The Thing You Never Knew You Needed But Now Can't Live Without - Week 13

There are so many good games this week that the fun starts on Thursday.  There are so many good games this week that it continues all through Friday.  There are so many good games this week that Oregon vs. Oregon State has been relegated to the the Pac-12 network.  So many good games!  And K-State has a bye week, so we're even safe from heartbreak!  Yippee!!

Though, in case you're wondering, here's what you should be cheering for this week: Notre Dame falls to USC, Oregon falls to Oregon State, Florida falls to Florida State, OU falls to OSU, and Braden Pape secures a recurring role on GameDay.  Hope you packed your comfy pants.  It's gonna be a full weekend.

Big 12 Schedule

 

Bedlam!

Thursday
6:30 p.m. ESPN: TCU at Texas
This game has less importance now that The-Game-That-Must-Not-Be-Mentioned blew up the rest of our season.  Since that's the case, I'd like to see the plucky young Frogs ruin Thanksgiving for Mack Brown and company.  Prediction: Pete Carroll. 

Friday
2:30 p.m. ABC: West Virginia at Iowa State
West Virginia, you're dead to me.  On a night when everything went wrong, you had the perfect opportunity to add to the chaos by knocking off Oklahoma and getting your first win since October 6th.  But you blew it, and no one was watching and now you have to play in this game that really no one is watching and you'll probably win because Iowa State has unraveled spectacularly.  But, you're dead to me, so it wouldn't make any sense if I picked you.  So there.  Prediction: 45-42, Iowa State.

Saturday
1:30 p.m. Fox: Texas Tech vs. Baylor
Would you believe me if I told you that Baylor is still playing for bowl eligibility?  The pain... it comes in waves.  Prediction: 55-45, Baylor.

2:30 p.m. ESPN: OSU at OU
Bedlam!  No matter the year, no matter the situation, no matter the ranking, this game always ends up being important for just about everyone in the Big 12.  OSU has played better than anyone else in the Big 12 in the past month and OU's hallowed ground has gotten a whole lot shakier this season.  Finish 'em off, pokes.  Prediction: 38-30, OSU.

Best of the Rest

The last two undefeated teams have their last tests this weekend.  Will we end the regular season with one true undefeated and one truly disqualified undefeated?  For the love of the game, I hope not.

11:00 a.m. ABC: Michigan at Ohio State
This is Ohio State's last chance to lose.  We cannot let Urban Meyer go undefeated in his first season at Ohio State.  It's so fundamentally wrong.  C'mon shoelace.  Just ignore that old stuffy Brady Hoke and let loose for your last game in the gold and blue.  If anyone can out Braxton Braxton Miller, it's the Denard Robinson of 2010.  Prediction: 28-17, Michigan.

2:00 p.m. Pac-12 Network: Oregon at Oregon State
I still can't believe this game isn't on a major cable network.  The last time that happened, Oregon State was upset by Washington for their first loss of the year.  Can Oregon State return the favor and ruin the Ducks title hopes for good?  All signs point toward... probably?  Prediction: 21-18, Oregon State.

2:30 p.m. ABC: Florida at Florida State
It's nice to have this game be relevant again, but it seems weird that Bobby Bowden and Steve Spurrier aren't on opposite sidelines.  That's how long it's been since this game was relevant to me.  This week in schadenfreude features Florida State beating Florida and still being ranked behind all the other one loss teams (plus LSU).  Hey K-State fans - look at Florida State and feel better about your situation.  It's surprisingly uplifting.  Prediction: Florida State gets screwed over.  

5:30 p.m. Fox: Stanford at UCLA
So either UCLA got good again, or USC is just really, really bad.  Either way, if Stanford wins this game, then I'm pretty sure that they have to have this exact same game again next week for the Pac-12 championship.  Can that be right?  Has there ever been a better argument against a conference championship game than that precise situation?  The chaos this year is delicious.   Prediction: 28-24, Stanford.

6:00 p.m. ESPN2: Missouri at Texas A&M
Hello, old Big 12 foes.  How funny that you meet in this game at wildly different ends of the spectrum.  Missouri's lone SEC victories came over the only two schools with zero SEC victories and they are still fighting for bowl eligibility.  Oh, and remember that time they lost to Vanderbilt?  That was the best.  Texas A&M has a Heisman frontrunner at quarterback (disgusting), knocked off Alabama for the biggest win in school history (also disgusting) and is tied with LSU at second in the legendary SEC West division (disgusting and wrong and disgusting).  How about a good old fashioned Big 12 upset, just for nostalgia's sake?  Prediction: 31-30, Missouri. 

6:00 p.m. ESPN: South Carolina at Clemson
Clemson fans are enraged that Gameday chose Notre Dame over them, again.  Chances are they'll be even more enraged when they lose this game by a lot and Sportscenter still ignores them.  Sorry, Tigers.  What did you think would happen when you added a Big 12 coach as your defensive coordinator?  Prediction: 40-30, South Carolina.

7:00 p.m. ABC: Notre Dame at USC
USC has lost every big game they've played this season.  Now they have to play this one without Matt Barkley.  Notre Dame is #1 for the first time this season and graced the cover of Sports Illustrated this week.  USC has no shot, no shot at all.  Sound familiar?  I sure hope so.  Prediction: 52-24, USC.