Michael Penix Jr. and the Washington Huskies are underdogs on the road against Oregon State. (Photo by Ronald Martinez/Getty Images) (Ronald Martinez via Getty Images)
The penultimate week of the college football season has arrived and there’s still plenty to be decided.
With five undefeated teams and four others with one loss, the College Football Playoff race can go in many directions. There are also conference title races coming down to the wire and more than 20 teams on the verge of bowl eligibility.
We haven’t seen too many upsets in Week 12 of the season, but it has delivered some landmark wins. No. 3 Michigan kicked things off early in the day, holding off Maryland in a nervy affair for the 1,000th win in the program’s history. It happened, of course, without Jim Harbaugh on the sideline as he serves his three-game suspension. Later on, Louisville made its own history with a win over Miami, clinching a berth in the ACC title game for the first time in program history.
Appalachian State then knocked off previously undefeated James Madison and New Mexico State pulled off a road upset over Auburn to give the day some flavor.
Rivalry week is on the horizon and the coaching carousel has already ramped up, so we’re in for an eventful finish to the season.
Here’s what we’re watching Saturday night (scroll for live updates):
No. 5 Washington at No. 11 Oregon State Time: 7:30 p.m. | TV: ABC | Line: OSU -2.5 | Total: 63.5
Washington keeps finding ways to win and can clinch a spot in the Pac-12 title game with a road win over Oregon State. The Huskies improved to 10-0 with a 35-28 win over Utah last Saturday and star QB Michael Penix Jr. was transcendent. As the final season of the Pac-12 sadly winds down, Oregon State still has the chance to go out with its first outright conference title since 1956 with a win over Washington and then Oregon next week. The Beavers are 16-1 in their last 17 home games and are actually favored over the undefeated Huskies.
No. 7 Texas at Iowa State Time: 8 p.m. | TV: Fox | Line: UT -7.5 | Total: 47.5
Texas is still firmly in the CFP hunt and can clinch a spot in the Big 12 title game with a road win over Iowa State. The Longhorns got QB Quinn Ewers back from injury for the game, but lost star running back Jonathon Brooks to a knee injury. Iowa State is also alive in the Big 12 title hunt. The Cyclones are 6-4 overall but 5-2 in conference play entering the final two weeks and need to upset Texas to keep their conference championship hopes alive.