American Thanksgiving is also known as rivalry weekend in NCAA college football and pits some of the biggest rivals against each other in what is always a fun slate of football.

Just like everything else in 2020, some things have been altered this season so while we will not see Ohio State and Michigan battle at noon on Saturday, there are still some traditional classics on tap. No. 22 Auburn and top-ranked Alabama will meet in the Iron Bowl Saturday in a game that has resulted in some interesting endings over the years and is always a must-watch on the college football calendar.

Here are the picks in the Week 13 version of Simmons vs. The Spread.

SMU MUSTANGS at EAST CAROLINA PIRATES

SPREAD: SMU -11.5

TOTAL: 67.5

Last week, East Carolina beat up on a decimated Temple team that is down to its fourth-string quarterback. That win moved them to 2-6 on the season so you have to put that win into context. SMU is a much stronger team than Temple as indicated by the spread and they still have an outside shot at playing in the AAC championship. Southern Methodist running back Ulysses Bentley has impressed this year with 877 yards and 11 touchdowns. He will look to have a big day and potentially go over 1,000 yards on the season against the Pirates who give up an average of 217 yards a game on the ground. SMU wins big here.

THE PICK: SMU -11.5

KENT STATE GOLDEN FLASHES at BUFFALO BULLS

SPREAD: Buffalo -7.5

TOTAL:  67.5

While it is sad that this week marked the end of the midweek MACtion, these teams are still playing football and this might be a matchup of the best two teams in the conference. If they are not the best two teams, then they certainly feature the top two players in Kent State quarterback Dustin Crum and Buffalo running back Jaret Patterson, who ran for 301 yards last week. These teams combine for score a total of 95.8 points per game and this has the makings of typical MAC chaos. The last team with the ball likely wins and I’m leaning to the over in this potential shootout.

THE PICK: Over 67.5

PITTSBURGH PANTHERS at No. 3 CLEMSON TIGERS

SPREAD: Clemson -24

TOTAL: 55

With their loss to No. 2 Notre Dame earlier in the season, Clemson simply cannot afford a letdown game if it wants to remain in the playoff picture. While Pitt is solid on defence, Trevor Lawrence and Travis Etienne will be looking to put on a show as they want to impress the playoff committee as much as they can in what is also likely the final home game for both players. This total seems a bit too low considering those factors as there is a real chance Clemson scores more than 50 points on their own. The pick here is the over.

THE PICK: Over 55

VIRGINIA CAVALIERS @ FLORIDA STATE SEMINOLES
SPREAD: Virginia -9

TOTAL: 59.5

As previously noted in Simmons vs. The Spread, Florida State is just a complete train wreck this year. Virginia, on the other hand, is a solid 4-4 in what was expected to be a down year and competed pretty tough with No. 10 Miami a few weeks back. Brennan Armstrong is a solid quarterback who can move the ball down the field and Virginia is 6-2 against the spread this year despite suffering an all-time bad beat last weekend against Abilene Christian. Look for Vancouver-native Terrell Jana to have a good game for the Hoos at wide receiver and Virginia to win this game by double digits.

THE PICK: Virginia -9

(22) AUBURN TIGERS at (1) ALABAMA CRIMSON TIDE

SPREAD: Alabama -24.5

TOTAL: 62.5

Head coach Nick Saban will not be with his team this week after testing positive for COVID-19, but luckily for Alabama they have a former power 5 coach stepping up on an interim basis in Steve Sarkisian. To go along with that, the Crimson Tide (7-0) are simply an offensive machine averaging 49.4 points per game and has seen very little fall off since losing star WR Jaylen Waddle for the season which is a testament to their talent level and the emergence of Canadian John Metchie. The Tigers (5-2), meanwhile, are “ranked” but have not been overly impressive. Since 2007, Alabama is 3-0 ATS when favoured by 20 points or more against Auburn and 5-0-1 when favoured by 14 points or more in the Iron Bowl. Let’s hope this trend continues and it’s “Roll Tide Roll” on Saturday.

THE PICK: Alabama -24.5