- Pittsburgh’s win over Miami ends the Hurricanes’ playoff hopes and sends the Panthers to the ACC championship.
- Several potential ACC championship game matchups are discussed, including scenarios involving Virginia, SMU, and Miami.
- Other bold predictions include Michigan beating Ohio State and Texas A&M defeating Texas.
Three months of the season have come and gone, and the race for the College Football Playoff and conference championships have reached their final stage.
Week 14 – or rivalry weekend to others – will tell the tale for the teams that win and get into the playoff field or earn an opportunity in a title game next week. The pressure of having postseason hopes and bragging rights at stakes can be both a benefit or cause disappointing results.
It’s also notable that nine of the teams in the top 10 of the US LBM Coaches Poll are on the road, meaning teams including Ohio State, Oregon, Mississippi, Alabama and Miami could have challenges. Where will the upsets come?
The USA TODAY Sports college football staff of Matt Hayes, Jordan Mendoza, Paul Myerberg, Erick Smith, Eddie Timanus and Blake Toppmeyer offer their bold predictions for Week 13 of the college football season.
Pittsburgh ends Miami’s playoff hopes with home win
After all the back and forth between Notre Dame and Miami, Pittsburgh ends the argument with a win over the Hurricanes. The Panthers advance to the ACC championship game with an attacking defense that forces multiple Miami turnovers in the cold environment at home. — Matt Hayes
Virginia and Pittsburgh win way to ACC title game
The ACC has been a total mess all season. Why not have another wild week to cap off the regular season? It starts with Miami, which is entering dangerous territory playing at Pittsburgh. The Hurricanes have a slim shot at the College Football Playoff, but that ends with the Panthers winning. Then Southern Methodist has to travel West to play California, which just fired its coach. Surprisingly, the Golden Bears put it together to deny the Mustangs a shot at the ACC crown. In this scenario, it’ll be Virginia vs. Pittsburgh for a chance at the playoff. Good luck to all. — Jordan Mendoza
Upsets set up the best-possible ACC title game
Virginia Tech beats Virginia, Wake Forest beats Duke and Miami beats Pittsburgh to send the Hurricanes into a matchup with SMU in the ACC title game. This would be a surprising way for the ACC to backdoor into a pretty good title game pairing: While the league’s been a disaster zone nearly all season, the ACC’s two best teams would end up playing for the title and a playoff berth. — Paul Myerberg
Ohio State can’t end losing streak to Michigan
Something weird is going to happen on rivalry weekend. It almost always does. That means a playoff contender will go down. But which one? Vanderbilt is a possibility at Tennessee. Oregon faces a tricky trip to Washington. But if history is going to guide us, and we are really going to be bold then Michigan extends its win streak to five against Ohio State. With cold weather forecast and an emphasis on the running game, look for the mobility of Wolverines quarterback Bryce Underwood to be the key differentiator in a four-quarter slugfest — Erick Smith
Texas A&M quiets upset talk with defeat of Texas
Texas over Texas A&M is going to be a popular upset choice on this rivalry weekend. The Longhorns have to have it, after all, and the Aggies wouldn’t be damaged much by a loss as far as their playoff aspirations are concerned. But A&M is going to win it anyway. I could try and find statistical data to back up this assertion, but really it just comes down to the fact that the Aggies have done whatever it takes to get the job done all season long. — Eddie Timanus
Ole Miss defeats distraction, beats Mississippi State
Perhaps it would be an even bolder prediction to declare where Lane Kiffin will land, but I’m not going there in this space. Instead, let’s focus on the game itself. There’s every reason to think this is a trap game for Mississippi. Rivalry game. Morning kickoff, one day after a gluttonous holiday. Uncertainty surrounding Kiffin’s future. And still, I can’t ignore that this just seems like a bad matchup for Mississippi State. The Bulldogs have the SEC’s worst rushing defense. They allowed 326 yards on the ground in a recent loss to Missouri. The Rebels’ star tailback Kewan Lacy and dual-threat quarterback Trinidad Chambliss can feast one day after Thanksgiving against this flimsy defense. — Blake Toppmeyer