College Football Week 12: Best Bets, Picks and Predictions

We’ve arrived at the home stretch of the 2024 College Football regular season, and each week brings us plenty of compelling matchups across the Big Ten, SEC, ACC and Big 12 that all have significant implications on the College Football Playoff picture.

Our expert went 3-0 with our Week 11 predictions in last week’s column, so let’s keep that momentum going this week by attacking a couple of Big 12 games, plus the marquee matchup in the SEC.

This week’s slate isn’t quite as deep as the last couple of weeks, but we still have plenty of enticing matchups on the schedule for fans to enjoy.

College Football Week 12 betting picks and predictions

Best Bet: Tennessee vs. Georgia Under 48.5 total points (-110)

For our best bet on the Week 12 slate, let’s start with the Under 48.5 (-110) between the Tennessee Volunteers and Georgia Bulldogs.

This is easily the biggest game of the weekend in terms of SEC and College Football Playoff implications, which points our expert in the direction of a lower-scoring affair between two of the better defenses in the country.

The Under hit in Georgia's game last weekend, and there’s no reason not to keep backing the Under in games involving this year’s version of the Bulldogs.

As we just saw in consecutive performances against Florida and Ole Miss over the past two weeks, the Bulldogs are uncharacteristically sloppy, don’t look as connected on both sides of the ball and have struggled mightily with slow starts this season. 

Now, the Bulldogs are playing in their biggest game of the season with a College Football Playoff berth likely on the line against a Tennessee defense that is quietly one of the best in the nation, sitting at first nationally in success rate allowed, second in estimated points added (EPA) margin and third in net points per drive. 

As for Kirby Smart’s defense, the Bulldogs still aren’t quite as dominant as what we’ve seen from them in years past.

However, this is a unit that still ranks inside the top 10 in most of the meaningful advanced metrics, including success rate allowed, points per drive and third and fourth down success rate allowed. 

Our expert fully expects both Smart and Tennessee head coach Josh Heupel to keep things close to the vest early on and avoid taking any big risks on offense, especially given the magnitude of this game. Let’s back the Under. 

Colorado -9.5 (-110) vs. Utah

For our second pick on the Week 12 slate, let’s go to the Big 12 and back the Colorado Buffaloes -9.5 (-110) over the Utah Utes.

One of the best situational spots on the board this weekend comes in a game that sees a massive gap in motivational edge between these two sides. 

On one hand, this Utah team can’t have much more in the tank after suffering a demoralizing loss to BYU at home in the Holy War last Saturday.

This was clearly the biggest game of what has been a disappointing season for Kyle Whittingham’s team, and the Utes played like it to the bitter end, only to lose on a controversial fourth down defensive holding call that eventually led to a game-winning BYU field goal as time expired. 

Now, with all of their preseason goals out of the picture and the injuries piling up with each passing week, it’s difficult to see how Utah would have any motivation heading into a road game against a Colorado team that is firing on all cylinders at the moment.

Despite a healthy dose of skepticism from many heading into the season, Colorado has continued to prove experts wrong at every turn.

When looking at this matchup, it’s hard to see how the talent on this Colorado passing offense doesn’t see success against a pretty beleaguered Utes defense. After all, Shedeur Sanders is by far the best quarterback that the Utes have faced this season and the same goes for Travis Hunter and LaJohntay Wester at wide receiver.  

On the other side, the Utah offense has struggled all season long since Cam Rising went down, and that shouldn’t change much on Saturday.

Let’s take the Buffs to win by 10 or more at home.

Kansas +3 (-110) vs. BYU

For our final pick this week, take the Kansas Jayhawks +3.0 (-110) against the BYU Cougars.

After a disappointing start to the season, the tide appears to have turned for Kansas over the past few weeks. The Jayhawks have picked up dominant wins over Houston and Iowa State, along with a narrow two-point loss to Kansas State on the road in a game that could have gone either way. 

Kansas quarterback Jalon Daniels has nine total touchdowns to just one interception in this recent stretch, and there’s reason to be optimistic that this Kansas offense (sixth in third down success rate, 17th in success rate, ninth in points per drive) will keep on rolling against a Cougars defense that has shown to be very reliant on turnovers this season.

This BYU team is undeniably pretty fortunate to be undefeated at this point in the season. After all, the Cougars have been outgained in five conference wins this season, and they enter Saturday’s contest with a whopping +9 turnover margin in Big 12 play. 

BYU’s offense isn’t exactly an elite unit on a consistent basis, and quarterback Jake Retzlaff has some major turnover regression heading his way as well.

He had multiple interceptions dropped against Utah a week ago, to go along with a pair of fumbles that he or his offensive line recovered in the fourth quarter. 

Given how much has gone wrong in close games for Kansas this season, don’t be surprised if the Jayhawks finally get some positive regression and continue their late season push with an upset victory in Provo on Saturday. 

 Read more betting picks and predictions for College Football on site.

Odds available in select states. Odds displayed within this article were correct at the time of writing and are subject to change.