Staff Picks: Week 13

Around the GamecockScoop headquarters, we’re still all chasing publisher Caleb Alexander. Caleb leads all in the straight up picks and against the spread. Against the spread, Caleb is beating a lot of the experts. (Still need to remind everyone this for fun and not meant to be gambling advice).

Nationally, its a pretty quiet week before college football enters what conference realignment has left intact of rivalry week. There are still three top-25 matchups this weekend with a handful of other games that could impact the playoffs. It should be a good week for Gamecock fans too enjoy some college football with their feet up, assuming the Terriers play along.

This week’s guest picker is another specialist, former walk-on Thomas Hooper. Hooper was a member of the Garnet and Black from 2004-2007. He was 3-for-3 in his career on extra points, adding PATs after some memorable Gamecock touchdowns. In 2004, he converted the point after following a 65-yard Troy Williamson touchdown and a 57-yard Ko Simpson pick-6, both against UGA. Hooper then connected on an EXP after an 88-yard Bobby Wallace TD run against Middle Tennessee State in 2006. Hooper and his family live in greater Montgomery, AL area today.

The Buckeyes will be playing in their fifth-of-six straight noon kickoffs to end the 2024 regular season. Why is this game not in primetime? What happens to Indiana if Ohio State win this game by 24+ points? Do the Hoosiers still make the playoff with a paper-thin resume? They can’t play for the Big Ten title if they lose in the Shoe on Saturday. If Indiana wins they are in the Big Ten title game even if they somehow stumble to lowly Purdue. Ohio State gets in the Big Ten title game by winning out by beating Indiana and Michigan or by beating Indiana and having Penn State lose one of their final two games. Ohio State is 79-12-5 against Indiana all-time. Ronald Reagan was president the last time the Hoosiers beat Ohio State. (1988). OSU has won 29-in-a-row in this series.

This is game the Rebels need to take seriously. Florida is playing much better football over the last month. They aren’t as good as Ole Miss but playing in the Swamp is always difficult. The Rebels are in a great spot at #9 in playoff rankings. If they take care of business against the Gators and next week verses rival Mississippi State, they are likely missing the SEC Championship Game and sitting at 10-2 waiting to see what Big Ten location they are traveling to play. Ole Miss path to Atlanta is unlikely: the Rebs needs to win out plus have Alabama lose one more game, Vanderbilt beat Tennessee, and Texas A&M lose out. That would give Texas the No. 1 seed and create only a two-way tie for second place between Georgia and Ole Miss in which the Rebels would get the No. 2 seed as a result of their head-to-head victory. If it’s a three-way tie for second with Georgia, Tennessee and Ole Miss, Georgia would get the nod.

In case you were wondering: former Gamecock Pup Howard currently has 37 total tackles with one sack, a forced fumble and two fumble recoveries for Florida.

Let’s take a peak at the ACC Championship scenarios for SMU:

Clemson, Miami and SMU are the only three teams still remaining.

Clemson finished its ACC schedule at 7-1 in league play, while both Miami (vs. Wake Forest, at Syracuse) and SMU (at Virginia, vs. California) each have two remaining conference games. If both the Hurricanes and Mustangs win out, they will face off in the ACC Championship. That’s also the case if SMU only drops one of its final two games. Clemson will be on the outside looking in with one exception if the following happens:

Virginia beats SMU and Virginia Tech and Pitt beat Louisville. Due to the record of conference opponents: Clemson would get nod. I think.

The Conference USA schedule makers need to placed in charge of all college football scheduling. Why? There are four schools still left in the hunt for the CUSA title game and they all play each the final two weeks of the season. Western Kentucky and Liberty meet in VA this weekend and Sam Houston heads to Jacksonville State. Next weekend Jax St plays at WKU and Liberty goes to SHSU. Will it matter in terms of the playoff? No. Every team in the CUSA has at least two losses overall. Boise State, Tulane, Memphis, Army and Louisiana are all ahead of the winner of this game.

No one on the planet imagined FSU vs CSU would be the Week 14 Toilet Bowl, but here we are.

Mike Norvell has gone from King of the Hill to….whatever is at the bottom of the hill. The Seminoles have had an epic meltdown. At the end of 2023, FSU was huffing and puffing at the ACC and demanding a higher payout for the schools that won more games. That chatter has quickly quieted down, leaving only Clemson debating if they should still push for more than they deserve.

CSU is one of the worst programs in the FCS and doesn’t stand much of a chance to win this game. However, they have the opportunity to make one lasting impression during a televised matchup. This will be four straight seasons with a losing record for the Buccaneers.

Penn State is in a great position right now despite their best win being over 7-3 Illinois. All they have to do is beat Minnesota and Maryland and they are not only in the playoff, but they get to host a first-round game. They aren’t going to the Big Ten title game unless Ohio State beats Indiana and loses to Michigan and the Nittany Lions win out. Penn State might be in the best position of any at-large team with a strength of schedule at #32. If Penn State loses to either Minnesota or Maryland – they shouldn’t receive a bid.

The Big XII still has nine schools mathematically alive for their conference title game but BYU and Arizona State, along with Colorado, all control their own destiny. (Upset alert -part II, Colorado is only a -2.5 road favorite against Kansas. Remember the Jayhawks just knocked off BYU last week). Iowa State can advance to the Big XII game if they win out and BYU and Colorado both lose another game. BYU secures their spot with a win plus a Utah win (Utah hosts Iowa State). Colorado secures their spot with a win and wins by both Utah and BYU. The Sun Devils have won three-in-a-row. BYU has looked sluggish in their last two games.

Gone are the days of the dreaded Wofford triple-option and chop blocks the week before the Clemson game. South Carolina has played Wofford twice before the Palmetto Bowl, in 2012 and 2017. The Gamecocks are 1-1 against Clemson after playing the Terriers the week before. Basketball is heating up and the football regular season is winding down, check back at GamecockScoop daily for the best Gamecock coverage on Al Gore’s internet.

Notre Dame has played on two opponents home field this season. The last such occasion was September 14 at one-win Purdue. To be fair, Georgia Tech wanted to move their game to Mercedes-Benz Stadium to capitalize on a larger gate. As it stands now, the Irish are in the playoff as long as they don’t stumble to either Army or Southern Cal on the road. With a win in the Bronx, Army will leapfrog Boise State as the highest ranked Group of Five conference champion. Army is also already locked into the American title game and will play Tulane. The location of that game will be determined after Army hosts UTSA next weekend.

Alabama is probably going to the SEC Championship yet again if they win. They will be a multi-score favorite at home against Auburn next week. If the Tide win out they are 99% going to Atlanta. That number goes to 100% if Missouri beats Mississippi State this weekend and the Tide win their last two. Bama would win all multi-team tiebreakers due to conference opponent strength of record. Opposing the Tide is likely to be either Texas or Texas A&M, although watch out this weekend as the Aggies are only a -2.5 favorite against 4-6 Auburn. Vegas smells an upset. Brent Venables is going to get an early look at the portal with Bama and at LSU left on the Sooners schedule.