College football Week 14 predictions: Texas vs. Texas A&M, more picks against the spread
The vote on progress is never unanimous.Not for abolitionism or suffrage or the Apollo space program. Not even for the College Football Playoff. There were those who decried the devaluation of the bowl system and bemoaned the diminished meaning of regular season games.
But for every iconic chapter of the Iron Bowl or “The Game,” there are far more moments that you have forgotten, decided by several scores. This week, 15 of the Top 25 teams are favored by double digits.Because of the 12-team playoff, as many as 17 games — even discounting games featuring locks such as Oregon and Ohio State — could potentially impact the postseason field. The lone matchup featuring ranked teams is between Texas and Texas A&M, with the winner of the renewed rivalry heading to the SEC title game. The Longhorns (10-1) are certain to return to the playoff, though they have done little to deserve it.
They haven’t beaten one ranked team.They’ve played the softest schedule in the SEC.
Their only impressive outing of the past six weeks came against a walk-on freshman quarterback. This week, Quinn Ewers, the preseason Heisman favorite turned owner of the 36th-best QB rating in the country, will likely play on a bum ankle in the loudest environment imaginable, with more than 102,000 fans packed into Kyle Field for the Aggies’ biggest late-season game in over a quarter-century. This is the moment TEXAS A&M (+5.5, ESPN BET) has been looking forward to for weeks — “Our focus is single-handedly on Texas, I mean, Auburn,” Aggies coach Mike Elko mistakenly said before last week’s four-overtime loss — a game that can put the Aggies in position to earn a playoff bye as a three-loss team. Progress makes it possible.Only two Group of Five teams (North Texas, Louisiana) have been competitive against the Green Wave.Both rank among the top 15 offenses in the nation.
Memphis is next, averaging nearly 35 points per game. Last week, Ashton Jeanty received 19 carries...