Best Sports Betting Picks Today: College Football, College Basketball Predictions for December 7th

The four major college football conferences hold their championship games on Saturday and four of the teams playing are ranked among the top five and competing against a fellow Top 5 foe.

The Big Ten contest features top-ranked Oregon, which will try to remain unbeaten while facing No. 3 Penn State. In the Southeastern Conference game, No. 2 Texas faces No. 5 Georgia, a team that spanked the Longhorns during the regular season.

It is a winner-take-all affair in the Big 12 when No. 15 Arizona State plays No. 16 Iowa State. In the Atlantic Coast Conference, No. 17 Clemson needs to win, and if it does, No. 8 SMU falls squarely on the bubble in terms of landing one of the 12 spots.

We also have a Top 10 showdown in college basketball between No. 4 Kentucky and No. 7 Gonzaga in the Battle in Seattle. We’ll study that contest as well as the two college football matchups featuring top-five teams.

GEORGIA BULLDOGS VS. TEXAS LONGHORNS

The Bulldogs (10-2) handed Texas (11-1) its lone loss of the regular season with a convincing 30-15 victory in Austin. Georgia sped to a 23-0 halftime lead and held the Longhorns to 29 rushing yards, with 21 coming on one play from Texas backup quarterback Arch Manning.

The Longhorns will hope Quinn Ewers can better that 4.9 average per attempt when he was 25 of 43 for 211 yards, two touchdowns and one interception. The 30 points allowed was stunning as Texas allowed just 38 points in six games entering the contest.

Georgia’s losses were to Alabama and Ole Miss, and it just needed eight overtimes to post a 44-42 victory over Georgia Tech. Quarterback Carson Beck has thrown 11 touchdown passes without an interception in the past three games, and the Bulldogs need to see that version of him.

Beck was intercepted three times in the win over Texas. Georgia coach Kirby Smart says the results of the first game don’t matter—he’s right; we see Texas taking it this time.

Texas -2.5 spread, -118 (DraftKings)

PENN STATE NITTANY LIONS VS. OREGON DUCKS

The Ducks are the lone unbeaten team in the FBS and have topped 30 on 10 occasions and have won eight games by 21 or more points. They also had good fortune while beating Boise State on a last-second field goal and prevailing against Ohio State when Buckeyes quarterback Will Howard slid short of a first down and time ran out.

Quarterback Dillon Gabriel is battle-tested in his sixth campaign and is highly efficient with 24 touchdown passes against six interceptions. The Ducks have also given up 14 or fewer points seven times this season.

They don’t call him “Big Game James Franklin” as the Penn State coach has continually come up short in big games, including a 20-13 loss to then-No. 4 Ohio State in early November. But Franklin’s quarterback is solid, and Drew Allar also avoids mistakes and has 18 touchdowns against five interceptions.

Can Franklin change the narrative with a first-round playoff bye on the line? Thinking no, because Oregon coach Dan Lanning will figure out how to keep the Ducks unbeaten.

Oregon -3.5 spread, -102 (DraftKings)

KENTUCKY WILDCATS VS. GONZAGA BULLDOGS

This is the third straight season that these two powerhouses are meeting, and Gonzaga won the previous two. The Bulldogs definitely are in the favorite’s role with the matchup being in Seattle, even though they recently lost to West Virginia in overtime in the Battle 4 Atlantis tourney.

Kentucky won its first seven games before losing at Clemson on Tuesday, and the Wildcats will be looking to bounce back. The Wildcats beat then-No. 6 Duke earlier this season, so another signature victory is possible.

New Kentucky coach Mark Pope and Gonzaga coach Mark Few are highly familiar with each other, as Pope used to be the coach at BYU, which played in the West Coast Conference with the Zags before the school joined the Big 12. But Pope is well aware that he’s 1-9 against Few—0-1 at Utah Valley and 1-8 at BYU.

Gonzaga’s Graham Ike is playing well. Ike scored 23 points when the Bulldogs won at Kentucky last season, and he will be a key figure on Saturday.

Gonzaga -6 spread, -108 (DraftKings)