HOUSTON – Week 12 of the 2024 college football season is upon us, with 19 games scheduled featuring coaches named to the American Heart Association Paul “Bear” Bryant Awards Watch List. Of these games, three feature two teams coached by watch list selections.
Army, Indiana, Miami, Texas Tech, and Vanderbilt are idle this week.
Last Week’s Results (WATCH LIST TEAMS IN BOLD)
No. 1 Oregon 39, Maryland 18
No. 2 Ohio State 45, Purdue 0
No. 16 Ole Miss 28, No. 3 Georgia 10
Georgia Tech 28, No. 4 Miami 23
No. 5 Texas 49, Florida 17
No. 6 Penn State 35, Washington 6
No. 7 Tennessee 33, Mississippi State 14
No. 8 Indiana 20, Michigan 15
No. 9 BYU 22, Utah 21
No. 10 Notre Dame 52, Florida State 3
No. 11 Alabama 42, No. 15 LSU 13
No. 12 Boise State 28, Nevada 21
Kansas 45, No. 17 Iowa State 36
Virginia 24, No. 18 Pittsburgh 19
No. 20 Colorado 41, Texas Tech 27
No. 23 Clemson 24, Virginia Tech 14
No. 25 Army 14, North Texas 3
Texas State 38, Louisiana Monroe 17
Navy 28, South Florida 7
Liberty 37, Middle Tennessee 17
South Carolina 28, Vanderbilt 7
Arizona State 35, UCF 31
No. 2 Ohio State (8-1, 5-1 Big Ten) at Northwestern (4-5, 2-4 Big Ten) [BTN]
Coach Ryan Day leads his Ohio State Buckeyes into Wrigley Field – home of the Chicago Cubs – for a Saturday matinee against Northwestern. The game will be the 64th of the Day era for Ohio State where the Buckeyes are ranked in the top five, and is the 80th meeting in a series that Ohio State has dominated to the tune of a 65-14 advantage. Ohio State has won ten straight over the Wildcats, dating back to the 2004 season – a 33-27 Wildcat win in overtime at Ryan Field.
No. 3 Texas (8-1, 4-1 SEC) at Arkansas (5-4, 3-3 SEC) [ABC/ESPN+]
Former Southwest Conference rivals will match up on the gridiron Saturday as coach Steve Sarkisian leads his Longhorns into Donald W. Reynolds Razorback Stadium for the first meeting between Texas and Arkansas of the Southeastern Conference era. Saturday’s tilt will be the 80th in a series dating back to 1894, a series which Texas leads 56-23, including a 26-10 advantage in Fayetteville. Since the demise of the Southwest Conference, however, the series advantage has shifted toward Arkansas – Razorbacks have won four of six meetings going back to 2000, including the last two – the 2014 Texas Bowl and a regular-season meeting in 2021.
No. 20 Clemson (7-2, 6-1 ACC) at Pittsburgh (7-2, 3-2 ACC) [ESPN]
Watch list coaches collide in Saturday’s noon matchup, as Dabo Swinney leads Clemson into Pitt for a matchup with Pat Narduzzi and the Panthers. The game will actually be the final conference game of the regular season for Clemson, who finishes their 2024 slate with home games against in-state opponents The Citadel and South Carolina; while Pitt will head on the road the next two weeks for ACC matchups against Louisville and Boston College. Pitt holds a 3-2 advantage in the series, and Clemson will be looking for its first win at Pitt.
No. 25 Tulane (8-2, 6-0 American) at Navy (7-2, 5-1 American) [ESPN2]
Coach Brian Newberry and his Navy squad snapped a two-game skid last week with a 28-7 win at USF, and square off against one of the two remaining undefeated teams in the American – the Tulane Green Wave. The stakes could not be higher for the two teams in this game. If Tulane wins, the Green Wave earn a slot in the AAC title game against Army; and if Navy wins, they pull even with the Green Wave for the second spot in the AAC and would hold the tiebreaker thanks to the head-to-head win.
Liberty (6-2) at UMass (2-7) [ESPN+]
Coach Jamey Chadwell takes his Flames on the road for a non-conference matchup with a familiar foe, the UMass Minutemen. The two teams will meet for the seventh consecutive year, with Liberty holding a 5-1 advantage in the series. The Flames snapped a two-game skid last week after rolling up a season-high 339 yards in a win over Middle Tennessee. A win would make Liberty 6-0 in November and 14-0 in Saturday contests since Chadwell took the helm of the program.
Louisiana Monroe (5-4) at Auburn (3-6) [SECN]
The Warhawks have dropped three straight and will look to snap that skid against a Southeastern Conference opponent on Saturday. While coach Bryant Vincent has his Warhawks one win away from bowl eligibility for the first time since 2018, the Auburn Tigers are 11-0 all-time against ULM in a series dating back to 1994. The Warhawks have struggled mightily against the SEC historically, posting an all-time 4-51-3 record against SEC members going back to the 1970s. ULM’s last win over SEC opposition came in the 2012 season – a 34-31 overtime win against Arkansas. That win and a 2007 win over Alabama are ULM’s two lone victories over SEC opposition since the turn of the century.
