Can USA, Pulisic advance at World Cup?

This weekend is packed to the brim with significant games. We've got so much action on Saturday we've made the executive decision to bump NFL down to the next section; we've got other priorities.

USA takes on Netherlands in the Round of 16

The World Cup's knockout stage will begin bright and early Saturday, and the United States gets things started against the winner of Group A, the Netherlands. The only goal the Americans allowed was on a penalty kick in their first game, and while they've mustered only two goals of their own, it was enough to grab five points in group play and advance.

All eyes are on the status of star Christian Pulisic, who was injured while scoring the game-winner against Iran on Tuesday. At the moment, Pulisic is billed as day-to-day, and his absence would be notable given how much he's able to create for this offense. Reports this morning suggest Pulisic is on track to play, welcome news for the USMNT.

As we look to this matchup with the Netherlands, it's hard to not like the value of the USA to win. The Netherlands easily handled business against Qatar and Senegal, but they did show a few flaws against Ecuador, namely a level of blandness to their play that could be taken advantage of. Captain Tyler Adams has been a spark for the American side, and with energetic forwards, the U.S. could push the pace and make the Dutch uncomfortable. We're backing the underdog with a twinge of bias. USA is +175 to advance.

Championship weekend in college football starts tonight

The fate of the College Football Playoff will be decided after this weekend, with two teams needing a win to secure their seat. Both TCU and USC could drop out of the top four with a loss. By the way, this CFP system certainly has its flaws, given these two schools could be punished just for making it to their conference's championship and losing, while Ohio State sits at home and reaps the reward. We digress.

Georgia and Michigan are also in their conference championships against LSU and Purdue, but both teams should be locked into the playoff even with a loss here.

USC takes on No. 11 Utah tonight for the Pac-12 Championship, with the Trojans sitting as three-point favorites. We had an epic one back in Week 7 between these two schools, and it was Utah who won 43-42, handing USC their lone loss of the year on a last-minute touchdown from Cameron Rising. USC quarterback Caleb Williams had himself a strong showing despite the loss, accounting for 438 total yards, five touchdowns and no turnovers. Williams is currently -2500 to win the Heisman, so uh, safe to say he's the favorite. We like Williams and the Trojans to avenge their Week 7 loss and stamp their ticket into the playoff. This should be a fun Friday treat.

Undefeated TCU will see No. 10 Kansas State at noon on Saturday, currently listed as just 2.5-point favorites. While the Horned Frogs have been in some close games in the past month, there's something about this team that continues to deliver wins in big moments. TCU beat Kansas State by 10 in October, and we like them to do it again. Boring as it may be, our betting approach this weekend is to back the teams with everything to play for. TCU and USC both fit the bill. They deserve to be in the CFP, and we'd like them to leave no doubt about their place.

In the news ...

NFL Week 13 brings us some high-profile games — Everywhere we look, we see good games between potential playoff teams. Jets-Vikings, Titans-Eagles, Commanders-Giants, Dolphins-49ers, and Chiefs-Bengals headline what is a packed Week 13 slate in the NFL. It's AJ Brown's first game against his former team in Tennessee, and given the Titans are allowing the second-most touchdowns to receivers, we're going to have to bet a Brown touchdown at +120.

Commanders-Giants this weekend could shape the NFC Wild Card race — Washington and New York have been two of the best betting teams against the spread; the Giants are 8-3 ATS and the Commanders are 7-4-1. The Commanders have covered in six of their last seven games and won six of their last seven. The Giants are dealing with some injuries, namely to their offensive line. We're backing Washington -2.5 on the road in a huge NFC East battle.

Knockout round almost finalized in the World Cup — The group stage will wrap up today in Qatar as we near the final 16 countries left in the World Cup. The next round begins tomorrow with the Netherlands-United States and Argentina-Australia, followed by France-Poland and England-Senegal on Sunday. Brazil is the current favorite to win it all at +240, followed by Argentina at +450 and France at +500.

Today's Bark Bets is written by Griffin Carroll