As the regular season comes to a close, college football fans are buzzing with excitement. We’re just four games away from finding out who will make it to the championship games and get a shot at the Play-Offs. In college football, losing now can mean the end of the road for a team. So, let’s take a closer look at the games happening this weekend and see which teams hoping for a Play-Off spot are facing a critical moment.

Kansas State Wildcats (25) @ Texas Longhorns (7) (17:00 – FOX) (TEX -5.0)

The 6-2 Kansas State Wildcats are heading to Austin this weekend to face the 7-1 Texas Longhorns in an exciting Big 12 showdown. Kansas State is in good form lately, with impressive wins over conference rivals like Texas Tech, TCU, and Houston. On the other hand, Texas is doing well overall, but their recent loss to Oklahoma still stings.

Kansas State’s quarterback, Will Howard, has been good in the last two games, resembling his performance from last year. He will play a crucial role in the game. Texas has been allowing about 230 passing yards per game, so wide receiver Phillip Brooks and tight end Ben Sinnott hope he can exploit this weakness. Additionally, the running game has been a big part of the Wildcats’ success, with 23 touchdowns scored on the ground. However, Texas boasts a strong run defense, making this a key matchup to watch. Running backs DJ Giddens and Treshaun Ward are vital to the offensive balance. If they are forced to pass excessively, they could face problems.

On the Texas side, they recently lost their starting quarterback, Quinn Ewers, and Maalik Murphy stepped in. Texas has a solid receiving corps in Xavier Worthy and Adonai Mitchell, responsible for a significant portion of the team’s touchdowns this season. The Longhorns also maintain a well-balanced offense with Jonathan Brooks leading the running game. But Kansas State has a decent run defense, so the outcome remains uncertain. If they can force Texas to pass more, they may find opportunities for success.

A win for the Wildcats would put them back in contention for the Big 12 title. For Texas, this game is likely their toughest remaining challenge until a potential championship game, and they aim to silence their critics.

Betting tip: Over 51.5 (1.93). This game has the potential for high-scoring action, with both teams showing strong passing capabilities. Expect lots of yardage gained through the air, which often leads to big plays and quick scoring. So, we’re looking for plenty of touchdowns in this matchup.

Missouri Tigers (14) @ Georgia Bulldogs (1) (20:30 – CBS) (UGA -14.5)

It is an absolute disgrace that the spread is this great. That should be the talking point about this game. That is why the betting tip will also be the to take the Missouri spread. Why? Fairly simple, read on.

Carson Beck is slowly but steadily becoming one of the more underrated quarterbacks in the league. He had his issues in the beginning of the year, but those are starting to go away. It could come as a surprise that this is just at a time where he’s down his best receiver in Brock Bowers. The star TE is still out with an injury, but this could be the game where they miss him the most. Ladd McConkey and Dominic Lovett are still picking up the slack as deep threat, but they are not Bowers over the middle. Facing a defense that has been proven vulnerable in the secondary, could yield some big yards for these players.

However, thé match-up that will be decide how this game is written in the history books, is the reverse of the above. Missouri’s passing game versus Georgia’s secondary. One of the most electric receivers in the country this year, Luther Burden III, versus the backbone of the Georgia defense; Malaki Starks, Javon Bullard and Tykee Smith. Georgia’s pass rush could be stamped as below-average, so the secondary will have it’s work cut out for them against QB Brady Cook.

Don’t forget that Missouri last year was almost the only loss on the record of Georgia. This game went down to the wire when they met in Missouri, so the Tigers are looking for sweet sweet revenge.

Betting tip: Missouri +14.5 (1.89). Missouri is simply too good to deserve such a great spread. A decent enough defense with a great offense is not a 2 touchdown dog.

Washington Huskies (5) @ USC Trojans (24) (00:30 – ABC) (WASH -3.0)

A big clash at the Coliseum this weekend between two West Coast powerhouses. USC (No. 20) hosts division leader Washington (No. 5) in an important game for the PAC-12 title race. It will be the first time these schools meet since 2019, when the Huskies beat the Trojans 28-14 at home. Both teams haven’t played at their best recently after their explosive starts to the season. Who will get things figured out again and march out victorious on Saturday night?

USC comes into this game 7-2. They rebounded with a week 9 victory against Cali following back-to-back losses on the road to Notre Dame and at home against Utah. QB Caleb Williams is now 3-7 as a starter against ranked opponents in his career and with all remaining games being against ranked teams, he’ll have to step up and beat his bad reputation. While the Trojans’ hopes for the College Football Playoff (CFP) are long gone, they maintain a strong position in the PAC-12 championship race with a 5-1 division record. 

