Free College Football Picks Today for Week Thirteen, 2023

Our free College Football picks are out for week thirteen, 2023! Make sure you check our College Football picks before the action kicks off.

Look below to find our free College Football picks for the five best games on today’s schedule!

Friday November 24th

#17 Iowa @ Nebraska – 12PM ET

Tony Battalio

The Iowa Hawkeyes have already clinched their side of the Big Ten and they are set for a date in Indianapolis next weekend. It has been somewhat of a successful season for Iowa and they will be looking to close out the regular season with a victory over Nebraska to win their tenth game of the year. The downside for Iowa is if they had any type of offense, they would likely be a national championship contender because of the way their defense has played throughout the year. However, that has not been the case and they now come into this game with their ceiling likely being a New Year’s Six bowl if they get the job done this week and next weekend in Indianapolis and win the Big Ten. That is often been the case for this Iowa Hawkeyes team and that will be the case this season, but they will still be looking to finish the regular season strong with a victory over Nebraska here on Friday afternoon.

Nebraska Cornhuskers are having their best season in quite awhile, as Matt Rhule has come in as a first year head coach, and put them on the brink of making a bowl game. A victory here on Friday afternoon against a top 25 ranked Iowa team would put Nebraska in a bowl game to finish off the season and put them in a solid position heading into next season as well. This is a Nebraska team that used to be a college football powerhouse throughout the 1990s but they have struggled over the last 10+ years and they are finally looking like a legitimate team on the upswing once again. A victory in this game on black Friday would only further cement that Nebraska is on their way back towards the upper echelon of college football. I expect this to be a close and competitive game, but in the end I look for the under hit on the total points as I look for this to be a defensive game throughout the entirety of the contest in Lincoln on Friday.

#11 Penn State @ Michigan State – 7:30PM ET

Tony Battalio

It has been a solid season for Penn State, and they will be looking to cap off the regular season with a quality win on the road in East Lansing against the Michigan State Spartans. Penn State will be looking to grab their tenth victory of the season with a quality performance here on Friday night but they have reached their ceiling as they have once again suffered losses to Ohio State and Michigan this season. They will be hoping to finish the year and pick up two victories to wrap up the year, one here on Friday and one in their bowl game, which could potentially be a New Year’s Six bowl game, depending how the last two weekends of the regular season shake out. They will need to improve a lot on the offensive side of the football as James Franklin will need to open up the playbook more next season if they want to be more successful against better teams in the conference as that is a problem that hurt them throughout the Michigan and Ohio State game. 

Michigan State arguably had a similar problem as Penn State this season against Ohio State and Michigan as they were blown out by their two biggest rivals this year. The difference between these two teams is Michigan State was downright awful throughout the regular season and they have a lot to do if they want to improve and become a contender once again. This is a Michigan State team that is likely a long time away from once again being in the upper echelon of teams within the conference, as they have plenty of problems to fix throughout the offseason. Michigan State comes into this game as losers of seven out of their first eleven games on the season. They will be looking for a massive momentum boosting victory to close out the regular season here on Friday night at home against Penn State. However, I don’t see that happening as I look for Penn State to not only pick up the victory in this game, but cover the spread in the process.

#16 Oregon State @ #6 Oregon – 8:30PM ET

Tony Battalio

Oregon State comes into this game off of the heels of a competitive loss to Washington in their previous game last weekend. Now they will be looking to bounce back and upset Oregon in this rival game and ruin Oregon hopes of winning a national championship this season. This is one of the best seasons Oregon State has had in quite some time, and they will be looking to cap off the regular season with a massive momentum boosting victory. Grabbing a victory in this game would likely guarantee them a spot in a major bowl game to finish off the season. They will have to play a mistake free game of football here on Friday night on the road and Autzen Stadium if they want to upset the Oregon Ducks. Oregon State comes into this game looking for their ninth win of the season, as they look to keep the possibility of a double digit win season alive. 

