College football bold predictions: Notre Dame, Texas upset

On By Littum

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We’ve reached the penultimate weekend of the college football regular season with everything on the line for teams that have spent months working toward.

Whether it’s a spot in the College Football Playoff or a spot in the conference championship game, there’s pressure to perform. That pressure can produce some unlikely results.

Some of the upset candidates are Ohio State, Arizona State, Texas and Notre Dame. Will it be the surprises that happen or will they happen somewhere else in the country on Saturday?

That’s why the USA TODAY Sports College Football staff is here. Scooby Axson, Jordan Mendoza, Paul Myerberg, Erick Smith, Eddie Timanus and Dan Wolken weigh in with their bold predictions for Week 14 of the college football season:

Alabama finds offense, beats Auburn again

Last season, Alabama needed Jalen Milroe’s touchdown pass to Isaiah Bond on fourth-and-31 with less than a minute left against Auburn to pull off an improbable win and their fourth straight in the series. Speaking of unlikely, it’s Alabama’s chances to make the playoffs after last week’s pathetic showing against Oklahoma, and they quickly learned that Milroe runs the ball on quarterback keepers and throws the ball exclusively to Ryan Williams when an entire offensive scheme doesn’t work . to cut it.

Auburn has its own pride to play for, as well as bowl eligibility, and is riding high after its four-overtime home win over Texas A&M last week. The trash talk from the Tigers has been more profound and courageous, especially after watching Before dismantling their hated rivals, but in this case, Alabama will do what it always does: find a way to win and keep Auburn fans’ toilet paper where it belongs (in the bathroom) and keep them at home in the postseason. — Scooby Axson

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Colorado somehow advances to the Big 12 title game

Pretty much anyone can win the Big 12 heading into the regular season finale, but which two teams will make it to the conference title game? One of them will be Coach Prime.

Despite the tough loss to Kansas, Colorado still has a chance to make it to the Big 12 championship, although it needs help. All of them Buffaloes can do is to see on Saturday after their loss at Oklahoma State on Friday. They are in with two of either Arizona State, Brigham Young and Iowa State losing, or a chaos scenario involving a BYU loss and Texas Tech beating West Virginia. It’s a lot of math, but Saturday works in Colorado’s favor to solidify it as one of the teams playing for the conference crown — and a playoff spot — next Saturday at AT&T Stadium. — Jordan Mendoza

Arizona spoils Arizona State’s chance for the Big 12 title

Arizona upsets Arizona State to end the year on a high note while likely knocking Sun Devils out of the mix for the Big 12 title game and a playoff berth. The Wildcats have won two straight in the series, including a 59-23 blowout a year ago. But this would qualify as a huge upset: While Arizona State has been on its way up the playoff rankings, the Wildcats have dropped six of seven with the lone win coming against Houston. — Paul Myerberg

Texas A&M travels up Texas to reach the SEC title game

You take one of the hottest rivalries in college football and let it go dormant for 13 years because one school decided it didn’t want to be part of the same league as the other. Then the other school joins the league and their first meeting takes place with a berth in the conference championship on the line. Such is the script for Texas A&M, which hosts Texas after the Aggies dropped the Longhorns and the Big 12 in favor of the SEC. The atmosphere in College Station must be electric. Texas looked vulnerable on the road in its two conference road games. The Aggies use the home crowd to boost themselves to a memorable win that gives them bragging rights for at least a year. — Eric Smith

Tough day for Clemson with South Carolina loss and Miami win

It will be a rough Saturday for Clemson fans. The day gets off to a bad start when the Tigers lose to archrival South Carolina.

But then it gets even worse. No matter how the Palmetto Showdown turns out, the Tigers can still play for the ACC title if Miami stumbles at Syracuse later in the afternoon. But the Clemson faithful will be disappointed again, and it will be in the most excruciating way, as the Hurricanes pull out of a mistake-filled affair at the Dome in the closing minutes when Cam Ward leads a game-winning drive. — Eddie Timanus

Notre Dame lays eggs against Southern California

It’s crazy that Southern California is only 6-5 despite holding every team they’ve played under 30 points in regulation this season. But it also tells me they might have some karma coming their way – and it’s going to happen this weekend at the expense of Notre Dame. More than a few Notre Dame seasons have hit the skids in Los Angeles, and this is a setup for it to happen again. All the pressure is on the Irish to win this game and secure their spot in the College Football Playoff. That’s dangerous, especially because there’s no conference championship that can stop Notre Dame. It’s all about this game and I suspect they will lay an egg to jeopardize their playoff hopes. — Dan Wolken