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College Football Best Bets, Odds for Saturday: Matchups, Picks, Predictions for Week 13

Henry John

Last Updated: November 25, 2022 9:55 AM EST • 4 min 18 sec read.

Our top college football best bets for Week 12.
Our top college football best bets for Week 13.

Our Week 13 college football picks and best bets include a prop pick in The Game, a total prediction in the battle for the Jeweled Shillelagh, and much more.

The final week of the college football regular season has arrived. As avid fans of the sport know, Week 13 features rivalry games galore. Nothing in sports compares to historic college football rivalries.

Of course, many of the matchups taking place across the country this weekend are hardly meaningless. From College Football Playoff aspirations to conference championship races, there is still plenty to be decided in Week 13.

Here are our best bets for Saturday’s college football slate (odds via BetRivers, BetMGM, DraftKings Sportsbook, and FanDuel Sportsbook).

Check out all of our top college football picks for Week 13!

Saturday’s College Football Schedule and Odds

(Odds via DraftKings Sportsbook)

Saturday’s College Football Best Bets 

  • Moneyline: Wake Forest (-157 via BetRivers)
  • Spread: Akron +10.5 (-110 via BetMGM)
  • Total: Notre Dame-USC Under 64.5 (-110 via DraftKings)
  • Upset: Georgia State (+205 via FanDuel)
  • Prop: Emeka Egbuka 70-plus receiving yards (-106 via FanDuel)

Top College Football Picks for Saturday

Moneyline: Wake Forest (-157)

Wake Forest finally snapped a three-game losing streak last week with a 10-point home win over Syracuse. Saturday will see the Demon Deacons host a Duke team that has surpassed expectations in a big way this season. However, a favorable schedule and the second-best turnover margin of any FBS team have certainly played a part.

What Wake Forest has that Duke does not is a star quarterback. Provided that Sam Hartman can avoid turning the ball over, he should have little to no trouble picking apart a Blue Devils defense that only ranks 69th nationally in adjusted efficiency. 

The Demon Deacons have averaged the 11th-most passing yards per game of any team this season. On the contrary, Duke ranks 107th in passing yards allowed defensively. There is simply nothing to inspire confidence in the Blue Devils’ ability to contain Hartman and Co. on Saturday. 

Spread: Akron +10.5 (-110)

Clearly, the MAC showdown between Akron and Northern Illinois doesn’t profile as one of the more anticipated games of the weekend. However, all tickets cash the same, and bettors might want to keep tabs on the action in DeKalb.

At the time of writing, very little information is available with regard to the health of Akron quarterback DJ Irons. He was knocked out of the Zips’ game against Eastern Michigan two weeks ago and did not return. 

With last week’s game against Buffalo being postponed, Akron has not played in over two weeks, so there is a chance that Irons will be able to go for the Zips. If not, backup Jeff Undercuffler will have certainly had plenty of time to practice with the starters. 

The fact that the Zips have even been competitive in conference play is an improvement over recent years. To date, four of Akron’s games against MAC opponents have been decided by seven points or fewer. It’s hard to get excited about laying double-digits with a Northern Illinois team that has major defensive issues and has only won three games all season.

Total: Notre Dame-USC Under 64.5 (-110)

Last week, the nation watched in awe as USC quarterback Caleb Williams turned in a Heisman-caliber performance in a shootout victory over UCLA. While there’s no denying the potency of the Trojans’ offense, things figure to be much tougher this Saturday night against Notre Dame.

Entering this year’s battle for the Jeweled Shillelagh, Notre Dame boasts a top-30 ranking in adjusted defensive efficiency. Anyone who has followed the Pac-12 Conference this season knows that quality defense has been severely lacking. USC has only faced three other teams with top-30 rankings in defensive efficiency.

Two of those three previous opponents (Oregon State and Washington State) held the Trojans to their two lowest point totals (17 and 30) of the campaign. As such, one has to believe that USC will fall well short of its scoring average of 42.9 points.

Notre Dame’s offense could very well have a say in this total staying Under as well. Easily the more physical team up front, the Fighting Irish figure to slow the pace down and pound the ball on the ground. Prolonged time-consuming possessions will not only help to shorten the game, but also keep the football away from Williams and the USC offense.

Upset: Georgia State (+205)

If not for a second-half collapse against James Madison last week, Georgia State would still have a chance to become bowl eligible with a win over Marshall on Saturday. The Panthers may no longer be in the mix for a bowl game, but they are still a dangerous team that is capable of springing an outright upset at a moment’s notice.

GSU’s ball-hawking defense forced four fumbles in last week’s game. A positive turnover margin would be helpful again on Saturday given how stout Marshall is defensively. The Thundering Herd rank 10th in adjusted defensive efficiency and have allowed the 11th-fewest rushing yards per game to opponents.

Although the Panthers profile as a run-first offense, they do have an experienced and capable quarterback in Darren Grainger. The fact Marshall has scored 26 points or fewer in all but one game against Sun Belt opponents to date suggests that Georgia State probably won’t need more than a handful of quality possessions to have a shot at the upset.

Prop: Egbuka 70-plus receiving yards (-106)

Last week, the Maryland defense did a great job of clamping down on leading Ohio State wideout Marvin Harrison Jr. Assuming that Michigan will attempt to do the same, the door swings wide open for slot receiver Emeka Egbuka to become C.J. Stroud’s preferred target.

With a team-leading 82 receiving yards last week, Egbuka has now reached the 70-yard threshold in eight of 11 games on the year. Due to Jaxson Smith-Njigba’s injury, Egbuka has seen his role expand greatly. He has hauled in at least four receptions in all but two games this season. He figures to be a key cog in Ohio State’s passing attack once again on Saturday.

As for the prop itself, we are actually looking to play the alternate yardage total at FanDuel due to the price discrepancy. There’s no reason to bet the Over on 69.5 receiving yards for Egbuka at -114 odds given that the only way that prop cashes is if he finishes with 70-plus yards.

Where to Bet on College Football

Here are our top-rated sportsbooks:

College football best bets made on 11/25/2022 at 1:30 p.m. ET.

Written By:
Henry John
Henry’s passion for sports dates all the way back to childhood and has ultimately led to a full-fledged career as an analyst and content creator. After getting his start penning fantasy football articles, he forrayed into the betting side of the business in early 2019. His love for sports and statistics proved to be an ideal match with the dedicated research and strategy that handicapping requires. Henry currently specializes in betting analysis and picks for college football, college basketball, and NASCAR. He counts NFL, WNBA, and NBA player props as additional leagues/markets of interest. Henry graduated from SUNY Buffalo in 2021 with a Communication Studies degree and a Psychology minor. A native of the Finger Lakes region in Upstate New York, he and his pup, Harold, have since relocated to Laramie, Wyoming. Thanks to his professional goals within the sports betting industry, there has been a whole lot of steam on the odds for a move to Las Vegas in 2023! Most of Henry’s free time is spent on outdoor adventures, playing chess, snowboarding, or reading a good book. He is also a competitive powerlifter and aspires to qualify for the USAPL Nationals meet within the next 2-3 years.