Five Ranked College Football Teams On Upset Alert This Weekend
By Kyle Koster
Eventually, there will be some upsets in college football. At least one would think. Maybe not. Here are some ranked teams who should be nervous this weekend.
Texas (-10.5) at West Virginia
The Mountaineers certainly don't have the same side they did last year, what without Will Grier and David Sills. But they were able to go into Austin and shut up a hostile Longhorns crowd with some late heroics. West Virginia has been playing solid defense by Big 12 standards, allowing 25.5 points/game. Texas has yet to take a road trip this year and carries the brand name to get the Morgantown faithful all rowdy.
California at Oregon (-18)
The Golden Bears have a stingy defense and propensity to play low-scoring, one-possession games. They've already gone on the road and beaten Washington, arguably the best team in the Pac-12. They won't be blinking. Oregon has Justin Herbert but has posted 21 points in games against Auburn and Stanford. There's a chance this gets to the fourth quarter with a 14-10 scoreline either way. Then? All bets are off.
Iowa at Michigan (-3.5)
This line is down from 5 and will likely shrink even more before gametime. It's almost perplexing that the Wolverines are favored. Shea Patterson has been spotty, the fumbling has been a real problem, and Jim Harbaugh's team had a ton of trouble with Wisconsin, a brutish and better version of Iowa. Nate Stanley is a bonafide NFL talent and Iowa is likely to win the battle of the trenches. Weird line, so this would technically be an upset, but it's all kinds of fishy.
UCF (-4) at Cincinnati
With the national championship out of the picture, there's a chance Josh Heupel's team shuts down. Losing to Pittsburgh was a giant red flag. The Bearcats murdered Marshall and are keeping opponents to 20 points/game. Cincy may not be playing on a black field this Saturday, but it will be a lot more level than most think.
Michigan State (-20) at Ohio State
Look. There is remote hope of the space-time continuum breaking and the best football team in America turning into the talent-zapped Monstars. The Columbus forecast is at least allowing for rain showers and wind. The ball could get slippery and turn this into a fumble-fest. Mark Dantonio has pulled rabbits from his hat before. This, of course, would be the biggest one.