Only two weeks remain in the 2021 college football regular season, which means the most wonderful time of the year is just around the corner. It also means that we at The Spun are nearing the end of our weekly picks and the race for the top prize of bragging rights is heating up.
The third College Football Playoff rankings came out on Tuesday without much fanfare. No. 1 Georgia and No. 2 Alabama maintained their holds on the top two spots, while the rest of the contenders remained in place behind the two SEC powerhouses.
Oregon stayed at No. 3, with Ohio State close behind at No. 4. Cincinnati remained on the outside looking in at No. 5, while Michigan and Michigan State came next at No. 6 and No. 7 respectively, holding their positions from last week.
Oklahoma wins the award for the biggest loser after falling on the road to Baylor last weekend. The Sooners plummeted to No. 13 in this week’s rankings.
As for the games being played on the field this upcoming Saturday, a Big Ten East matchup between two 9-1 programs highlights the Week 12 slate. No. 4 Ohio State will square off against No. 7 Michigan State in a postseason “quarterfinal”of sorts. The winner will have a hold on the division and a clear path to the College Football Playoff.
Numerous SEC programs will take on their annual FCS opponent this weekend, resulting in a few Saturday snoozers. However, Alabama will still take on No. 21 Arkansas in the second of three ranked matchups this weekend. Oregon will face its toughest test of the Pac-12 slate so far against No. 23 Utah. Michigan has a tune up this Saturday against Maryland before next week’s rivalry game against Ohio State. No. 5 Cincinnati welcomes in AAC opponent SMU and No. 8 Notre Dame hosts Georgia Tech, while No. 9 Oklahoma State travels to take on Texas Tech.
The most shocking matchup that will take place in Week 12 based on preseason projections? No. 10 (yes, No. 10) Wake Forest travels to unranked (yes, unranked) Clemson.
Why is Oklahoma State ranked No. 9? @RossDellenger on the Cowboys ranking, and how it can improve https://t.co/IZmQySWZZK
— SI College Football (@si_ncaafb) November 17, 2021
Despite a lackluster performance in Week 11, Steve Driscoll still holds a five-pick lead over the rest of the field. A trio of Dan Lyons, Andrew McCarty, Zach Koons are locked in a tie for second, with Alek Arend not far behind in fifth.
Here are the standings after Week 11:
1. Steve Driscoll: 331-101
T2. Andrew McCarty: 326-106
T2. Zach Koons: 326-106
T2. Dan Lyons: 326-106
5. Alek Arend: 325-107
6. Chris Rosvoglou: 322-110
7. Matt Audilet: 321-111
8. Tzvi Machlin: 318-114
9. Matt Hladik: 315-117
T10. Matt Lombardi: 312-12
T10. Andrew Holleran: 312-120
Given that many of the top teams are going up against lesser opponents this week, there wasn’t too much dissension amongst the staff. The biggest splits in this week’s set of picks came in Clemson-Wake Forest, Colorado–Washington, USC–UCLA, Kansas State-Baylor, Utah-Oregon and Arizona State–Oregon State.
Here are our picks for Week 12 of the 2021 college football season:
Each week, we pick every college football game involving Power Five and/or ranked teams. Check back with The Spun each week for updated standings.