COLLEGE FOOTBALL GAMBLING: Week 12’s 20 best bets, with an Auburn-UGA shootout

1. Ohio State at Minnesota +13: The Buckeyes are coming off their biggest win under Urban Meyer, having beaten Michigan State. And given nasty, potentially snowy conditions, it’s not hard to envision Ohio State being slightly less sharp on offense.

2 and 3. Mississippi State at Alabama -8 and Under 52.5: That the Tide are coming off the physical win over LSU is concerning. But the Tide’s offense has been much better at home than it has on the road, and Mississippi State’s secondary has been porous this season, which should give some easier throws to QB Blake Sims. Alabama has struggled against running QBs before, but teams have been better against Dak Prescott of late.

4 and 5. Auburn at Georgia -2.5 and Over 68.5: The Bulldogs are getting Todd Gurley back and still have a chance to win the SEC, and Auburn is coming off a huge chokejob at home to Texas A&M, which effectively knocked the Tigers out of the Playoff race. Neither defense has played well of late, especially against similar opponents (Auburn has allowed 145 points in its last four games), which is why I’ll be taking the over as well.

6. Clemson -3 at Georgia Tech: Getting Deshaun Watson back is a major boost to the Clemson Tigers, and Georgia Tech’s defense is not that great. Its offense is, however, and that’s somewhat of a concern. But the Tigers have a tremendous defensive line, which should cause trouble for the Yellow Jackets.

7. Virginia Tech +5 at Duke: Missing the +7 available later in the week hurts this one, but the Hokies are off a bye week, and presuming they’ve not quit on the season, this should be a tough battle. Duke struggled against the blitz last week against Syracuse, and the Hokies love to bring it.

8. LSU at Arkansas -1.5: The gap in the SEC this season is just not that great, and that’s due to QB play. LSU quarterback Anthony Jennings has not completed more than half of his passes in a game since mid-September. The Razorbacks are not a good team, but they are good enough off a bye to take down a three-loss, young LSU team that is coming off an emotional loss against Alabama.

9 and 10. Missouri +4.5 at Texas A&M and Under 59.5: Missouri’s defense is stout, but its offense is poor, and because of that, the Tigers look to play slow and shorten games. This is a good spot to sell high on the Aggies, after the win over Auburn that was aided in large part by turnovers.

11 and 12. Iowa -3.5 (+100) at Illinois and Over 55.5: Iowa simply did not come to play against Minnesota over the weekend, and should bounce back after the embarrassment. Illinois is coming off a bye week and should be able to throw the football around a bit. It will be cold, but snow is not expected.

13 and 14. Texas at Oklahoma State +3 and Under 48.5: Oklahoma State is coming off a bye week, while Texas has had some grueling games of late. The Longhorns are beat up on the offensive line, and the Cowboys are a live dog at home.

15 and 16. Arizona State at Oregon State +10 and Under 62: The Sun Devils crushed Notre Dame over the weekend, thanks to 24 net points via turnovers. That’s not sustainable, and grabbing double digits with the Beavers at home makes sense, especially with the Sun Devils traveling and the game time temperature being 35 degrees.

17. Southern Miss +7 (+100) at UTSA: UTSA’s offense is just awful, and Southern Miss has had some incredibly bad turnover luck of late. It wouldn’t surprise me to see the Golden Eagles bounce back and win this contest.

18. Pitt +2 at North Carolina: Both teams are coming off bye weeks, and I think the Panthers can get it done on the road behind a strong running game.

19. Temple +11.5 at Penn State: Penn State’s offense is bad, but it plays strong defense. Ditto Temple. I’d take the under, too, but it’s been bet to 39, which is just too low.

20. Indiana at Rutgers Under 55.5: The QB play for the Hoosiers is simply terrible, and Rutgers’ offense isn’t great, either.