It’s the last weekend of the college football regular season, which means this is our final opportunity to scour a full list of games and put together parlays.
On Saturday, I’m all about the underdogs. I’ve found a couple of close games where we can extract extra value on the moneyline, along with some big dogs that should cover the spread against their powerhouse opponents.
Keep reading to find out who I’m betting on in my best college football parlay picks for Week 13.
Week 13 college football parlay picks
- Minnesota moneyline (+145) + Louisville moneyline (+130) = +463
- Auburn +22 (-110) + South Carolina +14.5 (-110) = +264
Click on each pick to jump to the full analysis.
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Parlay Pick 1
PARLAY: Minnesota moneyline (+145) + Louisville moneyline (+130) = +463 at bet365
Minnesota moneyline (+145)
The Minnesota Golden Gophers and the Wisconsin Badgers are no longer in the wild race for the Big Ten West title, but they’ll be playing for pride — and Paul Bunyan’s Axe — in this traditional rivalry game on Saturday.
Wisconsin (6-5) is fresh off a 15-14 win at the Nebraska Cornhuskers, though it needed to score twice late in the fourth to earn bowl eligibility. The Golden Gophers (7-4) lost to the Iowa Hawkeyes 13-10 last week, ending their hopes of getting to the Big Ten Championship.
These two teams play similarly, relying on shutdown defenses and strong running attacks to win low-scoring slogs. But while they may share a style, Minnesota does just about everything better than Wisconsin. The Golden Gophers have held opponents to just 13.1 points per game, and are among the top rushing teams in the country, running for 4.8 yards per attempt and 229.5 yards per game.
Minnesota should be able to shut down a Wisconsin offense that hasn’t been able to throw the ball effectively behind quarterback Graham Mertz, and which may be without leading rusher Braelon Allen. I wouldn’t expect a whole lot of points in this game, but Minnesota should find it easier to crack through a good — not great — Wisconsin defense.
I’m taking the Golden Gophers to win straight up.
Louisville moneyline (+130)
When the Louisville Cardinals (7-4) visit the Kentucky Wildcats (6-5), we usually only care if we’re talking about men’s basketball. Refreshingly enough, both schools have put together solid football seasons that will see them competing in bowl games this postseason.
First, they’ll face off for an in-state rivalry game to close out the regular season on Saturday. Kentucky started the year as one of the best stories in college football, but the Wildcats have lost five of their last seven to slip out of the public discourse.
Most concerning for the Wildcats is that their offense seems to have dried up against better competition. Kentucky has scored 21 points or less in six of its last seven games and ranks outside the Top 100 in the country in ypg (339) and scoring (21.7 ppg).
Louisville has won five of its last six, working its way back up to No. 25 in the latest College Football Playoff rankings. Other than in a loss to Clemson, the Cardinals have held opponents to 21 points or less in each of these games, and they have given up an average of just 19.6 ppg this season.
We have two teams heading in different directions and a nightmare matchup for Kentucky’s offense. Kentucky will be playing for pride in front of its home fans, but Louisville is just the better team here and should walk away with the win.
Parlay Pick 2
PARLAY: Auburn +22 (-110) + South Carolina +14.5 (-110) = +264 at DraftKings
Auburn +22
The Alabama Crimson Tide are suffering through a down year... if going 9-2 and still being on the fringes of the College Football Playoff discussion can count as suffering. Still, just by watching the Tide play, it is apparent that this isn’t the kind of dominant juggernaut we’re used to seeing under the Nick Saban regime.
Alabama has squeaked by in wins over Mississippi Rebels, Texas A&M, and Texas. The Crimson Tide have still put up elite numbers on offense, scoring 40 points per game, and are giving up an average of just 17.2 points a week on defense. But they’ve run up those margins against weaker opponents while playing close games against most of their SEC rivals.
Auburn (5-6) has managed to play their conference opponents close as well, though the Tigers came out on the wrong end of those matchups. They lost by just three to Texas A&M, four to LSU Tigers, and took Mississippi State to overtime.
Alabama shouldn’t have any trouble winning this game and finishing the regular season with 10 wins. However, this isn’t the kind of game that sets up well for a blowout, given how these teams have played all season. Getting more than three touchdowns, I’m taking Auburn and the points.
South Carolina +14.5
The South Carolina Gamecocks (7-4) are coming off their biggest win in years, having beaten the Tennessee Volunteers 63-38 last Saturday. They’ll try to follow it up with another win over a playoff contender when they visit the Clemson Tigers this weekend.
South Carolina has put together a solid season even outside of last week’s upset, including a nice win over Kentucky and a 4-4 overall record in the SEC.
Of course, that resume doesn’t match up to the Clemson Tigers (10-1). Clemson could still sneak into the College Football Playoff if it wins out and dominate in the ACC Championship Game. While the Tigers have struggled to put teams away, they’ve gotten all the wins they need, with the exception of a bad 35-14 loss against Notre Dame.
Despite last week’s performance, I don’t think South Carolina is primed for an upset here. The Gamecocks struggle to run the ball, while Clemson can pound away at a weak Gamecocks rush defense. That means the Tigers should control the time of possession and dominate at the line of scrimmage, allowing them to grind out a win.
At the same time, Clemson hasn’t shown the ability to blow out any quality opponents this year. Wake Forest, Florida State, and Syracuse all played the Tigers within one possession, while Louisville and North Carolina State kept the game within two scores.
Clemson will prevail, but South Carolina should keep this one close and within the two-touchdown spread.
