Scully's Week 12 college football picks: Wildcats will bury Bears

Most college football teams have only two regular-season games remaining, so we’ll look to finish strong.

Let’s get to our three college football picks for Week 12!

Auburn vs. South Carolina

Auburn’s season slipped away last week, as the Tigers gave up 40 unanswered points (and blew a 25-point lead) to Mississippi State and lost quarterback Bo Nix and kicker Anders Carlson.

The Tigers will try to rebound before hosting their major showdown against Alabama next week.

We’re grabbing the points with both hands and won’t be surprised to see South Carolina win straight up.

Shane Beamer inherited a mess in South Carolina, and it has been a season of turmoil, but the Gamecocks have developed an identity on defense (fifth nationally in turnovers gained) and Jason Brown has seized the quarterback role the last two weeks.

South Carolina has scored 68 combined points since the transfer took over starting duties.

Auburn peaked when recording back-to-back wins over Arkansas and Mississippi last month, but the Tigers have scored only six combined points in the second half of their last two games.

Look for more offensive woes this week. South Carolina’s defensive coordinator, Clayton White, has been nominated for the Broyles Award for his efforts, and the Gamecocks played with an attitude when crushing Florida in their last home game.

Go Cocks!

NCAAF pick: South Carolina +7

Syracuse vs. North Carolina State

North Carolina State plays their best football against run-oriented teams, and Syracuse features one of the nation’s worst passing offenses, which threw for only 46 yards in last week’s 41-3 loss to Louisville.

After winning back-to-back games, Syracuse appears to be entering an offensive funk. Garrett Shrader lacks confidence, and the Orange recently lost both backup quarterbacks (Tommy DeVito and Dillon Markiewicz) to the transfer portal.

All three of North Carolina State’s losses came against teams who put up big passing yards, and the Wolfpack have covered four straight against rivals who lacked the ability to hurt them through the air.

North Carolina State will take care of business against a limited Syracuse team.

NCAAF pick: North Carolina State -11.5

Baylor vs. Kansas State

Kansas State enters in good form, after comfortably winning their fourth straight game at West Virginia last week, and this is a play-against spot for Baylor.

Picked to finish eighth in Big 12 preseason polls, Baylor has been one of the biggest surprises in college football. But the Bears have been vulnerable on the road. They lost the last two away from home, and both followed thrilling wins.

After edging Iowa State, Baylor lost by double digits at Oklahoma State. The Bears followed a wild comeback win over Texas with a clunker at TCU, losing as 7.5-point favorites, and it was a wild scene in Waco last week, after Baylor handed Oklahoma its first defeat of the season.

Skylar Thompson’s improved passing skills (sixth in the nation with a 71.6% completion rate) have enabled Kansas State to average more than 31 points per game during the win streak, and running back Deuce Vaughn is making a significant impact for their surging offense.

The Wildcats are playing their best defense of the season, holding the last three opponents under 20 points, and we like Kansas State to win straight up!

NCAAF pick: Kansas State +1