What ten games appear to be the best bets and the best point total picks going into Week 12? Here you go. Enjoy.
Week 12 Fearless Predictions, Game Previews
– Week 12 Schedule, Times, Lines, Previews
– CFN Fearless Predictions & Game Previews
– Week 12 Expert Picks & Predictions: College
– Week 11 Expert Picks & Predictions: NFL
– Top 10 Predictions Against The Spread
Week 12 Game Previews, Predictions
ACC | Big Ten | Big 12 | Pac-12 | SEC
AAC | C-USA | MAC | M-West | Sun Belt
Click on each game for the game preview and fearless prediction.
10. UTSA at Southern Miss
Point Total: 52
PICK: Under
– Bet on this, BetMGM latest line
Let’s start out a fun week full of interesting – and potentially historic – point total predictions with a super-boring under.
Southern Miss has stopped bothering to score. It up up six against Rice, seven against WKU – oh yes, we will get to the Hilltoppers momentarily – and struggled in a 24-13 win over North Alabama. UTSA hung 52 on UTEP last week, but it struggled to get past 20 in four of its previous five games, and even then the explosion came in a 27-26 win over Louisiana Tech.
9. Georgia Southern at Army
Point Total: 40
PICK: Over
– Bet on this, BetMGM latest line
If someone gives you a point total of 40 you need to go with the over on principle alone.
Of course, the danger with these two running teams is the world’s fastest game – the clock will never, ever stop.
Before last week’s 40-38 win over Texas State, Georgia Southern played three straight games that didn’t get to 40, and Army has been known to play a game or two that didn’t get out of the 30s – including a 14-9 win over The Citadel.
But it’s a point total of 40. You have to go over. You just do. (These two will each get to 20.)
8. Wisconsin at Northwestern
Point Total: 44
PICK: Over
– Bet on this, BetMGM latest line
What’s the first rule of this piece? If one side has an honest shot of handling the point total all by itself, then you know what to do.
Wisconsin hung up 45 on Illinois and 49 on Michigan. Is it going to score 44 on Northwestern? No way … but it wouldn’t be crazy
The worry here is a Badger defense that could shut down Northwestern to a dead stop – and vice versa – or if the game bogs down into a time of possession-fest with each offense struggling to get to 20.
The more likely scenario is that one side gets to 27ish, the other gets 17ish, and it slips on past a WAY low total considering Wisconsin’s potential to keep the momentum going.
7. Clemson at Florida State
Point Total: 64
PICK: Over
– Bet on this, BetMGM latest line
What’s the second rule of this piece? IF ONE SIDE HAS AN HONEST SHOT OF HANDLING THE POINT TOTAL ALL BY ITSELF, then you know what to do.
Florida State is an absolute mess right now. The offense isn’t scoring, but even when it sputtered over the last few weeks it was able to get to 16 against Louisville and scored 17 on Pitt. Clemson’s D is still a bit banged up, and the only time it allowed fewer than 17 so far was against Wake Forest and The Citadel in the first two weeks, and in the 73-7 win over Georgia Tech.
Trevor Lawrence is back, and all you might need to get that 64 is for Clemson to push a get to around 48 – that’s hardly a heavy lift. It’s not going to score 64, but …
6. Virginia Tech at Pitt
Point Total: 54
PICK: Over
– Bet on this, BetMGM latest line
This is sort of an odd point total that feels like more of a true guess than anything else.
For all of Pitt’s greatness at getting into the backfield, the D gives up plenty of points – 30 or more in four straight games before getting the Florida State free space last week.
Virginia Tech is giving up points, too, struggling against Louisville and Liberty before tightening up against Miami.
54 isn’t a lot to ask for. You’re worried that one of these defenses plays up to what it should be and pitches a gem, but expect each offense to get into the high 20s.
NEXT: Top 5 Picks Point Totals, Week 12
5. Cincinnati at UCF
Point Total: 65.5
PICK: Over
– Bet on this, BetMGM latest line
If this goes the way it probably should, you really, really, really don’t want to miss out on what this could be.
The worry on the over is the Cincinnati defense that’s allowed 17 points or fewer to everyone but Austin Peay in the 55-20 opening weekend win. The Bearcats have been dominant defensively, and that includes games against teams with big offenses like Memphis, SMU and Houston.
But this is the nation’s No. 1 offense getting to do its thing in the Bounce House.
There’s a better chance of both teams pushing each other to keep pressing than there is of this being some sort of defensive slugfest.
65.5 is a big number no matter who’s playing, but there’s a good shot that one of these teams can take care of most of this by itself.
Again, if this goes like we all hope this could and it’s played in the high 30s and up, it shouldn’t be a problem.
