Thanksgiving College Football Predictions
Article photo of Ole Miss head coach Lane Kiffin; credit to Petre Thomas-USA TODAY Sports.
The Miami Hurricanes will play at Boston College on Friday and Canes fans can check out the staff predictions here. There are still numerous other great football games to discuss, as well as coaching changes.
First up, it’s the Egg Bowl.
Ole Miss at Mississippi State: With Mississippi State’s administration firing head coach Zach Arnett and the Bulldogs being 5-6, people should expect the MS ST players to come out and play like they have nothing to lose.
Ole Miss, on the other hand, is 9-2. Lane Kiffin and the Rebels can end up in a New Year’s Six bowl game with a victory. Make no mistake, this game is huge for the Ole Miss program.
As for how this contrast will play out, the Rebs are favored by Las Vegas sports books by 10.5 on the road for a reason. More offensive weapons in particular. Quarterback Jaxson Dart is far superior to Mississippi State quarterbacks Mike Wright and Will Rogers, with one or both playing tonight.
Look for Ole Miss to consistently move the football down the field with precision passing, and a whole lot of running back Quinshon Judkins. He’s fifth in the SEC with 933 yards on the ground, and first with 14 rushing scores.
Mississippi State’s fans will have the cowbells going, but Ole Miss will slowly pull away. The Rebels beat the Bulldogs in the 2023 Egg Bowl by a score of 34 to 14.
Moving to Friday’s action, here are the Power 5 predictions, starting with the “Civil War” in the Pac 12.
Oregon State at Oregon: This is almost always a great game. With Oregon State head coach Jonathan Smith and the Beavers playing on the road in what could be the last Civil War for the foreseeable future because of Oregon heading to the Big 10, look for the savvy head coach to pull out all the stops.
Reverses, double passes, formations and play calls that are not on film from this season, yes, all of those are on the table.
Oregon possesses more talent, but Smith and his coaching staff keep this game close. In the end, it’s still Oregon quarterback Bo Nix who leads his team to a win.
He will out-duel Beavers signal caller DJ Uiagalelei by not throwing an interception, passing for two touchdowns, and running for one more. The Ducks survive a gallant effort from the Beavers and win 31 to 27.
Here are the rest of the Power 5 games on Friday:
Iowa 14 Nebraska 10
Oklahoma 38 TCU 17
Missouri 41 Arkansas 24
Texas 31 Texas Tech 20
Penn State 34 Michigan State 13
Now, onto Saturday matchups and rivalry games, starting in Ann Arbor, Mich.
Ohio State at Michigan: All the pressure is on UM as the sign-stealing scandal continues without Jim Harbaugh on the sidelines due to suspension. That's the biggest negative news for UM, but definitely not the only bad news.
What’s been going on with the Wolverines’ passing attack? Is it 100% a situation of them just not wanting to pass the football or are their issues at hand?
Quarterback JJ McCarthy is coming off a 12 of 23 performance at Maryland. The 52.2% passing percentage is dreadful, and the Michigan receivers did not help McCarthy out much either. McCarthy’s 141 yards also come with an interception.
Of note, wide receiver Roman Wilson left the Maryland game with an injury. If he does not play or if he’s even limited, that’s a huge blow to an already struggling passing attack. The Buckeyes are not healthy either and there are big concerns.
Safety Lathan Ransom is out for at least the rest of the regular season. He’s one of college football’s best safeties and will be missed. Defensive tackle Michael Hall, Jr. is battling injury but should play. There’s one more big injury to discuss.
Tommy Eichenberg did not play in the prior two contests and it’s unknown what’s going on. If he’s not able to go, it’s hard to imagine OSU beating UM on Saturday. He’s the key cog at middle linebacker for the defense. The best guess is Eichenberg sat out the past two to be ready for Michigan.
Do not forget about OSU’s Marvin Harrison, Jr. He’s going to have at least one spectacular play that helps the Buckeyes. He’s a special wide receiver. Time to talk about the unusual nature of this year’s OSU at Michigan game.
The pressure is still on UM to win as well. How will interim head coach Sherrone Moore perform against OSU as the acting leader of the UM program with the NCAA investigation, the UM players likely being at least somewhat distracted, and all the obstacles of dealing with this rivalry? That’s a lot to ask.
Ryan Day is going to out-coach Moore and the Buckeyes win in Ann Arbor to snap the two-game losing streak to their heated rivals. The Buckeyes 24 and the Wolverines 13.
Here are the rest of the Power 5 predictions for Saturday.
Louisville 31 Kentucky 20
LSU 41 Texas A&M 20
Purdue 31 Indiana 17
Duke 16 Pittsburgh 13
UCF 45 Houston 17
Syracuse 24 Wake Forest 20
Utah 23 Colorado 14
Alabama 31 Auburn 15
Arizona 38 Arizona State 24
Oklahoma State 41 BYU 20
Tennessee 35 Vanderbilt 17
Illinois 21 Northwestern 20
Wisconsin 16 Minnesota 14
Rutgers 20 Maryland 17
Virginia 34 Virginia Tech 31
Washington 41 Washington State 24
Florida State 31 Florida 23
Notre Dame 42 Stanford 14
West Virginia 31 Baylor 21
Georgia 45 Georgia Tech 13
Clemson 35 South Carolina 24
Kansas 35 Cincinnati 17
Kansas State 27 Iowa State 24
North Carolina 24 North Carolina State 20
UCLA 31 California 24
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