College Football Best Bets and Player Props: Friday Night, Week 12

Each week in college football, there are tons of games available to us.

While this can be a bit overwhelming, it also gives us plentiful spots we can target when searching for betting value. From the biggest games of the week all the way on down, we're never lacking for options.

Before we dig into Saturday's full slate, Friday night features two Power Four matchups in Week 12. Using the college football odds at FanDuel Sportsbook as a guide, what are the best college football bets for Week 12's Friday night slate?

All college football odds via FanDuel Sportsbook. Lines may change after this article is published.

College Football Week 12 Betting Picks

UCLA Bruins at Washington Huskies

Washington -3.5 (-110)

Following a five-game losing streak, the UCLA Bruins are on a hot streak with three straight wins and covers. However, none of these three teams were in the top 50 of EPA per drop back. Enter the Washington Huskies, who rank 35th in the category.

Why are we focusing so much on UCLA's pass defense? The unit is 58th in EPA allowed per drop back compared to 23rd in EPA allowed per rushing attempt. There's been a huge difference between the units all season, for the Bruins give up 3.2 yards per rushing attempt (top 9%) compared to 7.6 yards per passing attempt (bottom 43%). Of course, if UCLA was seeing offenses leaning on the run, it's meant success.

Washington is a different animal with the nation's 33rd-highest pass play rate and 33rd-most yards per passing attempt. The Huskies have faced four straight opponents within the top 31 of EPA allowed per drop back, which certainly plays a role in UW's ongoing 1-3 stretch. The last time Washington faced a pass defense outside the top 50 of this category, it totaled over 500 yards of offense.

After failing to reach a 70.0 Pro Football Focus passing grade in four straight, Will Rogers should finally bounce back. He logged passing grades of 82.6 and 77.4 in his prior two contests against units outside the top 35 in EPA allowed per drop back.

Simply put, the Huskies' offense should finally wake up tonight. Plus, UCLA leans on the 22nd-highest pass play rate, but Washington gives up the 6th-fewest yards per passing attempt.

numberFire's game projections give the Huskies a 62.7% likelihood to cover the spread. For reference, the current -110 line to cover the spread holds only a 52.4% implied probability.

Houston Cougars at Arizona Wildcats

Houston Moneyline (-102)

The Houston Cougars are riding high after taking down the Kansas State Wildcats 24-19 as double-digit 'dogs. That makes Houston 3-1 outright and against the spread (ATS) over its last four games.

Friday's opponent -- the Arizona Wildcats -- is 1-8 ATS this season. The point spread sits at only 1.5 in favor of Arizona, meaning there's clear value in the Cougs pulling off the upset. numberFire's game projections have Houston winning 18.3-17.7 while College Football Nerds' projection model has 24.1-21.8 in favor of the Cougars. It's a clean sweep for models picking the underdog, but let's dig into the stats too.

Arizona leans on the pass with the 11th-highest pass play rate across college football. Houston's strength on defense is in the secondary, ranked 35th in EPA allowed per drop back compared to 59th in EPA allowed per rushing attempt. I'm not too worried about the Wildcats' run game, which is 64th in EPA per carry while logging 3.8 yards per rushing attempt (bottom 32%).

After holding three of their last four opponents to under 20 points, the Cougars' defense should fare well in this matchup. Arizona sitting in the bottom 9% in giveaways per contest only adds to the agenda.

On offense, Houston is in the top 15% of run play rate. The Wildcats give up 5.1 yards per carry (bottom 19%) and 181.6 rushing yards per contest (bottom 26%); they even rank 94th in EPA allowed per carry. With a great matchup on the ground, I love Houston's chances of controlling the pace of play with the ninth-slowest tempo (seconds per play). Playing their brand of football only fuels the Cougars to win straight up.

Arizona's passing attack led by wide receiver Tetairoa McMillan is pretty much the only redeemable factor of this team, and if Houston is armed to slow this attack, you have to love its chances of winning.

Zeon Chriss 70+ Rushing Yards (-102)

Dominating the ground game has to be a big factor if the Cougars are to win. With that said, taking Houston's quarterback Zeon Chriss to have success with his legs pairs well with the moneyline.

Chriss' rushing yard prop is set at 66.5, and he's went over this mark in two of his last four games. In those two contests, he amassed 86.0 rushing yards per game. Each performance was elevated by an explosive play, for Chriss had at least a 40-yard scamper in each outing.

Fortunately, he's facing an ideal defense to pop another big play. Arizona's run defense is already bad enough, but it's also struggled against mobile QBs in recent games. Over the last two games, the Cats have allowed 47.0 rushing yards per game to signal-callers. Dylan Rizk of the Central Florida Knights even had a 33-yard run last week.

Here's where the trouble lies: Arizona hasn't really seen a quarterback like Chriss during this stretch. Jake Retzlaff of the Brigham Young Cougars was the only QB with comparable numbers, holding 67 carries on the season while logging 3.1 yards after contact per carry along with 13 runs of 10+ yards. However, Retzlaff had only six rushing attempts against the Wildcats in Week 7.

Chriss is averaging 19.5 carries per game over his last two. Plus, he's a big threat to break explosives thanks to 5.9 yards per carry and 3.9 yards after contact per rushing attempt. Chriss has even ripped off a 10-yard run nine times this season.

Arizona ranks 123rd in Pro Football Focus' tackling grade, suggesting Chriss should have plenty of broken tackles tonight. The Wildcats are no stranger to allowing big plays on the ground, and Chriss has been getting plenty of work on the ground. Give me Chriss to reach 70+ rushing yards, giving us even more value than his 66.5-yard prop.

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The above author is a FanDuel employee and is not eligible to compete in public daily fantasy contests or place sports betting wagers on FanDuel. The advice provided by the author does not necessarily represent the views of FanDuel. Taking the author's advice will not guarantee a successful outcome. You should use your own judgment when participating in daily fantasy contests or placing sports wagers.