Mercer (9-1) at No. 10 Alabama (7-2) [ESPN+/SECN+]
Saturday’s matchup between the Mercer Bears and the Alabama Crimson Tide is a matchup of top-ten teams – Alabama is ranked No. 10 in the College Football Playoff rankings (in addition to being the No. 9 team in the AP Top 25 this week), while Mercer sits as high as No. 7 in the FCS polling this week. Coach Kalen DeBoer leads the Tide into a game against an opponent that Alabama has a perfect 4-0 series record against, however, the Bears are one of the top teams in FCS and are expected to be a playoff team this year. Mercer will be looking to become just the seventh FCS squad to ever knock off a ranked FBS squad. The last ranked FBS team to lose to a FCS squad – the 2021 Washington Huskies (not yet coached by DeBoer), who were ranked No. 20 when they fell to Montana.
Michigan State (4-5, 2-4 Big Ten) at Illinois (6-3, 3-3 Big Ten) [FS1]
Coach Bret Bielema and his Fighting Illini look to avoid dropping their third consecutive contest Saturday when they play host to Michigan State. The Spartans hold a 27-19-2 advantage in the all-time series with Illinois, including a 13-10-1 record at Illinois. Bielema is 3-5 all-time against the Spartans, dating back to his days at Wisconsin. He is looking for the first win over MSU of his Illinois tenure.
No. 4 Penn State (8-1, 5-1 Big Ten) at Purdue (1-8, 0-6 Big Ten) [CBS]
After suffering their lone loss of the season to Ohio State, the Nittany Lions responded with a big 35-6 win over national runner-up Washington last week. This week, James Franklin takes his team to West Lafayette for a matchup with a Purdue team that has not beaten an FBS opponent this season. Penn State is 16-3-1 all-time against Purdue and has won ten straight meetings.
Virginia (5-4) at No. 8 Notre Dame (8-1) [NBC]
Coach Marcus Freeman and his Fighting Irish close the home portion of their season with Saturday’s tilt against Virginia. Notre Dame is 4-0 all-time against Virginia, and 1-0 in South Bend. The Fighting Irish have been ranked in each of the matchups in the series. The Fighting Irish continue to roll through the 2024 season and bring a seven-game win streak into this weekend’s game. The Fighting Irish will look to avoid the trap of looking forward to next week’s matchup with Army and focus on a Cavaliers squad that is coming off an upset win over previously unbeaten Pitt last week.
Boston College (5-4, 2-3 ACC) at No. 14 SMU (8-1, 5-0 ACC) [ESPN]
The Mustangs have climbed to No. 14 in the nation, the program’s highest ranking since 1985, and coach Rhett Lashlee has SMU alone in first place in the ACC with three conference games to go. This week, the Mustangs line up against Boston College. The Eagles snapped a three-game skid last week with a 37-31 win over Syracuse. This meeting will mark the third all-time between the two schools, with the series tied at one game apiece.
No. 22 LSU (6-3, 3-2 SEC) at Florida (4-5, 2-4 SEC) [ABC/ESPN+]
LSU and Florida both enter Saturday’s game in Gainesville on two-game skids. LSU coach Brian Kelly is undefeated against Florida, while the Tigers hold an all-time 34-33-3 advantage in the series. While the series has been close, so have recent games in Gainesville – six of the past seven games inside Ben Hill Griffin Stadium have been decided by one possession. The lone exception? 2022, when LSU won 45-35. The series momentum has shifted to LSU as of late, with the Tigers winning five straight – the longest such run in series history – and eight of ten.
No. 13 Boise State (8-1, 5-0 Mountain West) at San Jose State (6-3, 3-2 Mountain West) [CBSSN]
Coach Spencer Danielson and his Broncos bring a seven-game winning streak into Saturday’s matchup with San Jose State. Two of the top four teams in the Mountain West will square off with a realistic path toward the MW championship, as Boise State could clinch a berth in the title game with a win and a loss by UNLV. The series has been a lopsided one in favor of the Broncos, with Boise leading 15-1 – including a 7-0 mark in San Jose. The game features two of the most prolific offenses in the Mountain West – and the nation itself. Boise ranks fourth nationally and first in the MW, while San Jose State ranks fourth in the MW and 37th nationally in total offense. Both sides combine for 923.1 yards per game of total offense this year.
Arizona State (7-2, 4-2 Big 12) at No. 16 Kansas State (7-2, 4-2 Big 12) [ESPN]
Kansas State and Arizona State enter Saturday’s game in a four-way, third-place logjam in the Big 12. The two teams are joined by Iowa State and West Virginia at 4-2, with undefeated BYU sitting in first at 6-0 and Colorado in second at 5-1. Arizona State holds a 5-1 advantage in the all-time series, however, this is the first time that the two teams will meet in Manhattan.
