NCAA Football Best Parlays of Week 12

After last week’s perfect play we’re now 2-2 on our parlays and 8-4 on our overall picks, and we haven’t missed in two weeks. What say we capitalize on this little run of luck we’re having with another surefire college football parlay for the NCAA’s upcoming Week 12 slate? This week we’re looking for Trevor Lawrence to return and carry Clemson to a huge win in Tallahassee over the Seminoles, Florida International and Western Kentucky to keep the scoring to a minimum, and the undefeated Bearcats to trample the high-flying Knights.

No. 4 Clemson Tigers (-35.5) (-108) (888sport) @ Florida State Seminoles

November 21st, 12:00pm EST, Doak Campbell Stadium

After losing an overtime shocker to Notre Dame 47-40 two weeks ago the Clemson Tigers were forced to sit and stew in that loss for two full weeks as they went on their bye in Week 11. They’re back on the field this Saturday, and they’ll have their commander-in-chief along for the ride this time. Starting quarterback and Heisman-hopeful Trevor Lawrence will finally make his return to the gridiron against the Seminoles after being held out of action for nearly a month with health issues.

With Lawrence back and  the chip on their shoulder from the Notre Dame loss, the Tigers will first take on the helpless Seminoles, who have lost their past three games by a total of 72 points. Injury and transfer issues have forced Florida State to their third quarterback option as well, which doesn’t bode well when you’re going up against a sophisticated front like Clemson’s.

The Tigers are not only lightyears better than the Seminoles, they also had an extra week to prepare. It’s like giving the smartest kid in the class an extra week to study for the test: you best believe they’re going to come correct. 36 points is a lot, but Clemson has already won twice by more than that this season. They’re also 4-1 ATS in their last five trips to Tallahassee, and they’re 11-4 ATS in their last 15 contests with FSU overall. We’ll start our parlay off with an early sure thing, as Lawrence carves up the Seminoles’ secondary while Travis Etienne gives them fits in the ground game.

Pick: Clemson Tigers Point Spread (-35.5) (-108) (888sport)

Florida International Panthers @ Western Kentucky Hilltoppers (-7.5) (-107) (888sport)

November 21st, 2:00pm EST, Houchens Industries-L.T. Smith Stadium

You probably didn’t even know this game was on the schedule for the NCAA’s Week 12, much less the teams that are participating in the contest, but you should get to know them now because there is a prop bet for this game that could prove quite profitable: under on the game’s total points (43.5 on 888sport). Conference-USA is not one of the stronger Group of Five conferences in college football today, and this matchup features the two worst offenses in that conference.

Not only are the offenses awful, but oddsmakers and sports betting sites have been consistently underestimating that fact, much to the satisfaction of Western Kentucky under bettors especially. Last week, the Hilltoppers combined with the Southern Miss to put up just 17 points in a game that had the over/under set at 49.5. The week before, their matchup with Florida Atlantic was expected to put up 38 and the game finished with 16. Two weeks prior to that, WKU had a 53.5-point total against Chattanooga in a game which finished with just 23 points.

In three games this season, WKU games have gone 20+ points under the total, and with the Panthers coming into Bowling Green boasting an offense just as awful as the one the Hilltoppers will be trotting out there, we think it’s a pretty safe bet for that to happen again. The last four Western Kentucky outings have gone under, so why not make it five straight?

Pick: Game Total Points Under (43.5) (-107) (888sport)

No. 7 Cincinnati Bearcats (-5.5) (-110) (888sport) @ Central Florida Knights

November 21st, 3:30pm EST, Bright House Networks Stadium

The Cincinnati Bearcats, still undefeated this deep into the season, have been one of the biggest surprises of the 2020 campaign. Though head coach Luke Fickell has gained a reputation for physicality and defensive prowess, the Bearcats have also been scoring with the best of them this season. Their next challenge, the UCF Knights, awaits them in Orange County this Saturday afternoon.

The Bearcats have been scoring a ton of points this season—41.6 per game to be exact, 13th in the nation—but the Knights score even more, sitting at 11th in all of NCAA Division I football with 44.0 points per game. They also gain more yards than any team in the country, averaging 619 yards of production every time out this season.

UCF hasn’t seen a defense like Cincinnati’s yet, however. While both the Bearcats and Knights have been seemingly scoring at will this season, the Bearcats’ defensive unit has been arguably better than its offensive attack, ranking 9th in the country in yards allowed per game, with 300.9. Both teams will put up points, but Fickell’s stingy defense will be the difference for the Bearcats in the end. Cincinnati is on a roll against the spread, with four straight ATS wins, while UCF has struggled, going 1-5 ATS in their last six games, and 1-6 ATS in their last seven home games.

Pick: Cincinnati Bearcats Point Spread (-5.5) (-110) (888sport)

While the UCF Knights are always liable to put up a ton of points, the value of less than a touchdown betting spread for the well-balanced Bearcats simply could not be passed up on. For our Week 12 NCAA football parlay, those dominant Bearcats steamroll the Knights, the Panthers and Hilltoppers will keep their offensive ineptitudes up, and the Tigers will decimate the Seminoles in Lawrence’s return. Godspeed, and may the odds be ever in our favor.