College Football Predictions & Best Bets for Week 12

With only two weeks remaining in the regular season, the opportunities to bet on college football in 2023 are running short. Conference championship games are on the horizon.

Today – as I do every Wednesday throughout the college football regular season – I’ve put together a handful of my favorite college football betting predictions for you to consider this weekend. 

College Football Best Bets: Week 12 Predictions

After I’ve handicapped the whole board each week, I will publish my best plays from the wider canon of college football odds. 

I’ll provide a short explanation of why I like each college football bet, so you don’t have to go on faith alone. 

If you prefer an audio version of this weekly article, you can always subscribe to The Lion’s Edge, my weekly handicapping podcast for BetMGM. 

Colorado at Washington State Spread Prediction

After an Earth-shaking amount of Deion hype to start the season, Colorado has fallen into the irrelevant half of the Pac-12. The Buffs have lost six of their last seven games and are, mercifully, no longer the opening segment of every daily sports program in America.

Colorado is on the cusp of a losing season. They’re no longer cool to talk about. 

In other words, this is exactly the time when Deion’s guys are at their prime market value.

Travis Hunter is back on the field and playing well, and Colorado is quietly improving, even in this losing streak. As far as point spreads go, the Buffs have actually covered three straight games because their market value has absolutely crashed since September.

This is a great time to get in on Colorado, not just because they’re so undervalued, but because Washington State seems DOA. 

Colorado has at least looked competitive against good teams over the last month. Washington State hasn’t won a game since Week 4, losing its last three games to Arizona State, Stanford, and Cal.

Best Bet: Colorado +4.5; Colorado +160

Washington at Oregon State Spread Prediction

As regular readers know, I look at numbers first and teams second. Thus, it’s quite noticeable when undefeated Washington – with a team in the playoff race and a quarterback in the Heisman race – is an underdog to Oregon State.

This number is moving toward Oregon State, and it’s important to grab it before it hits that all-too-important key number of three.

Best Bet: Oregon State -2.5

Louisville at Miami Spread Prediction

Here’s a second straight example of a game where the number grabbed me and pulled me into the game’s orbit. Louisville is ranked No. 10 and on track for an ACC Championship berth. So why are the Cardinals barely favored to win in Miami?

Or I should say, why were they? Because when I first saw this game, Louisville was a -1 favorite, with the ’Canes available on the moneyline at +100. Since then, the line has shifted to a pick ’em, with Miami listed as a nominal -115 favorite. 

The market seems to agree with my assessment that Louisville is a squishy side here, and that movement pushes Miami into unranked favorite territory. And as keen college football bettors know, unranked favorites playing ranked dogs are about as good a bet as you’ll find in the sport.

Best Bet: Miami +100

North Carolina at Clemson Spread Prediction

What was I just saying? Oh, yeah. Unranked favorites. 

Welcome to Clemson, South Carolina, where the surging Tigers are a full touchdown favorite against No. 20 North Carolina. 

These teams are going in opposite directions. Clemson scored a Week 10 win over Notre Dame before dispatching Georgia Tech last week. Meanwhile, UNC has lost two of its last three games against FBS competition. 

The Tar Heels lost games to Virginia and the aforementioned Yellow Jackets – not exactly the top of the conference – while barely escaping in overtime against a hobbled Duke team. 

Given the state of each team, and the magnificent unranked favorites trend, I know which side I’ll be on here.

Best Bet: Clemson -7

Appalachian State at James Madison Spread Prediction

Please don’t tell any of my fellow JMU alumni about this pick, but I kind of like App State here. 

James Madison is indeed the best G5 team, and they should be allowed to prove it in a New Year’s Six game. But JMU has also been shedding starters all year, moving down the two-deep on both sides of the line of scrimmage. The latest loss is all-Galaxy pass-rusher Jalen Green, who suffered a season-ending injury in Week 10 against Georgia State.

JMU’s defense is still really good, but I do wonder about the betting implications of an undefeated, priced-out team, with College GameDay in town, laying north of a touchdown against a very motivated App State team.

Unless JMU is given a late waiver by the NCAA, App State has a lot to play for here. A win over JMU in Week 12, coupled with a JMU win over Coastal Carolina next week, would place App State in the Sun Belt title game. That alone means the Dukes are going to get the Mountaineers’ A-game.

Additionally, fans of either team can tell you these teams have some major history. An absolutely intense 2007 FCS Playoff game, which was won by App State, followed by a legendary comeback/revenge game in 2008, won by JMU. 

That rivalry picked up right where it left off last year, with App State jumping out to a 28-3 lead in Boone before yielding to another ferocious JMU comeback.

There is history here. There are real stakes here. And App State has won its last three games by a combined 60 points. I would not lay this kind of price in this spot. 

Best Bet: Appalachian State +8.5

Georgia State at LSU Total Prediction

LSU is 10-0 to the over. Both of these teams are all-offense, no-defense teams. 

This is the best bet on the board in Week 12, and I’m not remotely scared to need 10 or 11 touchdowns to get there. 

Best Bet: Georgia State-LSU Over 71.5

Best College Football Parlay This Week

One college football parlay to consider for Week 12 is:

• Miami (OH) -350
• Jacksonville State -350
• West Virginia -275

That’s a three-leg parlay for +125. Make sure to check out my 2Kparlay, too!

College Football Picks Against the Spread

If you like this sort of content, I’d recommend checking out my podcast, The Lion’s Edge, which I host on behalf of our content team here at BetMGM.

Every week, I highlight college football predictions, odds, and betting opportunities that I think are ripe for advantage bettors, like me. 

I also bring on expert guests from both inside and outside of the sportsbook, so you can learn a little bit more about key topics in online sports betting.

Check it out and subscribe on the podcast player of your choice. You can also listen to some of the most recent episodes in the podcast player below.