College football picks: Early score predictions, odds for biggest Week 13 games

In college football, the week before rivalry weekend has seen some of the top teams in the country get a last-minute tune-up against a lesser opponent from a nonconference. Week 13 2025 will follow this trend. This is not to say that the weekend will be devoid of drama. Oregon hosts USC (3:00 p.m. ET on CBS, Paramount+ Premium) and Missouri travels to Norman to face Oklahoma, which is fresh off its road upset of Alabama. The rest of the top teams in the country are getting a breather before rivalry week, as Indiana, Ole Miss and Texas Tech are all off, while Ohio State hosts Rutgers as a 30-point favorite, Texas A&M hosts Samford and Georgia hosts Charlotte this week. This means that there will be little suspense on the College football top 10. Football There are games that matter in the race for conference titles and fringe playoff candidates. Each Monday we offer our picks and predictions for the five biggest games of this week. Starting with an old Big East Rivalry, we will also provide scores. Note: The CFP Top 25 is the ranking from last week.

CBS Sports 136 – Texas Tech jumps Ole Miss to join the top five of college football rankings

Chip Patterson

The ‘Canes regained their offensive form against NC State, and this blowout win could help them move closer to a possible at-large position in the CFP. If they want to be able to argue that they deserve a spot in the CFP without winning the ACC, they should take a page from a team who beat them earlier this year – Notre Dame. 

The Virginia Tech game this week is a great opportunity to win as a more than two-touchdown underdog. Miami needs to win by a large margin if they want to qualify for the playoffs. And after watching Texas lose their game last week they shouldn’t feel that they have lost all hope. The Hokies aren’t playing for a championship and could be more focused on getting James Franklin to sign a contract and being able to spoil Virginia next week. One concern is that the ‘Canes still haven’t proven they can win outside of Florida. Although they only have one chance to win outside of Florida, their performance in Dallas against SMU wasn’t encouraging. The Hokies’ defense, not unlike NC State or the Mustangs, is vulnerable to big plays, which can lead to a lot of points being scored. Miami’s problems have been when opponents have dragged the team into mud. And I can’t imagine Virginia Tech being able to do what is needed to keep it close for all four quarters. PICK: Miami 34-13 over Virginia Tech

No. No. 8 Oregon at No. 8 Oregon
Both teams are playing for everything as two old Pac-12 rivals meet in the Big Ten. Both the Ducks and Trojans would find themselves on the CFP bubble if Oregon loses. USC won in LA in the rainy weather last week and will feel as confident as ever that they can handle an Oregon team who has a similar defensive profile. It’s difficult to make explosive plays against this Oregon defense, so the game plan will be the same as against the Hawkeyes. Jayden Maiava needs to be patient, and take good care of the ball in a hostile atmosphere. But the real test for USC is whether their defense is up to task. The Oregon Ducks, led by Dante Moore, are still a threat to win, even at home. Oregon blew out Minnesota with a rout in the rain after two weeks of playing in it. The weather in Eugene is expected to be perfect this week. The oddsmakers predict a shootout and set the early total to 59.5. It could be that the Ducks will push the pace against USC, a defense which has shown some weaknesses this season. 

Oregon has my vote for both coach and defense. I believe USC will be successful offensively because Maiava, and the other uber-talented outside playmakers, led by Makai lemon, are too talented to not score points. USC’s defense allowed 34 points to both Notre Dame and Illinois in their losses. This Oregon offense has plenty of opportunities to reach the end zone. PICK: Oregon 35-24 over USC
As we predicted, the ACC Championship Game is being eliminated in this game. Pat Narduzzi stated that he did not care if Notre Dame defeated Pitt by 100 points and that the Irish made every effort to achieve that. Pitt’s ACC dreams are still in front of them, even if they lose. Georgia Tech is confident that a win will secure their place in the ACC Championship game in Charlotte. The Yellow Jackets have not been able to win the games they need this season. Last week’s victory over Boston College was a good example. Haynes King’s team will be playing in Bobby Dodd Stadium, where they have been excellent this season. 

The Yellow Jackets’ defense will need to improve after two consecutive poor performances, but this Pitt defense should make it easy for the offense to move the ball. Mason Heintschel will have to show he can bounce back after his first poor performance. Heintschel, a freshman, struggled to play against Notre Dame and will now have to travel in a crucial situation. Since becoming the starter, he’s been excellent. However, his performance last Saturday was not as impressive. We’ll find out a great deal about him by seeing how he recovers from this tough game. Georgia Tech’s win will clear up a number of ACC championship scenarios. This is why I am picking Pitt. Heintschel is capable of tearing apart this Yellow Jackets defense, but he needs to be on his game. When picking games in ACC, go with the option which creates the most confusion. PICK: Pitt 34-31 over Georgia Tech

11 Oklahoma No. 11 Oklahoma
Oklahoma set itself up for the playoffs by doing everything they needed last week. They only have to beat Mizzou or LSU. What could go wrong?! Tigers QB Beau Pribula could be back in three weeks, after he was injured against Vanderbilt. Brent Venables will have to be creative in order to come up with the best defensive game plan for this week. This Oklahoma team is based on the defense. John Mateer, the Sooners’ offensive coordinator, continues to come up with ways to get just enough points to win. But, one can expect another rockfight in Norman. 

Oklahoma’s played in defensive battles with low scores all season. But the margins of errors are very small for teams that love to play these games. They created turnovers against Alabama and caused havoc, but things can get dicey if they don’t happen. I don’t think this week will go according to the plan for those who are at the top. And this is a big letdown following an amazing road win against Alabama. This will be a close game and I expect some strange results. PICK: Missouri 20-17 over Oklahoma
Cincinnati has had a great season for the Bearcats, but these past two weeks were a little bit of a wake-up call. After two straight losses, they will have to face a BYU squad that beat TCU in their last match and has been the second best team in the Big 12 this season. 

The Bearcats are now on the fringes of the Big 12 race. But they can make things interesting by winning here and sabotaging the Cougars hopes to set up a rematch against Texas Tech. What kind of success will Brendan Sorsby, and the Cincy offensive have this week against a BYU defensive unit that is talented and experienced? Sorsby must not have another two-pick performance like the one he had in Arizona to give the Bearcats a chance to win the game at home. BYU, on the other hand, will need to run the ball well against an offense from Cincy that ranks 22nd nationally. They are only behind the team? BYU is ranked No. 21. BYU should have no trouble finding the pay dirt, as Cincy’s run defense ranks 87th, which is not ideal for this Cougars’ offense. It all depends on whether BYU’s good defense will show up. This hasn’t been the case as much as they would like when playing away. BYU’s only loss this season was at Texas Tech. However, they’ve struggled on the road in almost every game. I believe this game may follow a similar pattern, but BYU’s superiority will ultimately be revealed. PICK: BYU 31-24 over Cincinnati

2025-11-17 22:37:23