Along with a complete list of odds for the top 25 games, here are quick-hit previews for some of the marquee matchups for Week 12 in college football.

No. 8 LSU at Ole Miss, 3:30PM Saturday
The Tigers travel to Oxford this Saturday to take on an Ole Miss team that has won four of its last five games. LSU’s excellent front seven will have its hands full with running back Dexter McCluster, who is coming off an eye-popping four-touchdown, 282-yard rushing performance against Tennessee last weekend.

No. 12 Ohio State at Michigan, 12:00PM Saturday
This rivalry has certainly lost a lot of its luster over the past two seasons as the Wolverines continue to flounder under Rich Rodriguez. One would think that this game would be over by halftime, but never underestimate the power of a rivalry. For the most part, the Buckeyes struggled with a depleted Iowa team last week, so you never know if Tate Forcier and company can rise to the challenge and shock Jim Tressel’s team. Michigan certainly has more than enough offense to contend, but its defense has often been abused this season and might suffer a similar fate this weekend. (Of course, if Tressel continues to play things ultra-conservative with his offense, then maybe the Wolverine defense can keep UM in the ballgame.)

No. 25 California at No. 17 Stanford, 7:30PM ET Saturday
Of all the games on the Week 12 schedule, this might be the best matchup, although Cal will once again be without star running back Jahvid Best (concussion). Jim Harbaugh has his team playing as well as anyone in the country right now and is coming off impressive back-to-back wins over Oregon and USC. Running back Toby Gerhart has been a one-man wrecking crew for the Cardinal while compiling 1,395 yards and 19 touchdowns on 262 carries. Can the Golden Bear defense stop Gerhart or will they be yet another victim?

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Along with a complete list of point spreads for the top 25 action in college football, here is a quick-hit look at some of the marquee matchups in Week 11.

No. 25 West Virginia at No. 5 Cincinnati, Friday, November 13
This is the first of three important games left on the Bearcats’ schedule. After playing the Mountaineers on Friday night, Brian Kelly’s squad will take on Big Ten foe Illinois on November 27 and then have a marquee Big East showdown with No. 12 PITT on December 5. Kelly won’t have starting quarterback Tony Pike again this week as the senior continues to nurse a forearm injury. That means impressive sophomore Zach Collaros will once again be counted on to keep Cincinnati’s BCS hopes alive. After ratting off four straight wins to get to 6-1 on the season, West Virginia has struggled the past two weeks. They were defeated by South Florida two weeks ago and then struggled generating offense against a below-average Louisville team last Saturday. Will Collaros and the rest of Cincy’s backfield be too much for the Mountaineers to handle?
Odds: Cincinnati –9.

No. 16 Utah at No. 4 TCU, 7:30PM ET, Saturday
Now that the Horned Frogs have leapt into the No. 4 spot in the rankings, they have one more hurdle to overcome on their schedule before they let fate take the wheel for the rest of the season. Utah will do everything in its power to knock off its Mountain West foe and gain the inside edge for a second straight conference title. But the Utes’ task is a daunting one. TCU has the sixth best rushing attack in the nation and are ranked eighth in total offense. They also rank third in total defense and fifth in scoring defense. The Frogs look like a small-school juggernaut right now but if they will be challenged this weekend in Fort Worth.
Odds: TCU –19.5.

No. 10 Iowa at No. 11 Ohio State, 3:30PM ET, Saturday
In the blink of an eye, the Hawkeyes saw their national title hopes and quarterback go down in one fall swoop last Saturday as Northwestern shocked them at home. Now Iowa can only hope for a Big Ten title, but even that looks dim considering it has to go into Columbus this week in attempts to beat a confident Ohio State team. The Buckeyes knocked off Penn State last Saturday in Happy Valley and now has the inside track to winning the Big Ten again this season. The Hawkeyes will start redshirt freshman James Vanderberg, who struggled last week after Ricky Stanzi suffered an injury in the first half. Asking a redshirt freshman to beat the Buckeyes in Columbus is no small order and it appears that Iowa’s magical 2009 season won’t have a fairytale ending.
Odds: Ohio State –17.

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