College Football 2021: Top 3 under-the-radar games to watch in Week 12

1. Auburn at South Carolina

Auburn looks to rebound this week as they travel to Columbia to take on the Gamecocks. South Carolina won the matchup last year also in Columbia. Even though there have not been a ton of matchups between the two programs because the lack of crossovers in the SEC, Auburn has dominated the series.

The big news for Auburn is quarterback Bo Nix being done for the rest of the season with a foot injury. It is now up to sophomore TJ Finley to lead the Tigers the rest of the way. In his limited time this season, he has completed 17 of 33 passes for 275 yards and two touchdowns. Last year he was still a Tiger but in Baton Rouge instead. He threw for 941 yards, five touchdowns and five interceptions with LSU.

Finley will need to be extra careful of throwing an interception against the ball hawking Gamecock defense. They have come up with 14 interceptions on the season, tied for fifth in the nation. Finley was very good against the Gamecocks last season in an LSU uniform and will look to have a repeat performance.

South Carolina cannot just rely on their defense and will need to get their ground game going. It went off for 284 yards in the win over Florida two weeks ago. Last week against Missouri it ran out of gas with only 57 yards.

The Gamecocks would love to go bowling in Shane Beamer’s first season as head coach. They will either need to beat Auburn or Clemson next week to do so. Both are vulnerable so it is possible. Auburn just wants to finish the season strong for Bryan Harsin’s first season.