- More Betting
Free College Football Picks and Predictions – Week 12 Best Bets, Saturday November 20, 2021
Prospector Sam has arrived with your free NCAAF betting picks for the Week 12 action!
Time to strap in, guys, cause things are about to get crazy. And, for any college football fan with a pulse, this is as good as it gets. We’ve got two more weeks of regular season play, and those games will essentially decide the fate of the contenders for the College Football Playoff (excluding UGA, who gets to beat the life out of Charleston Southern and Georgia Tech). Well, I should correct that statement, because there are certainly a couple of fanbases who are not so cheery right now, and with good reason.
MORE: Best Sportsbook Football Promos
Let’s start with Florida, who pulled off a win after a dog fight with a team whose mascot is, conveniently, a bulldog. Unfortunately for Gators fans, it wasn’t UGA, it was Samford University, a tiny FCS school who put up 52 points on UF. Even funnier, videos emerged of Dan Mullen dancing with his team like they’d just won free Burger King for life (I assume that’s all people eat in Central Florida), which didn’t sit well with anyone who had the audacity to expect them to win that game easily. But, to be fair, Mullen has reason to celebrate; he’s undoubtedly going to get canned, which means a big old buyout check for work he doesn’t have to do. That, right there, is the real American dream.
While Florida’s performance looked like a shoe-in to be the worst of the day, Texas said “hold my oversized beer” and got beaten by Kansas in Austin. It was hard to imagine things could get any worse for this program; they hired a head coach who consistently fails because he got the Saban rinse off, blew multiple big leads in important games, and even had a fucking tabloid story about a monkey, owned by the stripper girlfriend of a UT coach, biting a child. But I’ll be damned if they didn’t top all of it by losing to the Jayhawks, which is about as low as it gets in college football.
So here’s to a new week and hopefully some more fun moments that’ll include great games and some impressive failures by hateable fanbases. I don’t know that I have a say, but if someone could smite Notre Dame with an Old Testament God-style punishment (which would be fitting for a Catholic University), I’d greatly appreciate it.
Now, picks! ⤵️
Prospector Sam's CFB picks are proudly brought to you by PointsBet Sportsbook.
There’s no better time than today to get ahold of your free Dimers hoodie. We’ve teamed up with PointsBet to hook you up.
Until the end of November, new PointsBet customers get a Dimers hoodie, plus two risk-free bets up to $2000, so sign up to PointsBet today and deposit just $50 to unlock this offer.
Free NCAAF Picks For Week 12, 2021
Iowa State vs. Oklahoma, Sat Nov 20, 12:00pm (EST)
Well, Oklahoma did everyone a favor (aside from themselves) last weekend by effectively knocking the Big 12 out of contention for the CFB Playoff. Just go look at the Conference’s record in that competition if you want to argue about whether a Big 12 team should make it, then come talk to me. And it’s no less than the Sooners deserve, after their turncoat fans chanted for Spencer Rattler to come back in after booing him into the backup role just a few weeks prior. Some places can’t have nice things, and Oklahoma feels like a state that fits the description (same with Connecticut, screw that place). As for this game, I’m not sure you should trust either of these teams. Oklahoma has repeatedly proved they aren’t going to live up to expectations against the spread, while Iowa State has just plain sucked (as I warned everyone before the season started). So we’re walking away from the line and going with the Over. Each of these teams scores 30+ points per game and their defenses are shaky at best, which tells you pretty much all you need to know. While the Sooners got held down by a strong Baylor defense last week, Iowa State doesn’t have that type of discipline (see, 41 points conceded to TTU) and they’re willing to get into a gunfight with Brock Purdy leading their offense. I think this turns into a high scoring affair, and over 60 feels pretty likely to me based on the style of play for both.
⛏️ PICK: Total points OVER 60
MORE: Iowa State vs. Oklahoma simulator
Georgia Tech vs. Notre Dame, Sat Nov 20, 2:30pm (EST)
Yes, I know I said above that I was hoping Notre Dame would get smited (Smote? Smoterized?), but let’s hold off on that project for a week. Because, if there’s one thing you can consistently rely on in College Football, it’s Notre Dame to beat down on lots of crappy teams and fool the world into thinking they’re actually good. After a pretty ugly loss early in the year against Cincy in South Bend, the Irish have run off a string of wins against unranked teams and have dragged themselves all the way up to 8 in the country. I’ve even heard people mention them as having a shot at the CFB if some chaos happens (pundits and TV stations will do ANYTHING to get the Irish back into big games only for them to inevitably fail). But here, Notre Dame has exactly what they want; a home game against a 3-7 who can’t even make a bowl game any more. That, ladies and gentlemen, has blowout written all over it. Setting aside all my insults, the Irish are still a decent program that can bring in some high level talent, and they can easily handle a Jackets team that gives up 30 per game and who’s offensive strength, running the football, is what ND defends best. I expect the Irish to continue their path of destruction here and blow GT out of the water as they continue to quietly creep up the CFP Rankings until the Committee somehow justifies putting them over Cincinnati (I’m just warning you now). Take Notre Dame to win big here over Georgia Tech.
