College football Week 13 SEC and Top 25 picks by Caleb Calhoun

Here are Caleb Calhoun’s college football Week 13 picks for SEC and top 25 games.

For the second time in three weeks, Tennessee football won’t be playing a game due to a COVID-related postponement. The Vols will next take the field against the Florida Gators on Dec. 5. However, the college football season still goes on, and there are plenty of games to pick this week. Let’s first recap how I did last week.

Week 12 performance

Straight up: 7-2

Gambling picks: 7-11

• 4-5 against the spread
• 3-6 over/under

Overall performance for 2020

Straight up: 54-19

Gambling picks: 66-78

• 29-43 against the spread
• 37-35 over/under

Yes, it was another bad week for me. In fact, this has not been my year. However, there are lots of games on the horizon the next few weeks. We’ve got six SEC picks and two other non-conference top 25 games to pick, making for eight overall. So let’s dive in. These are my SEC and top 25 picks for Week 13 of the college football season.

Texas +1.5; Under 56.5

It’s a common theme for Tom Herman’s Texas Longhorns to start off slow but then grab the attention of the college football world with a strong finish. They are now on a three-game winning streak, and they’ll repeat what they’ve done in the past with an outright upset on Saturday. Take the under, as Texas controls the clock the way they have been in recent weeks.

Notre Dame -5.5; Over 66.5

Both the Notre Dame Fighting Irish and North Carolina Tar Heels have a top 25 scoring offense. UNC’s defense is among the worst, though, ranked No. 68. As a result, take the points straight up. Also, take Notre Dame to cover. They’ll dominate UNC, and Mack Brown’s team won’t have enough firepower to keep up.

Kentucky +22.5; Under 61.5

Kyle Trask and the Florida Gators’ offense looked a bit mortal against the Vanderbilt Commodores. Despite how they looked against the Alabama Crimson Tide, the Kentucky Wildcats do have a solid defense. As a result, UF will come away with another comfortable win, but it won’t be pretty, and the over is a bit too high.

Vanderbilt +14.5; Under 51.5

Eliah Drinkwitz is overachieving with the Missouri Tigers, but ironically, it’s not due to his offense. Mizzou is winning with solid defense and ugly play, and the Vanderbilt Commodores are getting better. As a result, Missouri will win again, but the game hits the under, and Vandy covers.

Auburn +24.5; Over 62.5

Nick Saban not being on the field is enough for us to give the Auburn Tigers a chance to stay in this game. Bo Nix and the offense will get in a bit of a rhythm and give the Alabama Crimson Tide’s defense a scare, particularly without Saban. Those points will be enough for Auburn to cover and the game to hit the over, but Bama still wins because of its elite offense.

Ole Miss -9.5; Over 67.5

Mike Leach picks random weeks for his offenses to take off, and last week was one of those weeks. Well, it’ll not happen two weeks in a row because of how horrendous the Ole Miss Rebels’ defense has been. Lane Kiffin’s offense will take off as well, though, and in the Egg Bowl rivalry we all want, bet on points. Ole Miss covers late in a shootout.

Texas A&M -14.5; Under 63.5

Ed Orgeron’s LSU Tigers keep alternating between wins and losses, and they didn’t look like they made any improvements after last week’s loss to the Arkansas Razorbacks. The Texas A&M Aggies, meanwhile, have had two weeks off. As a result, expect a blowout here with A&M still in the hunt for the College Football Playoff. LSU won’t score enough for this to hit the over.

Georgia -21.5; Over 49.5

In their first game after Will Muschamp, the South Carolina Gamecocks played hard against the Missouri Tigers and saw a defensive resurgence. They’ll use that energy to take a fight to the Georgia Bulldogs, whose defense is regressing. As a result, expect this game to hit the over while USC covers, but UGA pulls out the win.