Washington on the other hand is still very much in the CFP race. They are still unbeaten this season and are currently on a 15 game winning streak, the second longest in their history. And where USC has struggled in their ranked matchups, the Huskies have won all of their last six, the most recent one being an impressive 36-33 victory against rival Oregon. After that W however, the Huskies have had some struggles beating, with all due respect, far inferior opponents Arizona State and Stanford. Let’s see if Washington can step up their game again this weekend after a little 2 game slump.

With the amount of starpower both teams have on offense and the struggles they’ve shown on defense, prepare for a very high-scoring game in Los Angeles on Saturday. If we look at their respective performances in recent ranked matchups, we’ll give the edge to the Huskies in this one.

Betting tip: Huskies -3.0 (1.92). Could it be that the Huskies were sleepwalking through their last two games and hence get disrespected a bit in this spread? Probably so. No brainer. Michael Penix vs one of the worst defenses in the country is absolutely not keeping this game close.

LSU Tigers (13) @ Alabama Crimson Tide (8) (00:45 – CBS) (ALA-3.5)

These two teams were written of at the beginning of the season. Now, it’s a match-up again between SEC giants. They were always going to be giants, but this was more for historical reason. But again, they have rebounded.

LSU’s rollercoaster of a season started against FSU with a second half collapse. Their second loss of the season came in a shoot-out against Ole Miss, one they could have easily won. That brings us today, after resounding wins against Missouri, Auburn and Navy. There is no denying that their absolute strength is on the offensive side of the ball. Jayden Daniels has come practically out of nowhere to be one the best QBs in the country this year. He was already a great one last year, but was almost second tier. This year, he’s top tier. It helps that Malik Nabers is wreaking havoc wherever he runs. Today however, they will face one of the toughest defenses on their schedule.

Alabama’s defense is what kept them in the running this year. Where the offense struggled so badly, the defense stepped up. Exception is Texas, but outliers are always possible (you reading this UNC fans?). We could be lucky that they are so far away from a national championship game, because that defense would lock up anybody on a good day. Nobody wants a lobsided national championship game, right (you reading this as well TCU fans?)? The likes of Kool-Aid McKinstry (CB), Caleb Downs (S), Dallas Turner (ED) or Kendrick Blackshire (LB) are menaces in their respective parts of the field.

Alabama defense versus LSU offense is like firework against firework. Alabama defense versus LSU defense is like farts against farts. There could be no greater contrast in a game. There are silver linings in each department, like LSUs Harold Perkins and Mekhi Wingo, or Alabama’s Jermaine Burton.

Betting tip: Alabama -3.0 (1.90). Betting on the over/under is quite dangerous today. It could be an absolute letdown, or another Texas game for Alabama. Betting the Bama spread seems like the safest option, but not guaranteed money.

Other games to watch

Away	home	time	broadcast	LINE
Ohio State Buckeyes (3)	Rutgers Scarlet Knights	5.00 PM	CBS	OSU -18.5
Texas A&M Aggies	Ole Miss Rebels (11)	5.00 PM	ESPN	MISS -4.5
Notre Dame Fighting Irish (12)	Clemson Tigers	5.00 PM	ABC	ND -3.0
Army Black Knights	Air Force Falcons (17)	7.30 PM	CBS Sports Network	AFA -18.5
Florida State Seminoles (4)	Pittsburgh Panthers	8.30 PM	ESPN	FSU -21.0
Penn State Nittany Lions (9)	Maryland Terrapins	8.30 PM	FOX	PSU -10.5
Oklahoma Sooners (10)	Oklahoma State Cowboys	8.30 PM	ABC	OU -6.0
Virginia Tech Hokies	Louisville Cardinals (15)	8.30 PM	ACC Network	LOU -10.0
James Madison Dukes (23)	Georgia State Panthers	8.30 PM	ESPN 2	JMU -5.5
California Golden Bears	Oregon Ducks (6)	10.30 PM	PAC 12 Network	ORE -24.0
Kansas Jayhawks (22)	Iowa State Cyclones	12.00 AM	ESPN	ISU -2.5
Purdue Boilermakers	Michigan Wolverines (2)	12.30 AM	NBC	MICH -32.5
Oregon State Beavers (16)	Colorado Buffaloes	03.00 AM	ESPN	ORST -13.0
UCLA Bruins (20)	Arizona Wildcats	03.30 AM	Fox Sports 1	UCLA -2.5

Note: Rankings next to teams are now according to the College Football Play-Off Rankings.