It has been an impressive year for the Oregon Ducks, and they will be looking to handle business here on Friday night at home against Oregon State. A victory in this game for Oregon on Friday night would put them in position to rematch Washington in the Pac-12 championship game for a spot in the college football playoffs. If they get the victory in this game on Friday night, it would also give them the opportunity to get revenge for their only loss of the season, which came to Washington a few weeks ago. They quite possibly may have a Heisman trophy winning quarterback leading them, as Bo Nix is one of the two favorites to win the award at the moment. This is an Oregon team that will either play in the college football playoffs or in one of the major ball games to cap off the season as they look to build up as much momentum as possible before heading into a brand new conference next season. I expect this to be a close competitive game, but in the end I do look for Oregon to pull out the win at home over Oregon State in the Civil War. 

Saturday November 25th

#2 Ohio State @ #3 Michigan – 12PM ET

Tony Battalio

Ohio State comes into this game undefeated for the second consecutive season and they will be looking to beat Michigan for the first time in three years with a victory here on Saturday afternoon in Ann Arbor. This is an Ohio State team that got used to beating their rivals up north over the last decade or so and now the tables are turned. Ohio State is struggling in this series and they will be desperate to pick up a victory over Michigan here on Saturday afternoon on the road. They have put together a pretty respectable season, but they have had some close calls throughout the year as they arguably should’ve lost to Notre Dame earlier this season, but this is a team that is still capable of competing for a national championship if they get hot at the right time throughout the last three games of the year. Kyle McCord has been impressive over the last couple weeks and until someone finds a way to stop Marvin Harrison, Ohio State arguably has no ceiling throughout the remainder of the season. 

Michigan comes into this game looking to get their third consecutive victory over Ohio State here at home on Saturday afternoon. Due to the ongoing scandal regarding them stealing opponents signs, Jim Harbaugh will not be on the sidelines for this game, and it awaits to be seen how it will affect the Wolverines throughout this contest. They will be looking to another undefeated, regular season and book their spot in the Big Ten championship game against Iowa next weekend with a victory here on Saturday against Ohio State. The winner of this game will arguably have a guaranteed playoff spot as well, regardless of how the game goes next weekend, unless they were to be blown out by the Iowa Hawkeyes, which seems very unlikely. I expect to be another close and competitive game throughout the majority of the contest much like the previous two games in this series have been. In the end, however, I do expect Michigan to pull away and get a third consecutive victory over Ohio State.

#8 Alabama @ Auburn – 3:30PM ET

Tony Battalio

Alabama comes into this game, looking to keep their college football playoff hopes alive as they take the field for the Iron Bowl gainst Auburn here on Saturday afternoon. This is an Alabama team that looked lost throughout the early part of the regular season, but they have found their rhythm coming down the stretch and that is not a good thing for the other teams and college football. They come into this game ranked inside of the top 10 of the country heading into their final, regular season game and a showdown with Georgia is set for the SEC championship game and the winner of that game is guaranteed a spot in the college football playoffs. Alabama will be looking to go out on the field here on Saturday at Jordan Hare and take care of business business against Auburn to remain in the college football playoff hunt as they look to potentially avenge their loss to Texas at some point down the line as well. 

Auburn is having an absolutely rough season and they are coming off a rather embarrassing loss to New Mexico State in their pre Iron Bowl warm up game. They will be looking to find a way to bounce back in their biggest game of the regular season as they look to take as much momentum as possible into the offseason with them. A victory in this game for Auburn would be a huge momentum boost for them heading into the off-season as they look to get this program turned around after a couple of rough seasons over the last couple of years. They will already be going bowling this season and they will be looking to take a ton of momentum into their bowl game with a victory over their rivals here on Saturday afternoon at home. Unfortunately, for the Auburn Tigers, I simply do not see that happening as I look for this to be a close game throughout the entire entirety of the contest, but in the end I look for Alabama to pick up the victory over Auburn.

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*Odds and spreads correct at time of publication, courtesy of BetMGM.