Written By Vegas Matty
Despite leaving last Saturday’s 31-20 win over the Michigan Wolverines early with a knee injury, quarterback J.T. Barrett is expected to suit up and start this Saturday when his Ohio State Buckeyes take on the unbeaten Wisconsin Badgers for the Big Ten conference championship at Lucas Oil Stadium in Indianapolis. The Buckeyes opened 6.5-point favorites at BetOnline.AG — and the last time these two met for the conference title it was Wisconsin closing 4-point chalk three years ago before losing 59-0. Ohio State went on to win the national championship – again sans an injured Barrett – behind his replacement Cardale Jones and All-American running back Ezekiel Elliott.
Spots in the four-team College Football Playoff field are still up for grabs after the top-ranked Alabama Crimson Tide fell 26-14 to the Auburn Tigers in the Iron Bowl. The Tigers face the Georgia Bulldogs in the SEC Championship Game this Saturday at Mercedes-Benz Stadium in Atlanta, with the winner a lock to secure one of them. Auburn opened 1.5-point favorites at BetOnline.AG and is up to -2.5 as the team goes for its second victory against Georgia in four weeks. The Bulldogs were unbeaten going into the first matchup as 3-point road favorites at Jordan-Hare.
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Other conference championship games of note:
- Clemson figures to be the No. 1 team in the country when the new CFP rankings are released, and they play in their third straight ACC Championship Game when they face the Miami Hurricanes at Bank of America Stadium. The defending national champion Tigers opened 6.5-point favorites and are now up to -9 as they attempt to make the Final Four for the third year in a row. After a surprising 24-14 loss to the Pittsburgh Panthers last Friday, Miami must win here to even be considered for the college football playoff.
- Oklahoma opened 6-point faves versus the TCU Horned Frogs in the Big 12 Championship Game. The Sooners are up to -6.5 and appear to be another lock to make the CFP for the second time in three years if they beat the Horned Frogs for a second time in four weeks. TCU may need an upset and some help to get their first ever birth int the college football playoff.
- On Friday, the USC Trojans will take on the Stanford Cardinal for the second time this season in the Pac-12 Championship Game. The Trojans routed the Cardinal 42-24 in the first meeting back on September 9, and they opened 3.5-point chalk for the rematch before early wagering took them down to -3.
For NFL Week 13, the New Orleans Saints host the Carolina Panthers on Sunday in a huge divisional game. The Panthers are coming off a 35-27 road victory against the New York Jets and opened 3-point underdogs for the trip to New Orleans, who saw their eight-game winning streak end with a 26-20 road loss to the Los Angeles Rams. Carolina is 0-4-1 against the spread in the past five meetings, including a 34-13 Week 3 loss to the Saints as 5.5-point faves. That victory started New Orleans’ winning streak before being snapped today.
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Here are a couple other big Week 13 NFL matchups between potential playoff teams:
- Another NFC South team competing with the Panthers and Saints and hoping to get back to the playoffs is the defending division champion Atlanta Falcons. They are next in line to challenge the NFC North-leading Minnesota Vikings and host them as 2.5-point chalk on Sunday. Minnesota will have extra rest after earning a 30-23 road win over the Detroit Lions on Thanksgiving.
- One of the best Sunday Night Football matchups of the season will then take place in Seattle when the Seahawks host the Philadelphia Eagles. Seattle opened as a 5.5-point home underdog against Philadelphia at BetOnline.AG and will attempt to halt the Eagles nine-game winning streak and recent run of point spread dominance. The Eagles are one game up on the Vikings for home-field advantage in the NFC, and the Seahawks have not closed as home underdogs of five points or more since November 13, 2011 but in early wagering have already seen the number shrink from 5.5 to 3.5.
College Football Conference Championship Spreads:
USC -3 vs. Stanford (Total 57½)
Idaho @ Georgia State (N/A – Matt Linehan)
Appalachian State -14½ vs. UL Lafayette (Total 58½)
Georgia Southern @ Coastal Carolina (N/A – Tyler Keane)
Arkansas State -1½ vs. Troy (Total 58½)
New Mexico State -10 vs. South Alabama (Total 54)
Florida Atlantic -10½ vs. North Texas (Total 74½)
Central Florida -7 vs. Memphis (Total 85½)
Toledo -19½ vs. Akron (Total 56)
Auburn -2½ (-120) vs. Georgia (Total 49)
Boise State -9½ vs. Fresno State (Total 49)
Clemson -9 vs. Miami Florida (Total 47½)
Ohio State -6½ vs. Wisconsin (Total 53)
Florida International -1½ vs. Massachusetts (Total 55½)
Florida State -26½ vs. UL Monroe (Total 66)
Oklahoma -6½ (-120) vs. TCU (Total 62½)
NFL Week 13:
Dallas -1½ vs. Washington
Baltimore -3 vs. Detroit
Chicago -4½ vs. San Francisco
Atlanta -3 vs. Minnesota
New England -7½ @ Buffalo
Miami PICK’em vs. Denver
Tennessee -7 vs. Houston
Jacksonville -8½ vs. Indianapolis
Green Bay PICK’em vs. Tampa Bay
Kansas City -3½ @ New York Jets
New Orleans -3½ (-120) vs. Carolina
Los Angeles Chargers -13 vs. Cleveland
Los Angeles Rams -6½ @ Arizona
Oakland -7½ vs. New York Giants
Philadelphia -4 @ Seattle
Pittsburgh -6½ @ Cincinnati
