Nebraska's Bye: Week 12 Predictions

Husker Mike:   BYE WEEK!  In past years, fans have seemingly been sad when a bye week came about.  This year, I think we’re all savoring it.

Nathaniel: So. Many. Awesome. Games.

Patrick G: Double duty time. Can I keep basketball and football seperate? Let’s find out...

Ty: What the heck? I haven’t jumped in one of these for awhile. I’ll add my two cents.

Brian: So, so sleepy. Need this to come around sooner, but better late than never. Onto the picks!

Michigan (-4) at Penn State

Nathaniel: How will Michigan handle Happy Valley after barely squeaking by in Bloomington? It will be a tough crowd but Michigan should be able to pull it off. The Michigan defensive lines has to be licking their chops when watching tapes of Penn State’s offensive line and I think Michigan will have more sacks than Penn State gets points. Michigan 27 Penn State 6

Husker Mike: Penn State isn’t capable of doing what Indiana did to the Weasels. Yes, it’s a white out in Happy Valley, but last week was a wakeup call for Michigan with THE GAME up next weekend.  Weasels 27, Nitts 20

Patrick G: While Michigan has been a little hit or miss the last couple of games I don’t see them losing this one. Penn State doesn’t have the depth to pull off a four quarters against this team while a pair of Duluth Trading Co. Kakis pacing the sideline. (wild guess he wears Duluth)

University of Michigan 32 Pennsylvania State University 17

Ty: Inconsistency with a new regime? INCONCEIVABLE! (You keep using that word. I do not think it means what you think it means.) Anyway, yes, Michigan’s had some weird wins and losses, but they’re talented, and Harbaugh’s a heckuva coach. While this has trap game written all over it, I still think that Michigan finds a way, though it might not be convincing. UM 24, PSU 17.

Brian: Still waiting for James Franklin to impress me as a HC. This could be the moment, as Michigan is looking ahead to next week, but I doubt it. Wolverines by 10, and the setup to Mich/OhioSt next week is complete.

Baylor (+1) at Oklahoma State

Nathaniel: Another old fashioned Big 12 shootout. Baylor without Seth Russell is Penn without Teller or Texas without BBQ. Baylor didn’t look to be at their best against Oklahoma last week and I think think the woes continue against Oklahoma State who seem to be really flying under the radar this year. Pokes 59 Bears 45

Husker Mike: Oklahoma State nearly blew it last weekend in Ames, but like they’ve always done this season, they’ve found a way to pull it out of the ditch at the last moment. Cowboys 35, Bears 31

Patrick G: This one will be a great one to watch. OSU needs the win to stay alive and Baylor need the win after last week’s loss to OU. While I know many are picking OSU in this one I am going to go with Baylor. I don’t trust the Cowboy defense this year as they have given up way too many points. This is the game that takes them out of the playoff picture.

Baylor 44 Oklahoma State 37

Ty: Do defenses even bother? Part of me wants to see the Big XII sabotage itself once again (ONE TRUE CHAMPION!), but a bigger part of me wants to see them get into the final four so we can see what happens. While Okie State flew under the radar for most of the season, I think they can go into Bedlam undefeated. Cowboys 45, Bears 35

Brian: I think that the Iowa State near debacle last week got the Cowboys attention enough that this game shouldn’t be an issue. Stidham is good, but untested and that proved to be the difference last week vs. Oklahoma. I think Baylor makes it a good one, but that D that Phil Bennett is still around to butcher won’t stop the Cowboys. Pistols Firing in this one.

LSU (+4) at Ole Miss

Nathaniel: Both teams are coming off losses against Arkansas (really?) and at this point this game will be a chaotic crapshoot but one team has to get back on track and finish the season on a positive note. Tigers 42 Rebels 41

Husker Mike: Les Miles on the hot seat?  Really?  Well, OK.  Losing to Bert does weird things to a fan base...but no way does this go to a three-game losing streak.  LSU 38, Mississippi 27

Patrick G: The only person in this game with anything to lose is Miles and I don’t think he will. The Tigers come across the border and steal a win. I think it will be a wild/weird game.

Louisiana State University 32 University of Mississippi 27

Ty: The idea that Miles is coaching for his job is ludicrous, which is why it’s probably true. However, LSU has been much better than Ole Miss overall this year. I think defense plays a major role, though. LSU 17, Ole Miss 10

Brian: The annual swoon of the state of Mississippi comes around and Freeze can’t miss it. Les Miles won’t lose 3 in a row and the Tigers run wild on the Rebels and set up two interesting games next week that may decide jobs in one of the most cut-throat divisions in College Football.

UCLA (+2) at Utah

Nathaniel: Another matchup where both teams are coming off of bad losses to send the Pac 12 South in disarray. However, I think Utah’s defense will get them back on track and rattle Rosen behind their home crowd to put the Utes in the driver seat against for the division title.

Utes 31 Bruins 17

Mike:  I think the Utes bounce back faster than the Bruins this week, especially at home. Utes 28, Bruins 24

Patrick G: Quick, name a PAC 12 team with something to play for!? Yep, I can’t either. Let’s go with Utah because I’ve always had the mountain states in my heart.

University of Utah 23 University of California Los Angeles 17

Ty: We’re picking TWO Pac-12 games? Alright! I’ll be honest, I was rooting for the Utes to take the conference this year, and that looks fairly unlikely. UCLA has been hard to figure out, and this one’s IN Salt Lake, so Utah 31, UCLA 17.

Brian: Going to be interesting to see the Utah Offense without Devonte Booker, who tore a meniscus versus Arizona. Josh Rosen is pretty good, but the game isn’t in Los Angeles. Give me the Utes in this one, home field means something.

Southern Cal (+4) at Oregon

Nathaniel: Is Oregon back? Can they bank on another poor performance from the opposing QB? The answer to both is no. USC takes care of business and the Oregon duck mascot pulls a muscle (or feather?) from doing pushups after a garbage time TD for the Ducks.

Trojans 48 Ducks 34

Mike:  Quack, quack, quack.  The underachieving Trojans underachieve again this week.  Ducks 49, Trojan Men 42

Patrick G: More PAC 12 action? I guess someone has to talk about them. Oregon is in a weird place right now that the team is not used to being in. Leadership is usually what brings them out of this type of funk and I don’t think they have it.

University of Southern California 31 University of Oregon 20

Ty: Is it bad that I’m kind of revelling in Oregon’s fall from grace this season? Well, I am. It Vernon Adams being in the lineup clearly is good for the Ducks, but I think USC strikes early, and Oregon struggles to recover from an early hole. USC 35, Oregon 28

Brian: I don’t get this USC team after the Steve Sarkasian firing. On one hand, they are playing fairly well since the canning happened. However, the Trojans can’t play one complete game, with the win vs. Colorado last week a shining example. This is Oregon’s chance to show they deserve a big time bowl, as the Stanford loss took them out of the P12 title game chase. I think they throw a big dent in the Trojan’s run to the same game and win this one.