Three previews for the Week 13 college football games and our picks based on spreads for 13 games on the slate.
This will be the last week of regular season college football previews, but we will make our picks for the Conference Championship Games next week. We will also have something in the works for all the bowl games. Stay tuned.
(10) Oklahoma vs (7) Oklahoma State
BEDLAM! 10-1 Oklahoma travels to Stillwater to square off with in-state rival Oklahoma State (who is also 10-1). The top of the Big 12 is on the line when these two renew their long rivalry. The winner of this game will keep slim hopes alive for a shot at the college football playoffs.
Oklahoma has looked a pretty average of late. Freshman phenom quarterback Caleb Williams took over for the struggling Spencer Rattler, but Williams has had his struggles lately. He will look to get back on track this week.
Williams’s top target is Marvin Mims who leads the Sooners with 644 receiving yards. True Freshman Mario Williams (31/337/4), Jadon Haselwood (36/381/6), and Mike Woods (30/363/2) round out the rest of the receiving vote.
Eric Gray was all the talk coming into the 2021 season to lead the Oklahoma backfield after transferring in from Tennessee. Gray has been usurped by Kennedy Brooks, however. Brooks has been phenomenal for the Sooners leading the team in rushing with 972 yards and 10 touchdowns.
For Oklahoma State, they are led by quarterback Spencer Sanders. Sanders is completing 60 percent of his passes for 1997 yards (15TD/6INT). His top receiving weapons are Tay Martin (54/765/6) and Brennan Presley (35/422/5). On the ground, the Cowboys feature Jaylen Warren who leads the team with over 1,000 rushing yards. Sophomore Dominic Richardson has chipped in with 418 yards at 6 yards per carry average.
You can throw out all the records when it’s a rivalry game of this magnitude with so much on the line for both teams. One thing for sure on Saturday it will be Bedlam.
Devy Players to Watch
- Kennedy Brooks – RB- Oklahoma: Kennedy Brooks has often been overshadowed in his career at Oklahoma, being surrounded by many talented running backs. The Redshirt Junior is closing in on his third 1,000-yard season as a Sooner. Brooks may have appeal to NFL teams as a day three pick this spring. He’s a name to keep an eye on in 2022 running back class.
- Dominic Richardson – RB- Oklahoma State: The Cowboys don’t feature a lot of names you will see high on any Devy rankings. Richardson is a physical runner with good size (6’0 205). The Sophomore running back should take over as RB1 for the Cowboys next fall and could see an uptick in his Devy outlook with a strong 2022 showing.
Oklahoma State -1
- Brandon @hayeb3: Oklahoma State -1
- Brian @vandygrad92: Oklahoma +1
- Joe @TheHQNerd: Oklahoma State -1
(3) Alabama vs Auburn
In the 86th rendition of the “Iron Bowl”, the third-ranked Crimson Tide (10-1) travels to Auburn to take on the unranked Tigers (6-5). Insider.com has listed Alabama as a 19.5 point favorite. Despite opening the season at 6-2, Auburn has now lost three straight games to fall to their current record. Bo Nix leads the team in passing, having completed 197 of 323 pass attempts for 2294 yards and 11 touchdowns.
In terms of the ground attack, Auburn is led by their best-skill position player, Tank Bigsby. Bigsby has registered 940 rushing yards and 10 touchdowns on 178 carries. Jarquez Hunter has also pitched in 574 yards and three touchdowns on 81 carries.
In terms of the passing game, three wide receivers have at least 32 catches and 435 receiving yards. These three include:
- Kobe Hudson (37 catches for 490 yards and two touchdowns)
- Shedrick Jackson (36 catches for 495 yards and one TD)
- Demetris Robertson (32 catches for 435 yards and four touchdowns).
In regards to Alabama, QB Bryce Young has completed 264 of 368 pass attempts for 3584 yards and 38 TDs (compared to only three interceptions). RB Brian Robinson Jr leads the team in rushing, recording 945 yards and 14 touchdowns on 191 carries. Robinson is also the third leading receiver on the team, hauling in 27 catches for 223 yards and an additional two touchdowns.