⛏️ PICK: Notre Dame -15.5
MORE: Georgia Tech vs. Notre Dame simulator
Alabama vs. Arkansas, Sat Nov 20, 3:30pm (EST)
Alabama vs. Arkansas, I do love my ma and pa.... Yeah, I know, that’s not at all useful, but the song gets stuck in my head every time I see this game so now you have to suffer with me. You’re welcome. Moving on to more relevant matters, I absolutely LOVE this over. Aside from the speed bump against LSU, Alabama has been nearly unstoppable on offense this season, and that trend should hold against an Arkansas team who’s conceded 30+ in 4 of their 6 SEC games. The Tide likely put up 40 here, which means we only need about 20 points out of Arkansas, and I think that’s doable. The biggest concern for the Razorbacks is that they’re going to have to retool their offense because Alabama stops the run about as well as anyone in the country (funny how having a D-Line of 5 Star recruits will help fill running lanes). That means Arkansas will have to rely on KJ Jefferson’s arm more than they probably would like, but the Tide have a soft secondary and the threat of the run from Arkansas (who average over 230 YPG on the ground) will open up even more space. I think these teams both hit their mark for those scoring numbers, and I feel great about the over 57.5 if that’s the case. Look for this one to have enough touchdowns to fill a hog farm (did that work? I’m trying to fit in with the southerners).
⛏️ PICK: Total points OVER 56.5
MORE: Arkansas vs. Alabama simulator
SMU vs. Cincy, Sat Nov 20, 3:30pm (EST)
This pick is probably going to be one of the more popular bets across the board this weekend, so get ready to see a lot of it, but I can’t fault the logic so I’m gonna get out ahead and stake my claim early. Take SMU to cover. The Mustangs had a tough couple of weeks that derailed their season with losses to Houston and Memphis recently, but this team was up to 24th in the country at one point and their offense can cause serious issues for almost anyone. As for Cincinnati, they haven’t looked convincing about anything since almost September. The Bearcats haven’t covered a spread in their last 4 games, and they seem insistent on making things hard for themselves week in and week out. More importantly, their defense also showed that it’s got some serious cracks in their win over USF, where they gave up 28 points to a 2-8 Bulls team. Cincinnati is still very good, and I think they deserve a real look for the Playoff based on the body of work, but recent performances don’t inspire confidence and I think this game could end up staying close. Take Southern Methodist and the 12 points over UCF.
⛏️ PICK: SMU +12
MORE: Southern Methodist vs. Cincinnati simulator
Baylor vs. Kansas State, Sat Nov 20, 5:30pm (EST)
I don’t often get out in front and say there’s a pick I like the most for any given week, but this might be it. The fact that Kansas State is a favorite in this game against Baylor is absolutely wild, and I plan on hammering Baylor. Kansas State is 7-3, but it may be the worst 7-3 you’ll ever see. They only have two wins over teams with winning records, and those teams are Nevada and Southern Illinois (FCS). While their 4 straight Big 12 wins are a positive sign, those 4 wins are against 4 of the bottom 5 teams in the conference, and their 3 games against better programs in conference were all 6+ point losses. Simply put, I just don’t believe this team is any good, and I love that they’ve been propped up by a bunch of cardboard wins that will fall when they face a real team. Baylor isn’t exactly amazing either, and their loss to TCU was embarrassing, but this team just manhandled Oklahoma and their defense will travel. Skylar Thompson is going to have a nightmare trying to lead the Bears’ offense against them, and his 9 TDs on the season don’t inspire any confidence that he can beat them with his arm either. I think Baylor is more of a comfortable (think 3-4 point) favorite in this game, and I’ll gladly grab some bonus points on them. The Bears should win this game.
⛏️ PICK: Baylor +1
MORE: Baylor vs. Kansas State simulator
Oregon vs. Utah, Sat Nov 20, 7:30pm (EST)
Welcome to hell, Pac 12 fans. They show Big 10 Rose Bowl victories on repeat and serve breakfast until 5 minutes before you wake up. Why do I say that? Well, I think that all hope of a Playoff berth goes down the tubes with this game. Utah had a brutally bad start to the year with losses to SDSU and BYU (which, conveniently, don’t seem so bad these days), but they’ve looked better in conference play and I just don’t trust this Oregon offense. Anthony Brown has shown flashes of brilliance, but he’s not good enough to lead this team on his own and yards are going to be tougher to come by against a talented Utes defense. Cameron Rising, meanwhile, has a 7:1 TD to INT ratio and has this offense clicking. While Kayvon Thibodeaux is a nightmare to contain, so long as Utah can keep him from causing too much disruption they’ll be able to put up points on a Ducks defense that isn’t all that good as an overall unit (particularly defending the pass). I think Utah wins this one against Oregon, and I think 3 points is a comfortable number to give up. If it goes higher, I would consider buying the points or going with the ML, but I don’t expect the line to move in that direction.
⛏️ PICK: Utah -3
MORE: Oregon vs. Utah simulator
Ready to join a Sportsbook and start betting online? We’ve listed the best available Welcome Offers for each legal betting state.
Prospector Sam is a cartoon man that handicaps as well as anyone on the planet. No one knows exactly who The Prospector is, but what is known is how well he does from sports betting.
22,000+ 
70,000+ 
10,000,000+ 
