Week 12 college football odds, lines: Ohio State a double-digit favorite – CBSSports.com
Welcome once again to Monday Morning Oddsmaker, CBS Sports’ weekly first look at the Vegas lines for the coming week of college football action. And what a week this promises to be: from a matchup of two top MAC teams in Toledo and Bowling Green on Tuesday through Baylor and Oklahoma State and TCU at Oklahoma in Saturday primetime, this might be the most stacked slate of the season so far, with no fewer than six matchups of teams ranked in the AP Top 25.
So here’s our breakdown of the week’s odds, with all lines current as of Monday morning and — as always — courtesy of our friends at Sportsline. Enjoy:
Lines you need to know
No. 9 Michigan State at No. 2 Ohio State (-13): The Game of the Year (at least so far) in the Big Ten finds the Buckeyes nearly a full two-touchdown favorite over the visiting Spartans. If that seems like a larger spread than expected, remember that in 2014 J.T. Barrett and Co. blitzed Mark Dantonio’s defense for 568 yards in a 12-point win — and that game was in East Lansing.
No. 10 Baylor at No. 4 Oklahoma State (-1): The Cowboys are the narrowest of favorites to keep their perfect season intact at home against the wounded Bears, fresh off their first home defeat since early in the 2012 season.
No. 17 LSU at No. 25 Ole Miss (-4): One of the SEC’s classic rivalries takes the SEC on CBS center stage in what’s otherwise the league’s annual late-season nonconference breather week. Loser is officially eliminated from the SEC West race.
No. 22 USC at No. 23 Oregon (-4): A pair of three-loss Pac-12 teams look to continue their late-season resurgence in Eugene. Who had this pegged as must-see-TV a month ago?
No. 11 TCU at No. 7 Oklahoma (no line): Another marquee Big 12 showdown isn’t on the board as of yet, likely due to the uncertain injury status of Trevone Boykin.
Lines that may raise eyebrows
No. 20 Northwestern at No. 21 Wisconsin (-11): The Wildcats may be an impressive 8-2, with a win over Stanford and their only losses to Iowa and Michigan, but it doesn’t mean oddsmakers think they have a serious chance of pulling the upset in Madison, apparently.
Cincinnati at USF (+3): If you haven’t noticed, Willie Taggart has engineered a breakthrough season in Tampa, guiding the Bulls to a 6-4 start and a real shot at the AAC title. But nonetheless, it hasn’t been enough to earn the favorite’s role against the (also 6-4) Bearcats.
Duke at Virginia (-2.5): The Blue Devils have struggled of late. Have they struggled to the point they should be underdogs to the Cavaliers?
West Virginia at Kansas (+28): Well, Jayhawks, you didn’t actually beat TCU, but at least you did enough vs. the Horned Frogs to face a Big 12 opponent as an underdog of 28 points or fewer for the first time since Oct. 3.
Lines you may want to stay away from
Toledo at Bowling Green (-6.5): The Falcons have been one of the hottest teams in the country, riding an 8-1 streak both straight-up and against-the-spread since an opening-week loss to Tennessee. But the desperate Rockets have the defensive line necessary to disrupt Matt Johnson’s usual Swiss-caliber timing.
UCLA at Utah (-3): The unpredictable way both of these teams’ seasons have gone — crush Oregon, lose to Arizona; level Cal, lose to Washington State (at home) — your guess in this matchup is literally as good as mine.
Texas A&M at Vanderbilt (+7): The Commodores have been a covering machine under Derek Mason. The Aggies have struggled mightily over their past five games, going 0-5 against-the-spread, 2-3 straight-up. But the talent gap between these teams remains far, far wider than that seven points would suggest.
Purdue at No. 6 Iowa (-21): Darell Hazell’s team has been a double-digit road underdog three times this season and covered all three times. But Iowa’s focus doesn’t seem likely to slip with their 12-0 regular season dream this close to fruition.
Lines you may want to pick against*
No. 19 Navy at Tulsa (+12): The Golden Hurricane have been iffy at home, posting an 0-4-1 mark against-the-spread, while all eight of the white-hot Midshipmen’s wins have come by double digits. Pick: Navy -12
Idaho at Auburn (-31.5): Georgia last week, Alabama next week. The Tigers will feel like they’ve got better things to do than pile it on vs. the Vandals, particularly where ailing quarterback Sean White is concerned. Pick: Idaho +31.5
Tennessee at Missouri (+9): Terrific, emotional win for the Tigers vs. BYU last Saturday, but also one that only improved their against-the-spread record to 3-7 for the season. A return to earth against a Tennessee team that’s a Florida miracle from going 3-0 ATS on the road seems likely. Pick: Tennessee -9
Illinois at Minnesota (-5.5): The Gophers haven’t won straight-up since Tracy Claeys took over, but they’ve covered in three straight vs. Michigan, Ohio State and Iowa. They’ll be champing at the bit to get Claeys his first win at home against the road-poor Illini. Pick: Minnesota -5.5
*4-0 last week, now 7-1 the last two weeks! Which means, given this column’s success (or lack thereof) over the season’s first nine weeks, some regression is due.
J.T. Barrett led Ohio State to a decisive win over Michigan State in 2014. (USATSI)This entry passed through the Full-Text RSS service – if this is your content and you’re reading it on someone else’s site, please read the FAQ at fivefilters.org/content-only/faq.php#publishers.
