Week 13 of the 2025 college football season rolls on with Thursday and Friday action. Welcome to our CFB Best Bets as we break down CFB picks for this week’s games. Let’s focus on two matchups for our CFB predictions. Plus, check out more college football bets below. 

We’ll kick things off on Thursday night with a Sun Belt matchup between Louisiana and Arkansas State. Plus, Florida State takes on NC State in an ACC showdown on Friday night. All bets below are for one unit unless otherwise noted. All odds and lines are accurate as of this writing, but subject to change. Without further ado, let’s dive into our CFB Best Bets. 
 

 

 

CFB Picks, Predictions & Best Bets: Thursday, 11/20

Thursday’s Week 13 slate features just a single standalone game. Arkansas State is a 2.5-point favorite at home vs. Louisiana, with a 54.5 over/under on FanDuel Sportsbook. Let’s break down this Sun Belt matchup to begin our CFB picks. 

Louisiana vs. Arkansas State Prediction: Thursday, November 20th

This should be a tight game as Louisiana and Arkansas State are separated by just a game in their regular-season and conference records. Plus, both teams are coming off their respective bye weeks. Let’s go with the home Red Wolves with multiple stats and trends pointing in their direction. 

Arkansas State will be looking to bounce back after losing at home to Southern Miss last time out. That home loss was a rare one, though. Over the past three seasons combined, the Red Wolves are now 12-3 straight up at home against non-power conference teams. That includes an 8-3 record in home conference games.

With a win this week, Arkansas State can also become bowl eligible with its 6th victory of the season. That’s notable because it’s something that head coach Butch Jones has done the last two years with the program. Getting it done this week would be huge with a tough road trip to Appalachian State up next. Furthermore, this is a revenge spot after Louisiana served up a 55-19 beatdown of Ark St last year. 

As for the Ragin’ Cajuns, they’ve won their last two games ahead of this matchup. However, those victories came against a pair of struggling teams in South Alabama and Texas State. Plus, this is still a Louisiana squad that was 2-6 just a few weeks ago. 

Now that we laid all of that out, let’s get to the game. Louisiana’s defense has been a liability all year. The Ragin’ Cajuns are allowing 30.3 PPG this season (110th in FBS) while giving up 409.6 total yards per contest (106th). They’ve also struggled to stop both the run and pass during conference play. Plus, the defense ranks 124th nationally in EPA/Play and 120th in success rate. 

Arkansas State has the balanced offense to take advantage and put up points. Quarterback Jalen Raynor is the headliner with a dangerous dual-threat skillset to stretch opposing defenses. On that note, Louisiana has had issues with attacks that can beat it through the air or on the ground. 

Meanwhile, Louisiana’s offense isn’t much better. It ranks 99th nationally in total yards per game, 107th in EPA/Play, and 126th in success rate offensively. Admittedly, Arkansas State isn’t that strong on defense. Yet, the Red Wolves can limit a Louisiana attack that’s been very inconsistent. 

 

 

 

CFB Picks, Predictions & Best Bets: Friday, 11/21

Let’s now turn our attention to Friday night for our CFB best bets. NC State hosts Florida State in a primetime ACC matchup. The Seminoles are 4.5-point road favorites with a 61.5 over/under in the game. Time to dive into more CFB predictions. 

Florida State vs. NC State Prediction: Friday, November 21st

These ACC squads are both 5-5 heading into this matchup. Florida State and North Carolina State had bigger aspirations for this season, especially the Seminoles, but now they’re just fighting to make a bowl game appearance. This game could go either way in terms of the spread, but let’s just focus on a team total. 

NC State’s defense has been giving up a ton of points lately. The Wolfpack have allowed at least 36 points in 4 straight games, while giving up an average of 41.5 PPG in this stretch. They’ve also allowed 34.0 PPG to FBS opponents this season, which ranks 120th in the country. 

The stats back up those defensive struggles as well. NC State ranks 127th in the country in total yards allowed per game and 125th in defensive EPA. The issues on defense have been very evident recently. The Wolfpack have given up 581 total yards to Miami (FL), 559 to Georgia Tech, 529 to Pittsburgh, and 485 to Notre Dame in their past 4 games. 

Though Florida State has been up and down offensively this year, it’s had success against weaker defenses. The ‘Noles are averaging 36.4 PPG (17th in FBS) while gaining 487.5 total yards per contest (7th). They also rank 16th nationally in EPA/Play and 26th in success rate on offense. 

FSU has also re-found its offensive rhythm in recent games. The Seminoles just put up 34 points and 431 total yards against Virginia Tech last week, and they scored 42 points with 421 yards vs. Wake Forest two games before. Their record may be disappointing, but the offense is still one that can exploit shaky defenses like NC State’s.

Let’s take the over on Florida State’s team total. The ‘Noles have scored 30+ points in 7 of 10 games this season and will be looking to end the year strong. 

 

 

 

Best CFB Prop Bets & Other Picks for Thursday & Friday, Week 13

 

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