No. 1 Oregon (10-0, 7-0 Big Ten) at Wisconsin (5-4, 3-3 Big Ten) [NBC]
Oregon remains No. 1 in the national rankings, and head coach Dan Lanning’s undefeated squad travels to Madison for Saturday’s matchup with Wisconsin. The Ducks are working to secure the ninth eleven-win season in school history. The series between the two schools is tied at three wins apiece, with Oregon winning each of the last three – including victories in the 2012 and 2020 Rose Bowls.
No. 7 Tennessee (8-1, 5-1 SEC) at No. 12 Georgia (7-2, 5-2 SEC) [ABC/ESPN+]
The Volunteers and Bulldogs will meet up in a titanic clash on Saturday in Athens. Josh Heupel has Tennessee tied for first in the SEC with Texas A&M at 5-1 overall, while Georgia sits just behind at 5-2. The Bulldogs lead the all-time series 28-23-2, and have won seven consecutive against Tennessee. Georgia is coming off a loss last weekend at Ole Miss, and head coach Kirby Smart is 14-3 after a loss – and the Bulldogs have not lost back-to-back regular season games since 2016, Smart’s first year at the helm.
New Mexico State (2-7) at No. 15 Texas A&M (7-2) [SECN]
Mike Elko leads the Aggies into its final non-conference matchup of the 2024 season on Saturday as Texas A&M hosts New Mexico State. Just the second meeting in the all-time series, the Aggies won the first meeting between the two schools in 2016. Texas A&M remains one of two schools nationally to beat two AP top-10 teams this season.
Cincinnati (5-4, 3-3 Big 12) at Iowa State (7-2, 4-2 Big 12) [FOX]
After starting the season 7-0, Iowa State has dropped back-to-back games and coach Matt Campbell looks to get his Cyclones back on track against a Bearcats squad that has also dropped two in a row. The two teams met for the first time last year, with Iowa State winning 30-10 in Cincinnati. Of Cincinnati’s four losses, three have come by one score or less – the common loss for both team coming at the hands of Texas Tech, who beat Cincinnati 44-41 on Sept. 28 and beat Iowa State 23-22 on Nov. 2.
Kansas (3-6, 2-4 Big 12) at No. 6 BYU (9-0, 6-0 Big 12) [ESPN]
Undefeated BYU plays host to the Jayhawks on Saturday, with coach Kalani Sitake looking for his first 10-0 start. Kansas has won both previous meetings in the series, a 38-27 decision last year and a 23-20 win in the 1992 Aloha Bowl. The Cougars are 27-7 under Sitake when nationally ranked.
FIVE THINGS TO WATCH
- JUUUUUUUUUUUST A BIT OUTSIDE – No, Bob Uecker isn’t on the call this weekend, but Saturday’s Northwestern/Ohio State tilt will make Wrigley Field the sixth different MLB park to host an Ohio State football game. The Buckeyes have played at the Hubert H. Humphrey Metrodome 11 times against Minnesota, four games against various opponents at Cleveland Municipal Stadium, two games at Jack Murphy Stadium in San Diego against BYU, a single matchup at Anaheim Stadium against Fresno State, and games against Columbia and NYU at the Polo Grounds.
- WHEN TRENDS COLLIDE – Clemson and Pitt have dueling trends going into Saturday’s game – a Clemson win would mark the 10th time under Swinney that the Tigers finish the regular season with a perfect road record, while a Pitt win would be the Panthers’ first win over a ranked opponent this year. Narduzzi’s Panthers have beaten at least one ranked opponent in eight consecutive seasons.
- MIDSHIPMAN’S HITCH – Your humble author will confess to having a hard enough time tying a Windsor knot, however, the intrepid SID staff at Navy has gone through and untied just about every possible tiebreaker scenario on page five of this week’s game notes. As this week is College Sports Communicators (CSC) Membership Appreciation Week, we’d like to throw a special thank you out to Navy football SIDs Scott Strasemeier and Stacie Michaud – and all the other hard-working SIDs out there for helping us tell the stories of their teams and their coaches.
- MY TEAM IS BETTER THAN YOUR TEAM – Yes, the “transitive” theory doesn’t really add up in real life but it’s often fun to see how many steps it takes for one team to claim supremacy over another. In this example, we’ll use this weekend’s Mercer/Alabama matchup. While on paper Alabama would certainly have the advantage, six FCS teams have upset FBS opponents this year thus far – Montana State beat New Mexico, St. Francis (PA) beat Kent State, Idaho beat Wyoming, Southern Utah beat UTEP, Monmouth beat FIU, and UT Martin beat Kennesaw State. And if you look closely at this year’s results… Mercer beat Chattanooga, who beat Portland State, who beat Idaho State, who beat Southern Utah, who beat UTEP, who beat Kennesaw State, who beat Liberty, who beat East Carolina, who beat Old Dominion, who beat Georgia State, who beat Vanderbilt, who beat Alabama…
- FRANKLY MY DEAR… – SMU has been a program on the rise under head coach Rhett Lashlee. With wins over two nationally-ranked opponents thus far this year, Lashlee now has the Mustangs 5-0 in conference play – the best ever start for a team jumping into a Power 4/5 conference from a Group of Five conference. No other team has ever started 2-0.
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