The first weekend in December is usually reserved for conference championship games, but not this year. Instead, 2020 has delivered us a few extra weeks of regular-season play before conference champions are crowned the weekend before Christmas.
No. 5 Texas A&M will look to keep its College Football Playoff hopes alive when it travels to Jordan-Hare Stadium to take on Auburn, LSU will host No. 1 Alabama in what is typically one of nation's biggest games of the year and No. 3 Clemson will travel into Lane Stadium to take on a Virginia Tech team that is in desperation mode.
Lines for most of the Week 14 games have been released by William Hill Sportsbook. Let's break down the the biggest games and examine what oddsmakers are thinking early in the week.
No. 1 Alabama (-28) at LSU: My, how things have changed. It was fair to expect a big line in this one after the Tigers fell on hard times early this season. Four touchdowns? At home? Yeah, that's deserved. Teams have to get in shootouts in order to have a chance with Alabama, and there's no chance that LSU's offense is capable of doing that.
No. 3 Clemson (-21.5) at Virginia Tech: Tigers quarterback Trevor Lawrence came back with a vengeance, and the defense showed out last weekend against Pittsburgh. The Hokies, however, are getting no respect at all from oddsmakers after losing three straight games to Liberty, Miami and Pitt.
No. 5 Texas A&M (-4) at No. 22 Auburn: The Aggies didn't look very sharp on offense last week. More specifically, quarterback Kellen Mond struggled mightily in less-than-ideal conditions with heavy rain. The defense, however, absolutely dominated up front. That bodes well against an Auburn offensive line that hasn't give quarterback Bo Nix much help this year.
No. 6 Florida (-16.5) at Tennessee: The first game of the SEC on CBS doubleheader features traditional rivals that are going in different directions. The Gators are on a fast track toward the SEC Championship Game with Heisman Trophy contender Kyle Trask at quarterback. Meanwhile, the Volunteers have lost five straight after a hot start.
West Virginia at No. 13 Iowa State (-7): The Cyclones are coming off of a big win at Texas, and oddsmakers clearly think that they'll continue that hot streak against a Mountaineers team that had their game vs. Oklahoma last week canceled due to COVID-19 protocols.
Best of the rest
Syracuse at No. 3 Notre Dame (-33)
Vanderbilt at No. 9 Georgia (-33)
No. 15 Oregon (-9.5) at California
Liberty at No. 20 Coastal Carolina (-5.5)
Rice at No. 21 Marshall (-23.5)
No. 23 Oklahoma State (-1.5) at TCU
No. 24 Iowa (-12) at Illinois
No. 25 Tulsa (-10) at Navy
Stanford at Washington (-10)
