Five CFB games to watch: Washington, LSU QB Jayden Daniels state their case in Week 12

The penultimate week of the regular season is here, with teams, players and coaches trying to state their case.

Washington tries to prove it’s a top-four team in the country on the road against Oregon State, LSU quarterback Jayden Daniels makes another argument for the Heisman and Florida head coach Billy Napier is possibly coaching for his job.

Here’s what to watch for in Week 12.

The five-star game: No. 5 Washington (10-0) at No. 11 Oregon State (8-2) | 7:30 p.m. ET

The Huskies withstood their Pac-12 gauntlet thus far, picking up wins against ranked teams including No. 6 Oregon (9-1) and No. 22 Utah (7-3). Another challenge awaits on the road in Corvallis.

Quarterback D.J. Uiagalelei and running back Damien Martinez lead the Beavers on offense. Uiagalelei, a former five-star recruit who played at Clemson from 2020-22, has 20 touchdowns and only four interceptions, while Martinez leads the Pac-12 in rushing (1,024 yards). The Huskies are 50th in scoring defense (23.5 points per game) and 52nd against the run (140.3 yards allowed per game). Quarterback Michael Penix Jr., a leading contender for Heisman, must have another big game for the Huskies to remain undefeated.

The Heisman game: Georgia State (6-4) at No. 15 LSU (7-3) | 8 p.m. ET

Tigers quarterback Jayden Daniels’ Heisman stock skyrocketed following his historic performance against Florida in Week 11. Daniels finished with 606 total yards, becoming the first player in FBS history to throw for 350 yards and rush for 200 yards in a single game. A Heisman win for Daniels would give LSU its second in five seasons after Joe Burrow won the award in 2019. 

Through 10 games, Daniels’s stats compare favorably to the No. 1 overall pick of the 2020 NFL Draft. Burrow had 3,902 total yards, 41 touchdowns, six interceptions and a 202.7 passing efficiency rating, while Daniels has 4,082 total yards, 38 touchdowns, four interceptions and a 202.1 passing efficiency rating.

Head coach Brian Kelly, who said he usually refrains from politicking for individual awards, has been forced to change his tune because of Daniels.

“I think you have to be able to talk about your players when they’re doing something that’s so special, and in particular what Jayden’s doing … somebody that is clearly a frontrunner for the Heisman trophy, and I don’t know that I’ve had somebody make that kind of jump,” said Kelly, via NOLA.com. 

Upset special: No. 21 Kansas State (7-3) at No. 25 Kansas (7-3) | 7 p.m. ET

The in-state rivals meet as ranked opponents for the first time since Oct. 28, 1995, a 41-7 Wildcats win. Kansas leads the series 65-50-5 but has lost 14 in a row (2009-22). Only two of the meetings since 2009 have been decided by seven points or less, and Kansas State’s average margin of victory is 26.5 points.

Per oddschecker, the Wildcats are an eight-point favorite and have the best defense Kansas has faced since it lost 40-14 to No. 7 Texas (9-1). Logic says the Wildcats should win, but that won’t stop us from backing Kansas as the home underdog. In its three losses, Kansas State allowed 53 carries for 306 yards to running backs including Missouri’s Cody Schrader, Oklahoma State’s Ollie Gordon II, and Texas’ Jonathon Brooks. Kansas’s two-headed monster in the backfield, Devin Neal and Daniel Hishaw Jr., will be the next to exploit Kansas State on the ground.

Under-the-radar game: Florida (5-5) at No. 9 Missouri (8-2) | 7:30 p.m. ET

Is this the end of the line for head coach Billy Napier in Gainesville? The second-year head coach might be done at Florida. In Week 11’s loss to LSU, the Gators allowed 701 yards, the most in program history, and they end the season with games against teams ranked in the top 10 of the College Football Playoff, Mizzou and No. 4 Florida State (10-0). If Florida loses its final two, it will secure a losing record for the third consecutive year, the program’s longest streak since 1945-47, as well as miss a bowl game for the first time since 2017.

Wild-card game: No. 10 Louisville (9-1) at Miami (6-4) | 12 p.m. ET

Few predicted Louisville to be this year’s TCU, but here we are. The Cardinals, in head coach Jeff Brohm’s first season, have undergone a remarkable turnaround not unlike the one Sonny Dykes orchestrated in his first season with the Horned Frogs in 2022. Like TCU a season ago, Louisville still has a path to the playoff, but it would admittedly take a lot of chaos to happen. However, that path will crumble with a loss to the Hurricanes, a one-point favorite that ESPN Analytics gives a 52.8 percent chance of winning. Miami lost a close one to Florida State, 27-20, in Week 11 and should remain competitive against Louisville, which secures a berth in the ACC championship with a win.