NFL Week 13 Picks w/College Football Update

This past weekend was a blood bath in college football on the HOTPO beat. Ugh. Just tough. 

Indiana went into the weekend 10-0 and ranked #5 in the College Football Playoff seedings. They got boat-raced by the evil empire of Ohio State Saturday, 38-15. The Hoosiers are the first top-5 team to accumulate only 151 yards in a game since the turn of the century, according to Chris Phelps of Athlon Sports.

The Hoosiers already have a 10-win season and that is a massive success if the season ended today. Indiana still has a tenuous grip on a slot in the CFP, as well. From the perspective of a long-suffering Hoosiers football follower, things are good and Indiana fans just need the basketball team to perform at this high level.

The 19th-ranked (!) Army team came into their matchup with 6th-ranked Notre Dame 9-0 and got blasted, 49-14. It’s no shame and totally understandable that Army has a team filled with players that would never be recruited by Notre Dame, as mentioned by Army coach Jeff Monken as reported in a South Bend Tribune article by Mike Berardino. Army made some mistakes early and then got legitimately hosed by some calls to initiate an avalanche of Irish points. 

Two times, after excellent Army plays, questionable penalty flags called back significant Army plays when the game was still in the balance. Everything has to go perfectly for an Army team to beat a Notre Dame team and things didn’t go perfectly Saturday. I just hope a high percentage of these Army football players serve our country in uniform for a high number of years, because that would be good for us as a nation. 

Finally, the Maryland Terrapins officially became bowl-ineligible with a loss to the Iowa Hawkeyes, 29-13. It is the Terrapins fourth-straight loss and will end their three-year bowl victory streak. It was never in doubt, but the HOTPO “covered” it live.

Maryland football is a great economic opportunity for sports degenerates along the Potomac. Ticket prices have gone up a little since the Terrapins have been enjoying a modicum of success recently, but they are still at a fairly low price. Plus, a parking pass can be purchased through the university for $20 – hard to beat. 

We parked in MV Lot this year, and I would avoid it. We basically tailgated by ourselves for an hour before throwing stuff back in the van and moving to the primo tailgates in Lots Z, 1b, 1c and 3. As always, we were greeted with open arms and multiple beverages when we did reach the prime tailgate lots. 

This year’s annual HOTPO coverage of a Maryland game included a noon kickoff. Ben Strauss of the Washington Post recently penned an article about Big Ten fans complaining about similarly early kickoffs. The HOTPO staff finds that utterly ridiculous – like a prisoner complaining about a conjugal visit.

I am totally in love with the early kickoff. You are out the door early, tailgating prior to lunch time and back home for dinner. The HOTPO staff has received significant positive reactions from the game day staff and is definitely looking forward to getting back to College Park in 2025. 

HOTPO staff with game day augmentees tailgating in the dead zone of MV Lot in College Park, Md.

Little game day life hack, buy upper deck seats and walk right into empty seats in the lower bowl.

Well aware that Maryland football is not top tier tailgating like probably every Southeastern Conference School, but with the right game day augmentees, it is always a blast for the HOTPO staff. 

Week 13 Picks

OK, the HOTPO staff is under the gun this weekend. The headquarters is transforming from fall decorations to Christmas décor and the senior editor wants outdoor lights up today. This has to be quick.

Los Angeles Chargers (-1) at Atlanta Falcons: I have more faith in Los Angeles than Atlanta, but the Falcons are coming off a bye week, at home, and matched against a Chargers team on a short week. – FALCONS  

Pittsburgh Steelers at Cincinnati Bengals (-3): Doesn’t everyone believe Pittsburgh isn’t as good as their record and Cincinnati is better than theirs? – BENGALS 

Houston Texans (-4) at Jacksonville Jaguars: Houston lost a winnable game last week against an inferior team. That scenario should not play out two weeks in a row. – TEXANS 

Arizona Cardinals at Minnesota Vikings (-3.5): Minnesota has an impressive record, but hasn’t looked impressive for weeks. Arizona is the type of team that will give them a good opportunity to look impressive again. – VIKINGS 

Indianapolis Colts (-2.5) at New England Patriots: Indianapolis is a road favorite. They should win this game. They will probably find a new and unique way to look inept. – PATRIOTS 

Tennessee Titans at Washington Commanders (-5.5): Washington offensive coordinator Kliff Kingsbury has a 0.666 winning percentage as a head coach for the Arizona Cardinals and Texas Tech through the first seven games of those seasons and a 0.235 winning percentage in those stops from the 8th game onward. As Jackson Stone of Clutch Points reports, he is seemingly unaware and unconcerned about this shockingly consistent negative trend that happened last year when he was the OC at Southern Cal and is happening again this year. Tennessee might be bad enough to help Washington and Kingsbury buck that trend. – COMMANDERS 

Tampa Bay Buccaneers (-6) at Carolina Panthers: The miserable Panthers are kind of getting it together, but the Buccaneers should be playing with the desperation of a team just outside the playoffs. – BUCCANEERS 

Los Angeles Rams (-2.5) at New Orleans Saints: Similar to the game above, you have a bad home team that is kind of piecing things together for a late run at nothing and a more talented visitor that needs this game to keep their slim playoff hopes alive. – RAMS 

Philadelphia Eagles at Baltimore Ravens (-3): This is a “must watch” game. Baltimore got a big win last week and I think they get another one this week. Of course, it will not matter if the Ravens bonk in the playoffs again, but we are not there yet. – RAVENS 

San Francisco 49ers at Buffalo Bills (-7): Speaking of coming up short in the playoffs, here is Buffalo coming off a big win over Kansas City last week. San Francisco is a tough, talented team that could catch a Bills team feeling too confident after beating the reigning Super Bowl champions. Injuries have devastated the 49ers so far this year and still weigh heavy on them now. – BILLS 

Cleveland Browns at Denver Broncos (-5.5): Denver head coach Sean Payton may absolutely be one of the worst humans to ever walk the planet, but he should be similarly highly rated as a quarterback coach and offensive guru. – BRONCOS