CBS Sports Network’s continued coverage of the 2024 college football season features seven games for the Week 12 slate, including a trio of weeknight battles ahead of a Saturday quadruple-header. The action kicks off Tuesday night as Ball State travels to Buffalo in an intriguing Mid-American Conference clash.
The MAC is back in the spotlight on Wednesday night with Northern Illinois hosting Akron. The 4-4 Huskies are trying to stay within bowl contention after a recent skid of rough conference results.
Coverage shifts gears Friday night when the Mountain West takes the spotlight. Colorado State has an opportunity to preserve its sterling conference record against Wyoming, but the Cowboys are fresh off of their first win in over a month and would like to keep that late-season momentum rolling.
Then Louisiana Tech and Western Kentucky get a loaded Saturday slate started at noon, followed by a game between Oregon State and Air Force. At 7 p.m. ET, No. 12 Boise State is in action against San Jose State, and in the nightcap, UNLV has a chance to keep its Mountain West hopes alive with a home game against San Diego State.
CBS Sports Network will be with you every step of the way once the Week 12 games begin. In the meantime, get caught up on viewing information, storylines, betting odds and more for each matchup.
All times Eastern | Odds via SportsLine consensus
Akron at Northern Illinois
Date: Wednesday, Nov. 13 | Time: 7 p.m.
Location: Huskie Stadium — Dekalb, Illinois
TV: CBS Sports Network [Channel finder]
Live stream: CBSSports.com | Mobile: CBS Sports App (Free)
Spread: Northern Illinois -15.5 | Will the Huskies cover? Check out SportsLine’s Week 12 projections here
Northern Illinois has had a rollercoaster of a season since pulling off one of the biggest upsets of the year against Notre Dame. The Huskies immediately lost an overtime game to Buffalo after that and haven’t fully recovered since, though they did just hand Western Michigan its first loss in MAC play. A big reason for Northern Illinois’ struggles is an offense that, up until the 42-28 win against the Broncos, scored 46 points in a three-game span. NIU has yet to dip as low as Akron, though. The Zips did stun Eastern Michigan a few weeks ago to earn their first MAC win, but they’re 0-7 against FBS opponents otherwise.
Wyoming at Colorado State
Date: Friday, Nov. 15 | Time: 8 p.m.
Location: Canvas Stadium — Fort Collins, Colorado
TV: CBS Sports Network [Channel finder]
Live stream: CBSSports.com | Mobile: CBS Sports App (Free)
Spread: Colorado State -10.5 | Will the Rams cover? Check out SportsLine’s Week 12 projections here
Everyone knows about Boise State’s dominance in the Mountain West thus far, thanks in large part to Heisman Trophy-contending running back Ashton Jeanty. But Colorado State has been as impressive, and for now, the Rams look like the Broncos’ biggest threat to postseason glory. Colorado State has won four games in a row to maintain a sterling 4-0 conference record. Three of those victories came by at least two possessions. A historical MWC contender, Wyoming’s had a tough year. The 2-7 Cowboys just broke a three-game losing streak by beating New Mexico 49-45, setting their season high in points scored in the process.
Louisiana Tech at Western Kentucky
Date: Saturday, Nov. 16 | Time: Noon
Location: Houchens Industries – L.T. Smith Stadium — Bowling Green, Kentucky
TV: CBS Sports Network [Channel finder]
Live stream: CBSSports.com | Mobile: CBS Sports App (Free)
Spread: Western Kentucky -13.5 | Will the Hilltoppers cover? Check out SportsLine’s Week 12 projections here
Western Kentucky is in good shape to make the Conference USA Championship Game for the second time in coach Tyson Helton’s six-year tenure. The Hilltoppers are currently tied with Jacksonville State atop the conference standings with a 5-0 record, having taken advantage of the power vacuum left by preseason favorite Liberty’s disappointing season. All five of WKU’s league wins have come by at least 13 points. It has a good chance to keep its march going against Louisiana Tech, though the Bulldogs have been better than their record might indicate. They sit at 3-6, but they have given some tough teams a battle. In Week 11, they came one possession short of upsetting Jacksonville State. They also lost by just 10 to NC State earlier in the season, and have a six-point loss to a good Sam Houston team on their record. Western Kentucky certainly can’t afford to sleepwalk.
Oregon State at Air Force
Date: Saturday, Nov. 16 | Time: 3:30 p.m. ET
Location: Falcon Stadium — USAF Academy, Colorado
TV: CBS Sports Network [Channel finder]
Live stream: CBSSports.com | Mobile: CBS Sports App (Free)
Spread: Oregon State -4 | Will the Beavers cover? Check out SportsLine’s Week 12 projections here
Oregon State has had a rough go of it lately. The Beavers started the season 4-1 with what now looks like an impressive win against Colorado State but have seen their season tumble over the past month amid a four-game losing streak. Oregon State has lost its last two games, against California and San Jose State, by a combined score of 68-20. The Beavers now face an uphill climb towards bowl eligibility with two ranked opponents in their last three games. That makes beating Air Force imperative. These Falcons look like a far cry from the teams we’ve expected under coach Troy Calhoun. That being said, they did just beat Fresno State 36-28, so there’s some fight left in Air Force yet.
Boise State at San Jose State
Date: Saturday, Nov. 16 | Time: 7 p.m. ET
Location: CEFCU Stadium — San Jose, California
TV: CBS Sports Network [Channel finder]
Live stream: CBSSports.com | Mobile: CBS Sports App (Free)
Spread: Boise State -13.5 | Will the Broncos cover? Check out SportsLine’s Week 12 projections here
Boise State’s magical season keeps rolling. The Broncos are a heavy college football betting favorite to represent the Group of Five in the College Football Playoff at this point, as evidenced by their high standings in the initial rankings release. It’s only up from here, provided Spencer Danielson’s squad takes care of business as expected. San Jose State could be a decent test, particularly on the road. The Spartans are fresh off an 11-point win against Oregon State. The Spartans have reached 6-3 behind a strong defense. They’ve allowed a lot of yards, but they’ve been effective practitioners of the “bend but don’t break” methodology — that’s to say, their scoring defense ranks third in the MWC while allowing just 24.1 points per game.
San Diego State at UNLV
Date: Saturday, Nov. 16 | Time: 10:30 p.m. ET
Location: Allegiant Stadium — Las Vegas, Nevada
TV: CBS Sports Network [Channel finder]
Live stream: CBSSports.com | Mobile: CBS Sports App (Free)
Spread: UNLV -20.5 | Will the Rebels cover? Check out SportsLine’s Week 12 projections here
Once ranked, UNLV has faded into the background a little bit following losses to Syracuse and Boise State, but the Rebels are still right in the thick of MWC contention. They’ll need Colorado State to drop a game since the two don’t play head-to-head and would have to rely on tiebreakers if both had one loss. That is, of course, given UNLV finishes the season with just one conference loss. The first hazard on that path is San Diego State, which is 3-6 in its first year under coach Sean Lewis. Despite Lewis’ background as an offensive coordinator, the Aztecs haven’t impressed on that side of the ball this year. They rank eighth in the MWC in total offense (405.4 yards per game) and scoring offense (26.9 points per game).
