Category: College Football

Every week throughout the season we’ll give you a college football viewing guide by highlighting the five best games of the coming weekend. We will pick those five games against the spread and highlight some other matchups that caught our eye from a betting perspective.

We’ve reached the final two weeks of the regular season and there’s still so much to be decided.

With five undefeated teams and four others with one loss, the College Football Playoff race can go in many directions. There are also conference title races coming down to the wire and more than 20 teams on the verge of bowl eligibility.

Rivalry week is on the horizon and the coaching carousel has already ramped up, so we’re in for an eventful few weeks and beyond.

(Note: All times ET, odds from BetMGM)

Time: Noon | TV: ABC | Line: Miami -1 | Total: 46.5

Louisville can clinch a spot in the ACC title game with a win over Miami. It’s been an excellent first season for the Cardinals under Jeff Brohm, who left Purdue to take the reins at his alma mater. The Cardinals are 9-1 but this is just the third true road game they will play all season. UL needed a come-from-behind effort to win 13-10 at NC State on Sept. 29 and then UL’s only loss came at Pitt back on Oct. 14. Since then, the Cardinals have won three straight — all at home. Will they be able to take care of business in Coral Gables?

For Miami, it’s been another up-and-down season under Mario Cristobal. The Hurricanes started 4-0 before losing to Georgia Tech in inexplicable fashion and then suffering a road loss to North Carolina. From there, Miami rebounded with overtime home wins over Clemson and Virginia and then dropped back-to-back road games to NC State and Florida State. The Hurricanes had a spirited effort last week in Tallahassee, but lost 27-20. What will the motivation be from the Miami…

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CBS Sports Network’s coverage of the 2023 college football season continues with five games in Week 12, including some pivotal matchups across the Mountain West. The MAC was under the spotlight on Tuesday when Eastern Michigan topped Akron in a double-overtime thriller. It was a critical win for the Eagles, who are trying to reach a third-straight bowl game under coach Chris Creighton.

The slate continues on Saturday with four games across the network. It all starts with Army hosting Coastal Carolina. Following the conclusion of that game, UNLV travels to Air Force for a matchup between the top teams in the Mountain West. 

Rounding out the schedule, Boise State travels to Logan, Utah, to face Utah State. The final game on the slate features a battle of in-state rivals San Jose State and San Diego State. The Spartans have been one of the hottest teams in the country following a slow start to the season, winning four consecutive games under coach Brett Brennan.

All times Eastern | Odds via SportsLine consensus 

Coastal Carolina at Army

Date: Saturday, Nov. 18 | Time: Noon ET 
Location: Michie Stadium — West Point, New York
TV: CBS Sports Network [Channel finder] 
Live stream: CBSSports.com | Mobile: CBS Sports App (Free)
Spread: Coastal Carolina -4.5 | Will the Chanticleers cover? Check out SportsLine’s Week 12 projections here

Coastal Carolina star quarterback Grayson McCall hasn’t played since suffering a scary injury against Arkansas State on Oct. 21. In his absence, backup quarterbacks Ethan Vasko and Jarrett Guest have both seen action. It’s unclear if McCall will return in the final weeks of the season, but Vasko is coming off a two-touchdown performance in the win over Texas State last weekend. Army comes into the…

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This fall marks 30 years since the movie “Rudy” hit theaters and a nation learned of a pesky try-hard kid from Joliet, Ill. who worked to walk-on to the Notre Dame football team.

I loved the movie when my parents took me and my sister to see it that fall and still love it today. It’s not perfect, in fact there are some things from Rudy’s real story that I find even more impressive than the film.

However, it’s a classic and will always be way up on the list of best sports and football movies of all-time.

Now, 30 years later, we’re getting a bonus scene of the film. Check out below as Rudy (played by Sean Astin) and his dad (the late Ned Beatty) explain what makes Notre Dame football so special.

