College Football Week 12 Best Bets: Washington in Key Conference Clash

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Top NCAAF Pick: Washington +1 (-110) at Bovada (visit our Bovada Review)

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Washington +1 (-110)
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The NCAAF odds board is full of crucial conference matchups for the third Saturday of November, including must-win games for Louisville and Washington to keep their College Football Playoff hopes alive.


Louisville Cardinals vs. Miami Hurricanes

Saturday, November 18, 2023 – 12:00 PM ET at Hard Rock Stadium

Sitting ninth in the current pecking order for the College Football Playoffs, the Louisville Cardinals face a stern test on the road in Week 12 when they travel down the ACC Highway to Miami for a collision with the Hurricanes.

Just 4th Meeting as ACC Foes

After opening -1, Louisville has been bet up to -2 or -2½ at several top offshore sportsbooks.

These two are just getting to know each other as ACC rivals, with Saturday’s skirmish the fourth time the Cardinals and Hurricanes have met on the conference slate. The most recent meeting came in 2020, and Miami eased to a 47-34 win as a small road favorite. The final score breached the 65-point total midway through the fourth quarter.

Van Dyke Back at Starting QB for Miami

Louisville didn’t look like a national title contender last Thursday vs. Virginia. The Cardinals needed two late touchdowns to pull off a 31-24 win as 20-point home chalk.

Miami, meanwhile, was busy putting up a fight at unbeaten Florida State before succumbing to a 27-20 defeat. Adding injury to insult was the loss of freshman QB Emory Williams late in the contest to what Hurricanes head coach Mario Cristobal called a “significant” arm injury.

Having a couple of extra days to prepare should help Louisville to comfortably cover this spread.

NCAAF Pick: Louisville -1½ (-108) at Heritage Sports (visit our Heritage Sports Review)

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Louisville -1½ (-108)
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Kansas State Wildcats vs. Kansas Jayhawks

Saturday, November 18, 2023 – 07:00 PM ET at David Booth Kansas Memorial Stadium

The Sunflower Showdown hasn’t been much of a rivalry for a while now with Kansas State winning 14 in a row against Kansas. The Jayhawks will have the home crowd behind them, but will that be enough to end the long skid against their rivals?

‘Cats Cover Last 4 Matchups

Kansas State heads into Lawrence as 7½-point favorites after the NCAAF odds opened with the Wildcats giving up 6. Scoreboard betting requires a decision on a 55½-point total.

Not only have the Wildcats won 14 in a row, they won 12 of those by at least 10 points. The margin of victory was twice that last year in Manhattan where Kansas State rolled 47-20.

A year before that in Lawrence, the Wildcats pounded out a 35-10 result to cover as 24-point chalk. It marked the third consecutive meeting in Lawrence that came up short of the total.  

KSU 2nd in Big 12 in Scoring

After falling out of the top 25 in Week 11, Kansas State slipped back into the rankings with a 59-25 win over Baylor. Kansas went the other direction, dropping out of the two conventional polls with a 16-13 loss to Texas Tech. The Jayhawks were favored by 3½ at home and trailed 13-0 entering the fourth before their valiant comeback was wiped out by Tech’s last second field goal.

Kansas struggled offensively against the Red Raiders, and the Jayhawks won’t find things any easier against Kansas State. The Wildcats take it, 33-23.

NCAAF Pick: Kansas State -7½ (-108) at Heritage Sports

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Kansas State -7½ (-108)
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Washington Huskies vs. Oregon State Beavers

Saturday, November 18, 2023 – 07:30 PM ET at Reser Stadium

Washington remains one of five unbeatens on the college football landscape, yet the Huskies also remain unloved by the CFP voters. The Huskies can’t even be sure of moving up in the ranks should one of the other four teams without a loss drop a game.

Last 4 Meetings Stay ‘Under’ the Totals

Perhaps this week’s trip to Oregon State, the third-straight ranked team Washington will face, could boost the Huskies in the voters minds…but only if they win. Washington is getting a point at Bookmaker, and other shops selling the game as a pick, with 63½ for the total.

Washington owns current bragging rights in the rivalry by virtue of a 24-21 win in Seattle last season, as well as bragging rights in the all-time series with a 68-35 record against Oregon State, plus four ties.

The Beavers covered last year’s contest getting 4½, their fourth ATS victory in the last five meetings. Two years ago in Corvallis, Oregon State grabbed the win and covered with a 27-24 triumph as small home chalk. That stopped a 9-game win streak in the series for the Huskies.

Rain in Saturday Forecast for Corvallis

Washington’s defense stepped up in the second half last week to help the Huskies to a 35-28 win over Utah. It wasn’t quite enough to cover a 9½-point closing spread, the fifth time in six games the Huskies dropped the cash.

Oregon State treated its fans to a 62-17 rout of Stanford, rolling up nearly 600 yards of offense in the progress. Damien Martinez crosses the 1,000-yard rushing plateau, running for four scores in the first half. The weatherman says it’s going to be a wet day in Corvallis, with steady rain late in the afternoon for this 4:30 local kickoff. Let’s close these free picks by getting behind Michael Penix Jr. and the Huskies.

NCAAF Pick: Washington +1 (-110) at Bovada

*The line and/or odds on picks in this article might have moved since the content was commissioned. For updated line movements, visit BMR’s free betting odds product.