College Football Picks:
The final week of the college football regular season is here and it feels like a shock. It doesn’t seem like all that long ago that we were breaking down Week 0 action, but more than three months have flown by on the calendar.This week is unique for rivalries, but also for the immense number of Friday games. Keep that in mind as you check out the articles penned by our VSiN experts. Some of their games might be on Friday and may not be noted as such, so it’ll be important to cross check with the schedule just to be sure.
I do not have any Friday games in here, as these are all on Saturday.
Here are my Week 14 College Football Picks:
Notre Dame Fighting Irish (-7.5, 51.5) at USC Trojans
3:30 p.m. ETUSC has the opportunity to maybe play spoiler here, as Notre Dame’s loss to Northern Illinois hasn’t come up much in the College Football Playoff discussion, but it would if the Fighting Irish picked up a second loss.
I don’t think that will happen. I made the line on this game 11, as Marcus Freeman’s team has been pulverizing opponents since that inexplicable loss to the Huskies. Is USC a step up? Maybe, but the Trojans are in the midst of what is ticketed to be a 6-6 regular season. Questions about Lincoln Riley are louder than ever. Jayden Maiava is a guy that really puts the ball at risk.
The Trojans have beaten teams that are on the cut line for bowl eligibility or have barely gotten there. The win over LSU remains the best of the season, but this is the worst version of the Tigers that we’ve seen in a while.
You can complain about the ND schedule if you want, but they’re a top-20 offense in yards per play and the third-ranked defense heading into Week 14 action. It feels like USC’s offense has tumbled as the season has gone along. I think Freeman outcoaches Riley and Notre Dame has had plenty of time to fix any holes that they’ve had as the season has gone along.
Pick: Notre Dame -7.5
Kennesaw State Owls at Louisiana Tech Bulldogs (-12, 42)
4 p.m. ETIt has been an emotional ride for Kennesaw State. They’re playing shorthanded with a lot of opt-outs from the firing of Brian Bohannon, who got the team to the FBS level and was let go for his efforts. Bohannon’s bunch has been battling. They have close losses to UTEP and Sam Houston on their resume, plus last week’s hugely emotional win over FIU.
Louisiana Tech is in no man’s land. Sonny Cumbie isn’t getting the job done. As great as the Bulldog defense has been in Ruston, Cumbie is a longtime OC and QB coach and the LA Tech offense has been atrocious.
Maybe the LA Tech defense can hold Kennesaw State down long enough to cover here, but I’m getting a 12-point head start in a game that projects to be very low-scoring. Over three November games, Kennesaw State has outgained Louisiana Tech from a yards per play standpoint. Cumbie referenced some fatigue for his defense last week, which makes sense, as they’ve had to shoulder a lot of the burden.
I think this Kennesaw State crew has one more big effort in them, as many of these guys play together for the final time.
Pick: Kennesaw State +12
Air Force Falcons (-3.5, 43.5) at San Diego State Aztecs
10:30 p.m. ETAir Force and San Diego State wrap up their seasons with this game. The Falcons will fall short of a bowl game for the first time in a non-COVID season since 2018. But, they are riding a really big high going into this game with wins in three straight.
San Diego State has allowed 41 points in back-to-back games and brings a five-game losing streak into action here. I think we have two teams that are going in different directions. First-year SDSU head coach Sean Lewis will look to put his stamp on the program through the portal this offseason. Air Force has been a pretty young team most of the season after losing a lot of productive pieces last year.
Plus, as we know, service academies tend to be very disciplined. I don’t think we’ll see a disciplined effort from the Aztec defense, which is what is required against a triple-option offense. The Aztecs have allowed seven yards per play in their last four games, as they’re simply getting worse. This is the 108th-ranked rush defense by yards per carry and 119th in total rushing defense, allowing 201 yards per game.
I think we see SDSU’s season end with a whimper and AFA’s end with a roar.
Pick: Air Force -3.5
