College football Week 14 predictions, odds: Three picks, best bets for Saturday’s slate

And just like that, the 2025 college football regular season comes to a close.

It’s been a carnival of chaos, and it is clear that volatility and turbulence are going to be hallmarks of this new era.

Perhaps no conference has felt the turmoil more than the ACC.

Of all the Power 4 conferences, the ACC was supposed to be the most straightforward in 2025. Clemson was the clear favorite, and Miami and Louisville were gonna duke it out to finish runner-up.

Wrong.

The ACC has been the most surprising conference in all of FBS, and we’re still sorting through the mess.

Six teams enter Week 14 with a chance of going to the title game, and Clemson, Louisville and Florida State are not among them.

SMU, which was left for dead after a 1-2 start and lost to Wake Forest a few weeks ago, is your betting favorite to win the conference.

All the Mustangs need to do to get back to the ACC Championship is beat Cal, which just fired its head coach after getting blown out by Stanford. Sounds simple enough, right?

Wrong again.

Not only is this a long road trip for the Pony Express, but they’re also being put in a tricky situation. We’ve seen plenty of teams step up their games in the wake of a firing, so Cal should be champing at the bit to spoil SMU’s season for interim head coach Nick Rolovich.

It’s not just the new-coach bump that makes Cal an appealing bet as an underdog Saturday.

The Golden Bears have a talismanic freshman quarterback, Jaron-Keawe Sagapolutele, who stands to earn buckets of NIL money after his debut season.

Bookmakers are putting a must-win tax on SMU, which is putting plenty of value on Cal at home.

The Play: Cal +13.5 (DraftKings)

Wake Forest (+1.5) vs. DUKE

We’ll fade another ACC hopeful in a must-win situation.

Somehow, Duke is still alive in the ACC despite sitting at 6-5 on the season.

The Blue Devils need a win over Wake Forest and plenty of help to get into the title game, but it’s not even worth getting into the out-of-town scoreboard because the Demon Deacons are going to win this game.

Betting on College Football?

Jake Dickert should be getting much more love for the job he’s done at Wake Forest. The Demon Deacons were pegged for 4.5 wins this season by the betting market and have a chance to double that with a victory against their rivals Saturday.

Wake’s defense has been stellar all season, and its mediocre offense shouldn’t have too many issues against a leaky Duke defense.

The Demon Deacons have already defeated SMU and Virginia this season, and they lost in overtime against Georgia Tech.

Wake Forest should be the favorite in this tilt.

WEST VIRGINIA (+24.5) over Texas Tech

It’s essentially win-and-in for Texas Tech on Saturday.

If the Red Raiders get the victory in Morgantown, they’re almost certainly going to the College Football Playoff, no matter how they fare in the Big 12 Championship.

And while I don’t think Texas Tech will lose to West Virginia, I do think the odds for this game are getting skewed by the situation. Another must-win tax.

The Mountaineers are 4-7 and just 2-6 in the Big 12, but they’re 2-2 in their last four games, and the two losses against TCU and Arizona State, were by a combined eight points.

The Red Raiders have been one of the most consistent teams in the country all season, but this is not going to be as easy as these odds suggest.

LAST WEEK: 0-3. Arkansas (L), UAB (L), Coastal Carolina (L).

SEASON: 24-15

Why Trust New York Post Betting

Michael Leboff is a long-suffering Islanders fan, but a long-profiting sports bettor with 10 years of experience in the gambling industry. He loves using game theory to help punters win bracket pools, find long shots, and learn how to beat the market in mainstream and niche sports.