Week 13 Saturday picks: UCLA at USC, Notre Dame at Stanford, more

UCLA beats USC this weekend to win the Pac-12 South title and then beats Stanford in the Pac-12 title game to leave every Pac-12 team with three or more losses, shutting the conference out of the playoff and leaving commissioner Larry Scott befuddled.

In this case, its better for Alabama and Clemson to win out, lest one or both of these teams be placed ahead of OSU on name brand only.

All the Sooners have to do is win at Oklahoma State on Saturday and they appear to be a lock as one of the four teams to compete for the national championship this season. Period. A loss to UNC would be a bigger collapse than North Carolina QB Marquise Williams throwing two interceptions in the end zone – on the same play in the same spot of the end zone – in a now unthinkable season-opening loss to SC that will (no matter what) keep the Tar Heels from the CFP, too. Even if this did happen, the committee could very well have a change of heart from previous year on the whole “being a conference champion means the most” thing and decide to put in two-loss MI and/or Oklahoma in over two-loss Florida or one-loss North Carolina or Iowa.

The road to Big Ten elite status goes through the 5-6 Hoosiers. It wasn’t until the conference championship that the Buckeyes were rewarded with a Playoff spot. The Horned Frogs get the job done at home, avenging last season’s 61-58 loss in Waco and ruin the Bears’ playoff chances.

Baylor moved up to No. 7, Stanford to No. 9 and MI to No. 10. What I’m saying is, Oklahoma, as good as you’ve looked recently, we know your dark secret. The SEC and Big XII have four teams each and the ACC has three. Several games this weekend have the potential to shake up the top four even more. Baylor can win the Big 12 title by winning its remaining games combined with an OSU victory over Oklahoma. Alabama is ranked second this time around, but have a Heisman Trophy contender powering heir backfield in Derrick Henry.

If the Crimson Tide wins Saturday against Auburn in the Iron Bowl, it would clinch the SEC West and move on to Atlanta for a game against Florida in the SEC Championship Game.

Notre Dame (10-1) also plays its last game of the season Saturday, a possible résumé-builder against Stanford, which is ninth in the rankings.

In the Big 10, only Iowa remains unbeaten. Iowa (11-0, Big Ten) 5. My difference maker will be the run game of Ohio State. The Big 12 round robin November continues, as this week we get #3 Baylor traveling to so-not-rival #28 TCU.

BEST OF REST: CFL: Grey Cup, Ottawa Redblacks vs. Edmonton Eskimos (3:30 p.m., ESPN2 (31)); NFL: Buffalo Bills at Kansas City Chiefs (10 a.m., CBS (8)), New York Giants at Washington Redskins (10 a.m., Fox (5)), Pittsburgh Steelers at Seattle Seahawks (1:25 p.m., CBS (8)). The victor of this game will face Stanford for the Pac-12 title. But the Big Ten could also be looking at missing the playoff if it wasn’t for Northwestern. But any scenario that ends in a playoff berth for these teams starts with a win Saturday at Stanford Stadium. Their inability to score will hurt them this week, as I am taking Florida State to win in the swamp. Florida State (9-2, ACC) 14. The Buckeyes, who began the season as a unanimous No. 1 and slipped to No. 2 earlier this month, fell to eighth. DeShone Kizer is completing 64.3 percent of his passes for 2,362 yards, 18 touchdowns and nine interceptions. Neither did a 28-7 win against 3-8 Wake Forest the week before in which the Irish were outgained.

The only now ranked opponent Alabama has beaten is No. 21 Mississippi State.