NEXT: USC at Utah
4. USC at Utah
Point Total: 58
PICK: Under
– Bet on this, BetMGM latest line
Has USC come across as a well-oiled offensive machine to you?
It has the energy level of a high school junior on her sixth Zoom class of the day.
Oh sure, Kedon Slovis and company rose to the occasion to slip by Arizona State, and they survived with a late score to beat Arizona, but the totals in both of those games weren’t that crazy – 55 in the ASU game and 64 with Arizona.
– Week 12 Schedule, Times, Lines, Previews
Utah hasn’t played yet, and it has a whole lot of replacements coming in on both sides of the ball, so this is truly a bit of a chance being taken here.
So here’s the call – the Utah offense won’t be all that sharp right out of the gate, but the defense will be nasty right away.
Last year’s game was a 30-23 USC win, and that was when both offenses were good.
NEXT: Boise State at Hawaii
3. Boise State at Hawaii
Point Total: 55.5
PICK: Over
– Bet on this, BetMGM latest line
Fortunately you follow all of these picks, so there’s no need to desperately chase at the end of a long college football Saturday – HA! – but what else is there to do late on a Saturday night during pandemic at home when everyone’s asleep?
(Don’t answer that.)
It’s Boise State. It’s Hawaii. It’s starting at 11 pm ET and you’re sure as shoot not going to stay up that late to root for the under on a 55.5 point total.
Especially when Boise State might just hit that by itself.
– Week 12 Expert Picks & Predictions: College
The Hawaii defense isn’t bad, but if Wyoming is scoring 31 on you and New Mexico is putting up 33, then good luck with what Boise State is bringing to Honolulu.
The Broncos were injured against BYU, the running game hasn’t been great, and yet they still managed to average close to 48 points in each of the three other non-BYU games.
Best of all, this isn’t your normal Boise State defense. It’s okay, but it’ll give up at least 20 points to the Rainbow Warriors, but you might not need them.
NEXT: LSU at Arkansas
2. LSU at Arkansas
Point Total: 63.5
PICK: Over
– Bet on this, BetMGM latest line
LSU hasn’t been able to play since Halloween, and Arkansas has been able to fight through its issues to get on the field over the last few weeks.
Both defenses are meh, both offenses are fun against fellow meh teams, and meh + meh in this case equals what should be a screaming shootout.
LSU was able to hold down Vanderbilt. That was about it, and in the one other game it didn’t give up a bazillion points was a 52-24 win over South Carolina.
The 11 points against Auburn were alarmingly low, but even in that game the total got to 59.
– Week 11 Expert Picks & Predictions: NFL
Arkansas played a good defensive battle in the 24-13 win over Tennessee, and the Mississippi State and Georgia games were held to under 40 each, but the offense was able together to 31 points in three of the last four games. LSU scored 34 or more against everyone but AU.
If these two can just be what they usually are, the total should flirt with 70 and you should be just fine.
This would easily be the pick of the week, but there’s an all-timer of a point total game that is a once-in-a-generation opportunity …
NEXT: FIU at WKU
1. FIU at WKU
Point Total: 43.5
PICK: Under
– Bet on this, BetMGM latest line
I need this to be a 67-65 shootout.
I need to get rid of my crutch, my habit, my go-to for any time things seem a little low and I need an investment pick me up.
I need to be able to quit Western Kentucky football and its inability to score points.
As I’ve wandered across this great land preaching for the last several weeks, there’s nothing more reliable than the iron-clad belief system that revolves around your 2020 WKU Hilltoppers and their ability to play low-scoring games.
And it’s not just the offense. That’s the easy part. It’s the defense that helps make this program the Patron Saint of the Under.
I’m not joking. You can not set the point total low enough for WKU games.
– Top 10 Predictions Against The Spread
Last week, WKU and Southern Miss scored 17 points … COMBINED.
The week before, WKU and Florida Atlantic scored 16 points … COMBINED.
WKU hasn’t scored more than 14 points in any of its last five games, and even then it went wacky in a 20-17 win over Middle Tennessee.
But it’s going to take two to tango here.
FIU scored 19 against FAU last week and combined with Jacksonville State for 29 points the week before.
Even though the Golden Panthers are 0-4 , and even though they lost to SU, and a miserable Middle Tennessee, they were still not totally horrible defensively – the 38 points allowed to FAU last week were the most given up all year.
So again, I beg of you, WKU and FIU, save me from me.
Put on a show. Have some fun. Give your respective fan bases a pair of offensive gameplans that doesn’t take away their will to go on.
But 17-13 would be just fine, too.
Week 12 Game Previews, Predictions
ACC | Big Ten | Big 12 | Pac-12 | SEC
AAC | C-USA | MAC | M-West | Sun Belt