Those 97 seconds does a tremendous job explaining what much of Notre Dame fandom is all about. For many of us that fandom started generations ago and has been passed down.

I couldn’t tell you the first Notre Dame football game I watched as a kid but I can tell you that by the time I was six and Rick Mirer, Jerome Bettis, and Reggie Brooks were ripping apart defenses in 1992, I was already fully obsessed.

And I can look back and be fairly certain that more than a small part was because of having a grandfather that spoke of Notre Dame football very similarly to the way Beatty does in that deleted scene.

Story originally appeared on Fighting Irish Wire

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This is an article version of the CBS Sports HQ AM Newsletter, the ultimate guide to every day in sports. You can sign up to get it in your inbox every weekday morning here.

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🐎 Good morning to everyone but especially …

RUSSELL WILSON AND THE DENVER BRONCOS

The “old” Russell Wilson — the something-out-of-nothing whirling dervish that the Broncos hoped they were getting when they acquired him — will never fully return. But when that Wilson reappears here or there, he’s still special. Russ threw a pair of touchdown passes and led a game-winning drive to set up Wil Lutz‘s 36-yard field goal as time expired, leading the Broncos to an absolutely wild 24-22 win over the Bills.

Wilson’s first touchdown was a play of the year candidate grab by Courtland Sutton, who somehow tapped both feet in. Wilson’s second was also excellent as he somehow got the ball to Javonte Williams through contact.Wilson made several big plays on the game-winning drive, none bigger than one that won’t show up in his…..

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Should Deion Sanders jump the Colorado ship and take Prime Time to the Lone Star State?

Stephen A. Smith thinks Sanders, in just his first season with the Buffaloes, should take the head coaching job at Texas A&M. The Aggies athletic department fired Jimbo Fisher on Sunday, giving him an historic buyout of $77 million after going 5-7 last year and 6-4 so far this season.

“Deion Sanders in the SEC with that vault that they have available to them, with them hogs that he could recruit, ’cause he doesn’t have them at Colorado and he ain’t gonna get ’em,” Smith said Monday on ESPN’s “Get Up” morning show. “… I don’t think they’ll do it, but Texas A&M, Prime Time Deion Sanders in the SEC, that needs to happen.”

Sanders is 4-6 with two more games left in his first season at the helm of the Buffaloes. The team would need to win both to become bowl eligible.

Colorado was ranked as high as No. 19 in the US LBM Coaches Poll after winning their first three games, including the season opener on the road against College Football Playoff runner-up TCU. Sanders joined the program in December after spending three seasons at Jackson State where he led the Tigers to back-to-back conference championships.

On Saturday, Sanders apologized to the Colorado fan base after losing 34-31 to Arizona in their home finale. The defeat extended their losing streak to four games.

A day after the loss, five-star Class of 2025 recruit Winston Watkins Jr. rescinded his verbal commitment from the Buffaloes, saying, “I have a lot of schools I want to make sure I’m still good with them because I don’t know if Prime will still be there when I get there.”

USA TODAY Sports’ Paul Myerberg suggested Oregon’s Dan Lanning and Florida State’s Mike Norvell as possible candidates for the Texas A&M head coaching position.

This article originally appeared on USA…

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USATSI

There hasn’t been a lot of drama this college football season when it comes to the teams at the top of the rankings. None of the top eight teams from the initial College Football Playoff Rankings have lost, and the top-10 teams that have fallen all lost to teams ranked ahead of them.

But perhaps this is the weekend when chaos makes itself known. An early look at the odds for Week 12 show a lot of large spreads, but there’s also a prevalence of road favorites. Strange things can happen when favorites hit the road late in the year, particularly a week ahead of rivalry week.

Here’s an early look at Week 12’s biggest games.

