NCAAF - SEC Bets - Week 12

11/13/2024

Week 11 of the SEC football season was a week of blowouts, some more anticipated than others. Only one of the six games on Saturday, Missouri's chaotic win over Oklahoma, was decided by fewer than three scores.

We had two matchups with dire College Football Playoff implications. And the victors in each game made real statements. Ole Miss stifled Carson Beck and the Georgia Bulldogs, dominating the line of scrimmage on both sides of the ball to secure a 28-10 victory. And Alabama went into Baton Rouge and ran all over the Tigers in a 42-13 blowout win. Ole Miss and Bama are sitting safely in the CFP, for now anyway, while Georgia and LSU are both on life support with no room for error remaining.

Texas, South Carolina, and Tennessee all cruised to victory against undermanned opponents. But it was a costly win for the Vols, as several impact players on offense, most notably QB Nico Iamaleava, did not finish the contest. Those injuries could loom large in their massive trip to Georgia next week.

After the week of action across the country, here's how the College Football Playoff bracket would look if the season ended today, according to the CFP committee.

We have four SEC teams currently in, with Georgia being the odd team out currently due to the Group of 5 getting a guaranteed bid. There is still plenty of time for the games remaining to sort everything out, but there's a good chance that several teams will feel very slighted by the time the committee has to make their final decision.

Here's our BSSR CFP Playoff Tracker after Week 11:

Vanderbilt has been eliminated in my opinion after their big home loss to South Carolina. And speaking of the Gamecocks, I've added them to the tracker now after writing them off initially a couple weeks ago. South Carolina is playing really well right now and still have an outside chance to make the CFP if everything goes right for them.

Here's the updated BSSR SEC Power Rankings after Week 11:

Here's the updated Expert Leaderboard

There wasn't much movement in the expert leaderboard this week, but the difference between 1st and 4th place dropped from four games to three. With just three weeks remaining, every pick is of vital importance at this stage of the BSSR SEC Betting Challenge.

And here's the Guest Picker Leaderboard

Last week's guest picker, Dorin, put together a respectable performance that placed him in the middle of the pack overall. Alex P. remains the overall leader with three guest pickers remaining.

This week's guest picker is Josh McGinnis. Labeled by many as a modern-day Renaissance Man, Josh is a renowned musician, alpinist, and chef. You have likely heard him on the familiar folk tune "Maddie (Acoustic)" by Exit 112, the band in which he serves as music theory correspondent, guitarist, pianist, and vocalist. Earlier this year, he completed the ultra-rare feat of summiting the highest mountain on each of the world's seven continents. But perhaps his proudest life achievement came from the culinary arts, when he took home the blue ribbon at the legendary 2023 Coupe du Monde de la Boulangerie in Paris for his world famous sourdough bread.

Week 12 features just one premier matchup across the entirety of college football, really. And that's the essential playoff game between #7 Tennessee and #12 Georgia. The winner almost certainly locks up their spot in the CFP, barring any ensuing disastrous slip-ups. A loss for the Bulldogs would almost certainly knock them out of contention, while a loss for the Vols, whether or not Nico Iamaleava suits up, would put them at the mercy of the CFP committee's hands. And that's a position that no team wants to be in.

We do have another ranked contest between #23 Missouri and #21 South Carolina. The Gamecocks actually have a small chance of still making the CFP if they win out and the cards fall just right for them. Missouri, on the other hand, has pretty much been written off due to their quarterback situation. Either way, we can consider this game's loser eliminated from the playoff.

Texas at Arkansas and LSU at Florida are the only other conference matchups, as the other four teams playing this week take on mid-majors.

As always, you can roll with our consensus picks below to make the slate of games on Saturday even more enjoyable for you.

#3 Texas at Arkansas (TEX -13.5, O/U 57.5)