Despite having a bevy of young receivers that will top the charts for ‘23/’24 Devy rankings, Alabama is led in receiving by two upperclassmen. These two are:
- John Metchie (77 catches for 895 yards and 7 touchdowns)
- Jameson Williams (59 catches for 1218 yards and 13 TD’s)
Devy Players to Watch
- Tank Bigsby – RB – Auburn: in order to keep this one close, Auburn will have to ride Bigsby. Bigsby (‘23) was the RB5 in preseason Devy rankings and has lived up to these expectations.
- Jameson Williams – WR – Alabama: Alabama had five wide receivers in the top fifty at their position in preseason Devy rankings, and Williams was not one of them. Williams, a transfer from Ohio State( had 15 catches and three TD’s combined over two years while there), has now crept into the conversation to be a first-round selection in the upcoming draft.
- Brian Robinson Jr – RB – Alabama: much like Williams, Robinson(‘ 22) has seen his draft stock rise due to an outstanding season. He was the RB56 in preseason Devy rankings but now finds himself as a potential late first/early second-round pick in the upcoming draft. Over the last seven games, Robinson has amassed 737 rushing yards and 12 touchdowns on 154 carries.
Auburn +17.5
- Brandon @hayeb3: Bama -17.5
- Brian @vandygrad92: Bama -17.5
- Joe @TheHQNerd: Bama -17.5
(2) Ohio State vs (5) Michigan
It doesn’t get bigger than this! One of the biggest rivalries in sports. Both teams in the top-5, with a spot for the conference championship and playoffs on the line. Ohio State has dominated this series for the last 17 years, winning 16 out of 17 meetings, with the only Michigan win in 2011 against interim coach Luke Fickell.
Ohio State comes in with a dominating performance over Michigan State where the game was never in doubt. They shut down the run and CJ Stroud was flawless with only three incompletions and six touchdowns. The Buckeyes have elite playmakers all over the field and Stroud has really hit his stride in finding all those receivers. The Buckeye defense has struggled at times but is constantly improving. This week will be probably their biggest test of the season.
Michigan also had a dominating performance coming into this matchup, with a 41 point win against an overmatched Maryland team. The Wolverines have a run-heavy attack, but have been missing the lightning of Blake Corum the past few weeks. Rumors are that he will be back this week.
The passing attack has been mediocre to above-average this season. Cade Mcnamara is a good college QB, but has limitations. He has come up big in some situations including a game-winning drive against Penn State a couple of weeks ago. The biggest thing for Michigan is if they can sustain drives and keep the potent Ohio State offense off the field. The Ohio State defense has shown they can be gashed for runs in their loss against Oregon. The Wolverines need to get an early lead to make sure the crowd stays in the game to make this upset.
Players to Watch
- TreVeyon Henderson– RB- Ohio State: Henderson was thought to be a phenom even before stepping on the field at Ohio State. He has proven that to be right, immediately taking over the backfield. He has over 1,300 total yards and 17 TDs for the season. Henderson is thought by many to be the 2nd best Devy RB behind Bijan Robinson in Texas, even though he has two more years before he can come out into the NFL Draft.
- Donovan Edwards – RB – Michigan: Another Freshman RB that wasn’t as highly touted, but Edwards is still the RB4 according to 247sports. Edwards has missed some time because of injury and has been behind two superb backs in Hassan Haskins and Blake Corum all season. His stats are nothing like Henderson, most coming in mop-up duty. Last week he did have 10 catches for 170 yards, and could be a big part of the game plan vs Ohio State. Next year with Haskins gone, Edwards should see a major uptick in usage.
Michigan +6
- Brandon @hayeb3: Ohio State-6
- Brian @vandygrad92: Ohio State-6
- Joe @TheHQNerd: Michigan +6
Other College Football Game Picks Based on the Spread
Brandon Haye
Brandon grew up in Jacksonville, Florida and works as a health insurance data analyst. He has no children, but two fur babies - Squirt and Brownie. He and his wife, Katie, spend their time playing poker and enjoying time with their pups. Brandon is a huge Michigan Wolverine and Jacksonville Jaguars fan. He at one time was in 77 fantasy leagues and loves the game of football. Brandon started writing for The Leauge Winners in 2021.