We have a relatively weak slate for week 13 of the college football season. The EatWatchPlay contest this week includes only 3 ranked vs ranked matchups. This is typical this time of the season, as teams schedule a cupcake matchup prior to the final stretch of the regular season.
Let’s focus on those three ranked-on-ranked matchups, share our insights, and how we are picking those games in the EWP app.
#14 BYU at #21 Arizona State
The (9-1) BYU Cougars and (8-2) Arizona State Sun Devils square off in a matchup with massive Big 12 implications. Currently, BYU and Colorado sit at the top of the conference standings, but a loss by either team would drop them into a tie with the surprise Sun Devils.
BYU has dominated Arizona State in recent history, winning 3-straight over the Sun Devils, but this is a completely different ASU team. The Sun Devils are coming off their biggest win in years, a 24-14 victory at #16 Kansas State.
We can’t say enough good things about the job Kenny Dillingham has done at ASU, but will it be enough to beat Kalani Sitake’s BYU team looking to bounce back from its first loss of the season? We think the Cougars go into Tempe and find a way to get back on track for a Big 12 Championship and spot in the CFP.
#18 Army at #6 Notre Dame
I have to believe that anyone outside the Notre Dame fan base is pulling for Army to continue its miracle run and remain undefeated this weekend. That said, it will take a herculean effort out of the Black Knights to pull off this upset.
Notre Dame’s defense is absolutely rolling right now, bouncing back from a shocking loss to Northern Illinois, ripping off 8-straight wins, and allowing only 11 PPG over that stretch. That includes a 51-14 win over then undefeated (and ranked) Navy. We warned fans ahead of that game that neither Navy or Army had played a tough game this season, and it would be asking a lot of them to pull off an upset over this talented Notre Dame team.
We just don’t see a path to victory for Army here but are still counting down the days to next week’s Army-Navy game, which should be a doozy.
#5 Indiana at #2 Ohio State
Who had this game circled as the biggest matchup from the week 13 slate at the beginning of the season? Curt Cignetti came in from James Madison, brought a ton of talent with him, and immediately turned around this Hoosiers football program. But are they ready to pull off this massive upset?
Ohio State has beaten Indiana 21 straight times, with an average margin of victory over the last 10 meetings of over 25 points. The Buckeyes dropped a game they probably should have won at then #3 Oregon but bounced back to beat Penn State in Happy Valley.
The Hoosiers are coming off of a bye, and Cignetti will certainly have his team ready to put up a fight here. That said, they’ll have to play a lot better than what we saw against Michigan (20-15 win). They are at a massive talent deficit but have proven over and over again that they take coaching and can handle the spotlight.
The Michigan game aside, Indiana has been unbelievably good in the second half this season and we think this is a spot to potentially zag and pick up some bonus points this week with Indiana.
