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Subscribe to Newsweek Sports Betting 📩A couple of things before we dive into the second-to-last weekend of the 2025 college football regular season.
Wait, what?! How has it already been almost three months since I (aptly, if I say so myself) declared, "Welcome to Micah Alejado season"??
It's not quite time to reflect on the regular season and/or look ahead to the College Football Playoff just yet, though.
The Week 13 slate features a number of mismatches, including Charlotte-Georgia and Eastern Illinois-Alabama. There are a few top-25 matchups worth highlighting, though, including:
- No. 22 Missouri at No. 8 Oklahoma (-7.5) (12 p.m., ABC)
- No. 15 USC at No. 7 Oregon (-10) (3:30 p.m., CBS)
There are also conference title implications (and tight spreads, for the most part) for top contenders in the Big 12, ACC and American Conference.
-- In the Big 12, No. 11 BYU (-2.5) visits Cincinnati (8 p.m., FOX) and TCU travels to No. 23 Houston (-1.5) for a 4 p.m. kickoff (also on FOX). Would anybody really be shocked to see another upset or two in one of the least predictable conferences in the country?
-- ACC contenders Pittsburgh and No. 16. Georgia Tech (-2.5) meet in Atlanta at 7 p.m. on ESPN.
-- The biggest game this weekend in the American Conference is No. 24 Tulane (-9.5) at Temple (3:45 p.m., ESPNU), but ECU-UTSA and North Texas-Rice feature two other contenders in a conference whose winner will likely reach the CFP.
*All odds come from DraftKings as of Thursday evening, unless otherwise noted.
College Football Betting Odds, Viewing Info For Tonight
Friday night's doubleheader starts with Florida State traveling to NC State and ends with Rainbow Warriors QB Micah Alejado himself and Hawaii taking on UNLV in Las Vegas in a key Mountain West battle.
Friday, Nov. 21 Game Of The Night: Florida State vs. NC State
A week after Clemson and Louisville slugged it out in a chaotic, back-and-forth ACC slugfest, Week 13 brings another clash between a couple of programs that have had some high highs amid mostly disappointing seasons.
The Wolfpack boasts wins over No. 19 Virginia and No. 16 Georgia Tech, but Dave Doeren's 5-5 (2-4 ACC) team has largely been a disappointment in Year 13 for Doeren.
Speaking of a mostly lackluster resume with one massive W, Florida State (5-5, 2-5 ACC) is fighting to finish 3-5 in the conference after starting the season with a shocking beatdown of now-No. 10 Alabama.
This one might be lighter on wild swings and costly mistakes than Clemson vs. Louisville, but expect plenty of highs and lows between two teams that have not met since 2022 following the ACC's move away from the old Atlantic and Coastal Division set-up.
NC State quarterback CJ Bailey has looked outstanding at times this year (just ask Georgia Tech), but he's also had a couple of significant duds. In just his last four games, Bailey threw a total of five picks and 1 TD in one-sided losses to Notre Dame and Miami, but he also lit up Georgia Tech for 340 yards and 2 TDs on 24-of-32 passing.
FSU QB Tommy Castellanos has been on a roller coaster of his own throughout his career. He made one big play after another as both a passer and a runner in FSU's Week 1 upset over the Crimson Tide, but he's completed just 59 percent of his passes on the year.
The advanced metrics are much higher on Florida State (No. 28, per ESPN's SP+) than NC State (SP+ No. 68), but the history of this rivalry tells me that if nothing else, the Pack should be able to keep it close at home for at least 30 minutes.
That might be an understatement considering the Seminoles' history as a program in Raleigh (and how well the Pack played at home vs. Georgia Tech two short weeks ago). For now, though, that's all I've got on this matchup.
Best bet: NC State First Half +3.5 (best odds: -112 at DK) -- 0.5 units
USC vs. Oregon Early Thoughts, Best Bets
Kickoff: 3:30 p.m. ET (📺: CBS)
USC vs. Oregon Betting Odds (via DK as of Thursday night)
- Spread: USC +10 (-112); Oregon -10 (-108)
- Moneyline: USC +310; Oregon -395
- Total: 59.5 (over -108; under -112)
The Big Ten Championship Game is probably going to be a battle between Ohio State and Indiana, no matter what happens at Autzen Stadium on Saturday.
That hardly makes this weekend's clash between No. 7 Oregon (9-1, 6-1 Big Ten) and No. 15 USC (8-2, 6-1 Big Ten) insignificant, though. The Ducks enter Week 13 with -300 odds at DraftKings to make the CFP, while USC's odds at DK in that same market are +400.
A Trojans victory would give their chances to make the Playoff a massive boost, while putting Oregon's CFP hopes in jeopardy.
Given the pressure on both teams, this is an awfully tough game to predict two days before kickoff. My initial reaction was that Oregon -10 was a bit dismissive of the Trojans, and I haven't totally flip-flopped on that take.
At the moment, though, my favorite pick for this matchup is the Under at 59.5.
USC QB Jayden Maiava and Oregon QB Dante Moore are excellent, but these are two underrated defensive teams, IMO -- especially the Trojans, who have come a long way on that side of the ball under defensive coordinator D'Anton Lynn the last two years.
Both these squads have played more low-scoring games than you might expect given how strong they are offensively, and I expect this one to go well under the total.
Best bet: Under 59.5 (-112 at DraftKings) -- 1 unit
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