Get Ready for Week 12 of the NCAA Football Season

With 2024 being the debut of the new 12-team College Football Playoff, every game matters more than ever. In years past, we’ve had a relatively good idea about which teams were poised to make the cut under the old four-team system, but now, there are multiple playoff spots still up in the air.

With that in mind, the action-packed week-12 schedule is poised to be one of the most important of the season so far. Here’s a look at some of the biggest games on Saturday’s slate.

(4) Tennessee Volunteers @ (10) Georgia Bulldogs
7:30 PM ET | ABC

If this game had been played a couple of weeks back, it would have been a battle for the right to play for the SEC title. All of that changed last week in Oxford, Mississippi when the Bulldogs fell to the Rebels. Now, there are multiple variables at play, and this game has the potential to all but eliminate Georgia, who has been at the top of the SEC for the last several seasons, from contention. A third loss would make it virtually impossible for Kirby Smart and company to make another playoff appearance.

Things look a lot different for Tennessee who will make the trip south to Athens. With only one loss on the season, the Vols could essentially punch their ticket to Atlanta for the SEC Title Game in December.

If Georgia hopes to win this game and keep their playoff hopes alive, they’ll need better play out of Carson Beck who came into this season as a Heisman hopeful with his sights set on next spring’s NFL Draft. Beck has struggled with turnovers as of late and isn’t getting a lot of help from Georgia’s running game. To make matters worse, the Bulldogs will be without Trevor Etienne, who has been the team’s leading rusher this season. The Bulldogs can win this game, but they’ll need to play like they played earlier in the season and not like they’ve played since the Alabama game.

(3) Texas Longhorns @ Arkansas Razorbacks
12:00 PM ET | ABC

Speaking of teams that are on the cusp of playing for an SEC Championship, the Texas Longhorns have silenced the doubters who said they would struggle when they moved to the Southeastern Conference. They’re one of only three one-loss teams in the conference and control their own destiny. Younger fans may not remember when Texas and Arkansas were embroiled in a bitter rivalry in the now-defunct Southwestern Conference. When Arkansas left that conference to join the SEC in 1991, the rivalry largely died down, but both coaches are well aware of how things used to be.

Arkansas put the lone blemish on Tennessee’s record this season, but the Razorbacks have struggled since then. Over their last two games against LSU and Ole Miss, Sam Pittman’s Razorbacks have been outscored 97-41. Arkansas’ strength all season has been their running game, but they’ve been forced out of their game plan due to playing from behind.

That could spell disaster in this rivalry renewal, as Quinn Ewers looks poised to be one of the first two or three QBs taken off the board in the NFL Draft next year. He’s built a case for the Heisman Trophy, even while missing a pair of games earlier in the season. Arkansas’ defense will largely determine how entertaining this game is. If Steve Sarkisian and the Longhorns’ offense put up some points early, it’ll be virtually impossible for the Razorbacks to crawl back into this one.

(2) Ohio State Buckeyes vs. Northwestern Wildcats
12:00 PM ET | Big Ten Network

The Northwestern Wildcats come into this game at 4-5, unranked, and 15th in the Big Ten. While most people didn’t have the Wildcats penciled in as a playoff hopeful this season, 2024 has been a disappointment for Northwestern regardless. It seems unlikely that Northwestern will be able to do much to stop Ohio State, which has its sights firmly set on the next two weeks. Perhaps the most interesting part of this matchup will be its location, as Northwestern will host the Buckeyes at Wrigley Field, the home of the Chicago Cubs.

Meanwhile, Ohio State has playoff aspirations with only three games left on the schedule. They come into this game as a 28.5-point favorite against a woeful Northwestern offense. OSU is ranked second in the nation, and the last two games of the season will make or break their playoff hopes. Assuming that they deal with Northwestern as easily as they should, Ohio State will host fifth-ranked Indiana before its annual showdown with the Michigan Wolverines.

(1) Oregon Ducks @ Wisconsin Badgers
4:30 PM ET | NBC

Speaking of games that have the potential to get out of hand early, the Oregon Ducks, the top-ranked team in the nation, will take their last road trip of the regular season when they head to Wisconsin to take on the 5-4 Badgers. A win in this game means that Oregon is locked into the Big 10 Championship Game, which would be impressive in their first season as part of the conference.

Wisconsin has the potential to play the role of spoiler, though. Is it unlikely? Yes, it is. Oregon has been impressive all season and comes into this game as a 13.5-point favorite. However, it could be argued that Wisconsin’s pass defense is one of the best that the Ducks will have faced all season. With that in mind, you may see Oregon take a run-first approach, at least early in the game. If there’s a weakness on Wisconsin’s defense under Luke Fickell it’s their ability to stop the run. If Oregon can take advantage of that, they may run away with this one and punch a ticket to the Big 10 Title Game.

Utah Utes @ (20) Colorado Buffaloes
12:00 PM ET | Fox

Is there a more polarizing team in the country than the Colorado Buffaloes? Deion Sanders, whose over-the-top personality made him one of the most popular players in the NFL throughout his career, hasn’t shied away from the attention, even the negative attention, that he’s received since arriving in Boulder. While last season certainly didn’t go the way that Colorado wanted it to, this season has been quite the turnaround. Colorado ended 2023 on a six-game losing streak, but they’re sitting at 7-2 this season and have a winnable game coming up against a Utah squad that’s 4-5, with all five losses coming in conference games.

While Colorado is looking to lock in a spot in the Big 12 Championship, Utah is once again trying to knock off one of the top teams in the conference, which they almost managed to do last week in a rivalry game against BYU, who is still undefeated and at the top of the Big 12 standings. Brandon Rose looked good in his first start last week for Utah, but the offense stalled out in the third quarter. If Utah has any hopes of keeping up with the powerful Colorado offense, Rose and the rest of the offense will need to put up a first half like they enjoyed last week.

Virginia Cavaliers @ (8) Notre Dame Fighting Irish
3:30 PM ET | NBC

While there are plenty of games that could get out of hand early this week, a single upset has the potential to impact the College Football Playoff. That includes this matchup between the 5-4 Virginia Cavaliers and the Fighting Irish, who are on a mission to go 11-1. Outside of their lone hiccup in September against Northern Illinois, Notre Dame has looked relatively unstoppable, especially as of late. Riley Leonard leads the Irish in both passing and rushing yards this season and seems poised to carry the Irish into the playoff.

However, Virginia comes into this game with plenty of confidence after upsetting the Pittsburgh Panthers last week. The defense for the Cavaliers stepped up more than it had in any game this season, and they’ll likely need a similar performance to have a chance against Notre Dame. If, and that’s a big if, Virginia can find a way to slow Leonard down, it’s not out of the realm of possibility for UVA to put up another upset this week. However, it’s a bit more likely that Notre Dame will put this one away by the third quarter.