Week 12 college picks

Last week: 4-1 Season: 56-25

Three ACC games have been postponed this week due to COVID issues: Georgia Tech at No. 12 Miami, Wake Forest at Duke, and No. 4 Clemson at Florida State, leaving the slate pretty light. Two Big Ten matchups featuring unusual undefeated teams in each will try to knock off two of the conference's usual headliners, and the other big game is the next installment in the Bedlam series in Oklahoma.

No. 9 Indiana (4-0) at No. 3 Ohio State (3-0), Noon, Fox
Thirty-two years. 32. That's how long it has been since the Hoosiers defeated the Buckeyes. On Oct. 8, 1988, Indiana crushed Ohio State, 41-7 at home. In 1987, IU also won, at OSU, 31-10. They'll get another chance this weekend to recapture the magic of the late 1980s in the Horseshoe. The two schools have played almost every year since then, with Ohio State winning 25 in a row. In 1990, they tied 27-27. The Hoosiers began the year by upsetting No. 8 Penn State, but now the Nittany Lions are an incredible 0-4, clearly not a top-10 team. IU's other wins are against subpar Michigan and Michigan State teams, and Rutgers, which appears to have improved but is still 1-3. In the topsy-turvy year of 2020, it's possible Indiana could challenge the Buckeyes more than the Nittany Lions, Wolverines, or Spartans. Ohio State has already beaten Penn State, 38-25, and also owns victories over Nebraska and Rutgers. Do I give the Hoosiers a fighting chance? Yes, this year, why not? There are some instances of IU keeping it close recently, notably 2015 (34-27) and 2012 (52-49). But am I going out on a limb and actually picking the Hoosiers? No.
Ohio State 41, Indiana 34

No. 10 Wisconsin (2-0) at No. 19 Northwestern (4-0), 3:30 p.m. ABC
In another bizarre turn of events for the Big Ten, Northwestern is undefeated. The Wildcats have victories over Maryland, Iowa, Nebraska, and Purdue. The Badgers have easy wins over Illinois and Michigan, and in between those contests, they had two consecutive games canceled against Nebraska and Purdue. I'll give the nerds at Northwestern a chance in this one too, but I'm taking Wisconsin.
Wisconsin 31, Northwestern 24

Virginia Tech (4-4) at Pittsburgh (4-4), 4 p.m. ACC Network
The Hokies were close to knocking off Miami last week, leading almost the entire way before falling 25-24. At one point, Tech was 3-1, and now it is 4-4. The Panthers started out 3-0 before four straight losses, then got on track two weeks ago by pounding Florida State. Their game last week against Georgia Tech was postponed. This series has been pretty competitive lately, with Tech and Pitt splitting eight matchups since 2012. Now both are .500 and both have had an up-and-down season. This seems like a toss-up to me that will probably be close.
Virginia Tech 26, Pittsburgh 23 

Bedlam
No. 14 Oklahoma State at No. 18 Oklahoma (5-2), 7:30 p.m. ABC
The Cowboys have one loss to Texas and solid victories over West Virginia, Kansas State, and Iowa State. The Sooners suffered tight, early-season losses to Kansas State and Iowa State, but have since bounced back with four straight wins (scoring more than 50 points in three), though three of them came against Big 12 bottom-feeders TCU, Texas Tech, and Kansas. The other was a shootout victory over Texas. OU usually has the edge in this game, but OSU could get this done. However, I think Oklahoma has righted the ship enough now to squeak by.
Oklahoma 34, Oklahoma State 30

No. 21 Liberty (8-0) at N.C. State (5-3), 7:30 p.m. ESPN3
The ACC is getting a third crack at the Flames. Syracuse and Virginia Tech could not beat LU, so let's see what the Wolfpack can do. Last week, State defeated Florida State, 38-22. Before that, it barely lost to Miami but was crushed by North Carolina. I see this going either way. I think the Flames have a lot of feed-good momentum around the program. They'll get it done and end up facing Coastal Carolina at the end of the season, when both will put their perfect marks on the line.
Liberty 34, N.C. State 31

Abilene Christian (1-4) at Virginia (3-4), 4 p.m. MASN/ESPN3
The Wildcats from Texas and the Southland Conference are serving as the Cavaliers' FCS opponent this season after VMI canceled football in August. Abilene, Texas, lies about 2.5-3 hours west of Dallas. The Wildcats have a three-point win over Mercer and losses to UTEP by four, Army by 32, Stephen F. Austin by three in OT, and Division II school Angelo State by 13. Last season, ACU went 5-7, losing to FBS teams North Texas and Mississippi State by large margins.

As long as Virginia doesn't turn the ball over, it should have no trouble scoring today in Charlottesville, and should avoid the upset. Hopefully the guys are not sleepwalking and just come out with a businesslike attitude. If they put the Wildcats away early, then they can have some fun. The goal should be to play at least one half of good, clean football, and then let the backups get some valuable playing time. This is not a game where we want to be having Brennan Armstrong taking unnecessary hits in the fourth quarter. The Wahoos should use the ground game with the running backs to just pound away at the ACU defense. They have three good ones in Wayne Taulapapa, Shane Simpson, and Ronnie Walker, so use them all, heck, get them all 10 carries.

It's no secret Virginia's pass defense has been somewhat shoddy this season. I could see ACU hurting the 'Hoos through the air. But hopefully, this is a nice game for the defense to get back on track as well. It allowed a lot of yards last week but not many points in the victory versus Louisville.

After weeks of toiling away in the ACC and overcoming all sorts of challenges and postponements, UVa should have no issues getting back to .500 on the season. Hopefully, the players can enjoy the game today and have some fun, and, fingers crossed, no one suffers any significant injuries.
Virginia 45, Abilene Christian 14