Odds via SportsLine consensus

The best games

Georgia (-10) at Tennessee: After spending the entire season untested, Georgia faces a third straight ranked opponent, but you know what? We’re still waiting for the test. The Bulldogs disposed of Missouri and Ole Miss pretty easily, and now it’s Tennessee’s turn. Can the Volunteers pick themselves up off the mat after getting beat up by the same Mizzou squad that lost to Georgia?

Utah (-1) at Arizona: Arizona avoided a road upset at the hands of Colorado in Week 11 and returns to a familiar position: The home underdog. The Utes managed to keep things close against Washington in Seattle, but their offense disappeared in the second half of the game and will have to play at a higher level to avoid a second consecutive loss here.

Washington (-1) at Oregon State: Some teams have only recently been tested, but it feels like Washington gets tested…

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The Oregon Ducks won their ninth game of the season under the Saturday night, Autzen Stadium lights against the USC Trojans. The Ducks led for almost the entire game, but the Trojans did make a late push. With around five minutes left in the fourth quarter, Austin Jones scored a rushing TD, making the score 36-27. Lincoln Riley opted to go for the 2-point conversion, even though the PAT would’ve made it a one-score game. The Trojans didn’t convert, and the Ducks iced the game with a few first downs shortly after.

The thing that stood out most to me was how strong Oregon’s passing attack was. Bo Nix has led one of the nation’s best passing offenses all year, but his performance in this game was particularly special. The Oregon receiving corps was able to make plays in open space throughout the game.

Below are the rest of my instant reactions to Oregon’s win over USC.

Final Score – Oregon Ducks 36 – USC Trojans 27

Troy Wayrynen-USA TODAY Sports

The Oregon Ducks closed out the USC Trojans at home on the latest edition of Pac-12 After Dark.

Keys to the Game

Troy Wayrynen-USA TODAY Sports

Downfield coverage seemed to be the most important factor for Oregon on defense. In the first half, both of the Trojans’ scoring drives were highlighted by Caleb Williams’ deep balls. But, when the Ducks were able to maintain their downfield coverage, USC’s offense stalled.

Caleb Williams made some impressive deep throws, but Bo Nix’s long ball couldn’t be stopped. By the game’s end, Nix had completed 3 passes of more than 60 yards, 2 of which were touchdowns.

USC’s defense used a lot of zone coverage, and the Oregon WRs and TEs seemed to have no trouble finding the soft spots between the Trojans’ zones.

Oregon struggled to run the ball for most of the game, which was a surprise considering how much USC’s run defense…

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The race for the SEC East title and New Year’s Six bowl picture both hang in the balance when No. 13 Tennessee travels to face No. 14 Missouri on Saturday afternoon in the SEC on CBS Game of the Week.

The Volunteers are coming off a win over UConn that has given them momentum heading into the home stretch. Led by quarterback Joe Milton III, a stout rushing attack and a defense that creates chaos behind the line of scrimmage, they have to win and get help from Ole Miss against Georgia to stay alive in the division title race. 

The Tigers fell to Georgia 30-21 last week in a pivotal division matchup. However, quarterback Brady Cook has established himself as one of the most consistent signal-callers in the league. 

What will go down Saturday afternoon in Columbia? Let’s break down the game and make picks straight up and against the spread. 

Tennessee vs. Missouri: Need to know

The identity of the Vols: Tennessee head coach Josh Heupel made waves last year when he led the Volunteers to the No. 1 spot in the initial College Football Playoff rankings and kept them in the mix throughout the regular season thanks in large part to a dynamic passing attack. Things are different this year. The run game, led by Milton and running backs Jaylen Wright, Jabari Small and Dylan Sampson, has allowed the Vols to stay competitive. They lead the conference with 227.78 rushing yards per game.

“That’s the number one stat I think we look at as an offensive line,” said offensive lineman Ollie Lane. “It’s a testament to the hard work we put in, plus with how great our running backs see and their field vision, being able to hit a hole that we create for them is huge. But, being able to be rated at the top means a lot to us. Coming through this whole…

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