College Football Against the Spread Picks for Week 12: Who Will be Motivated on Saturday?

Conference championship berths are starting to be locked up as we inch closer to the end of the regular season. Read on for our best against-the-spread bets ahead of the Week 12 college football action.

The end of the 2022 college football regular season is just around the corner, which puts even more importance on these final weeks. 

With the SEC and ACC championship games already set, Week 12 serves as a chance for other teams to secure a spot in title games. Does that motivation (or lack thereof) offer value to us from a betting perspective? Let's find out.

Here are our top against-the-spread bets for Week 12 in college football (odds via BetMGM and FanDuel Sportsbook; Pick confidence is based on a 1-to-5-star scale).

Check out our college football roundup for Week 12.

Top Against the Spread Bets for Week 12

Week 12 Against the Spread Predictions

TCU -2.5 (-120) ★★★★★

The market continues to disrespect No. 4 TCU, with this number opening below a field goal in a road matchup against Baylor. The spread has since moved to 3 at most sportsbooks, with FanDuel offering a juiced -2.5 that should be taken advantage of before it's too late.

The Horned Frogs secured a Big 12 title game appearance during a Week 11 17-10 victory over Texas, but don’t expect motivation to be a problem in Week 12. At 10-0 on the year, TCU controls its own destiny in terms of reaching the College Football Playoff.

Bettors have been lining up to fade the Horned Frogs during this run, and they continue to lose money. TCU is 8-1-1 against the spread, which includes four consecutive covers, and three as favorites by more than a field goal.

Show TCU the respect it deserves against a 6-4 Baylor squad.

Kansas +9.5 (-110) ★★★★

Staying in the Big 12 conference and Texas, there's plenty of reason to fade the Longhorns. Texas is 6-4, including three conference losses, and the team boasts an outside shot of reaching the conference championship game. As a result, it wouldn’t be surprising if Steve Sarkisian’s squad let the season get away from them.

Enter the Kansas Jayhawks, who have won two of their last five meetings with Texas, including a 57-56 thriller in Austin during the 2021 season. Thanks to a spread of +9.5, we don’t even need the Jayhawks to win the game outright in Lawrence. They are 7-2-1 against the spread this season while becoming a covering machine under head coach Lance Leipold.

Kansas is coming off a 43-28 loss to Texas Tech, but that was also the program’s next game after securing a bowl berth for the first time since 2009. Starting quarterback Jalon Daniels has yet to return since being injured against TCU on Oct. 8. However, he was seen warming up in full pads prior to the team's Week 11 game.

Expect this line to move if Daniels’ return is announced ahead of Saturday.

USC -1.5 (-114) ★★★★

All eyes will be on a critical USC-UCLA Pac-12 battle on Saturday evening inside the Rose Bowl.

There could have been a lot more on the line had it not been for UCLA's Week 11 misstep. The Bruins (8-2) suffered a 38-28 loss to Arizona, likely removing them from CFP contention and hurting their chances of reaching the Pac-12 championship game. UCLA will need to win out to keep its dream season alive.

Everything is still on the table for No. 7 USC (9-1), and the team is coming off a 55-17 win over Colorado this past Friday. Lincoln Riley's offense is humming while ranking third in the country and averaging 42.4 points per game.

Caleb Williams and Co. can secure a trip to Las Vegas for the conference title game with a win on Saturday. Bet on them to accomplish just that.

Where to Bet on College Football against the Spread Picks

Here are our top-rated sportsbooks:

FanDuel Sportsbook
Caesars Sportsbook
DraftKings Sportsbook
PointsBet
BetMGM

College football top against the spread bets from 11/14/2022 at 11:56 a.m. ET