This is the last big weekend for college football action before bowl season. On Saturday, we will see tons of conference championship game action as well as some other competitive matchups.
College football is known for high-scoring battles, and I believe this will be the case on Saturday.
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Here are four totals that should go over on Saturday.
Clemson Tigers vs. Notre Dame Fighting Irish Picks
Best Bet – Over 60 Points
Clemson vs. Notre Dame is the biggest matchup on the Power 5 slate this weekend. This will be the second meeting of the season between the two programs.
Notre Dame took the first game 47-40 in double overtime. I expect this game to go down a similar path with the ACC title on the line.
Trevor Lawrence missed the first meeting of the season due to a positive COVID-19 test. Freshman backup DJ Uigalelei played good enough to win but missed open receivers throughout the game.
Lawrence will automatically make the Tigers offense better. The over is 5-1 in Clemson’s last six games. Both defenses are stout, but Lawrence and Irish quarterback Ian Book will shine in an offensive shootout.
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Oklahoma Sooners vs. Iowa State Cyclones Picks
Best Bet – Over 58 Points
The Big 12 Championship Game will be a rematch from an October matchup where Iowa State upset Oklahoma 37-30. Oklahoma has a juggernaut attack on the offensive side of the ball.
Freshman quarterback Spencer Rattler has led the unit all season long. The Sooners are scoring 43.4 points per game.
Iowa State also has the ability to put the ball in the end zone. Iowa State has the most balanced attack in the Big 12.
Teams aren’t used to seeing this within the conference. Cyclones running back Breece Hall will need to have a big game.
The Cyclones were able to win in the trenches against a fantastic Oklahoma front seven. I think they will be able to do it again on Saturday and score points.
Defense is optional in the Big 12. This will help two outstanding offenses put on a show inside AT&T Stadium on Saturday.
The teams are a combined .500 on the over/under this season but went over in October in their first matchup.
NCAA Football Championship Week Picks
Texas A&M at Tennessee Volunteers Picks
Best Bet – Over 51 Points
Texas A&M will have to carry the load in this game, but I still like this SEC matchup to go over. Texas A&M has one of the best offenses in the SEC. The Aggies are scoring 31.6 points per game and racking up 430 yards of total offense per game.
Running back Isaiah Spiller has improved his ability in 2020 after a strong 2019 freshman campaign. He is averaging six yards per carry, and he’ll face a Volunteer front seven that has struggled this year.
Tennessee is 3-6 and isn’t a top team in the SEC, but it can still compete. The Volunteers are scoring close to 23 points per game and have scored at least 17 against Top 10 opponents in 2020.
I think Texas A&M has a 47-point effort in it on Saturday. The Volunteers will chip in with a couple of scores to take this game to the over.
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Alabama Crimson Tide vs. Florida Gators Picks
Best Bet – Over 74.5 Points
Yes, you read that right: 74.5 points. It doesn’t seem so off when you realize each of these teams averages at least 41 points per game (Alabama 49.5, Florida 41.2).
The tricky part is when you look at the defensive scoring averages for these two teams and see neither gives up as many as 27 points per game (Alabama 16.8, Florida 26.3). So which wins out, defense or offense?
Let’s take a look at the College Football Playoff games of a season ago. They didn’t involve these teams, but all four participants came in with pretty good defensive numbers going against top offensive squads.
The average total score in those three games was 70 points, with the lowest total being Clemson’s 29-23 semifinal win over Ohio State. In other words, good offense will find a way to score even against good defense. And these two teams have better than good offenses.
Alabama’s Mac Jones is putting up big numbers, throwing for 3,321 yards and 27 touchdowns. Florida’s Kyle Trask has topped that with 3,717 yards and 40 touchdowns.
Between the two of them, they have a total of eight interceptions on the season. The ball is going to be flying around Mercedes-Benz Stadium on Saturday, and we see this one actually hitting the over.