenses that can be inconsistent, so there should be a lot of points on the board. For USC, more than 40 transfers are on the roster, which means the rivalry game isn’t as important as it is for UCLA quarterback Dorian Thompson-Robinson, who will face the Trojans for the fifth time. Last year, the Bruins hung 60 on USC and Thompson-Robinson accounted for six touchdowns, and he looks forward to similar numbers this time around.
#10 Utah Utes at #12 Oregon Ducks
(10:30 pm ET, ESPN)
Utah has two losses by 13 combined points, but they have heated it up lately. Oregon has struggled on defense this season against ranked opposition, giving up 34 points per game in those situations. Utah tight end Dalton Kincaid put up huge numbers against USC but missed the Arizona game two weeks ago (shoulder). He played a few snaps against Stanford last week and remains questionable ahead of the Oregon matchup. Bo Nix did throw for three touchdowns and complete 70% of his passes in last week’s loss. The loser of this game will not be part of the Pac-12 Championship, so the stakes are significant.
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