With huge conference matchups, undefeated teams dropping
all over and more, these five teams need to be on upset alert in college
football Week 7.
When looking at the Week 7 slate for the 2018 college
football season, it’s hard to not be somewhat awed at the matchups that are
presented. Yes, there are only three top-25 matchups that will be showcased
this week, which is the same number that we saw on display last week. Having
said that, there is more quality than that number of ranked opponents facing
off would have you believe.
We’re going to see ranked teams be tested outside of
those top-25 showdowns. Teams like the Texas Longhorns, now vaulted in the top
10 of the latest AP poll, will have to go on to prove that they are indeed back
and ready to make some noise on a national level. What’s more, teams like the
Florida Gators will have similar battles to prove their legitimacy.
What’s more, we’ll also see a team like the Colorado
Buffaloes continued to be tested. The Buffs are one of the 11 remaining
undefeated teams in college football after six weeks, but they have had
arguably the easiest road to that point of any of those teams. Thus, seeing
them face another quality Pac-12 team will be something to watch.
With these matchups and the top-25 games that we have in
store, there are several opportunities for upsets to transpire throughout
college football in Week 7. They could come in all shapes and sizes this week,
so fans at large need to be on the lookout.
Having said that, let’s take a look at five teams who
most need to be on upset alert on Saturday.
5. GEORGIA BULLDOGS
RANK: 2
OPPONENT: 13
LSU Tigers
TIME: 3:30
p.m. ET
Coming into last week, the LSU Tigers were truly getting
buzz as a potential College Football Playoff team. They were ranked fifth in
the country and seemed to be able to win against any team with a much improved
offense and a defense laden with NFL-caliber talent at every level. Of course,
they then went on the road to The Swamp last week and dropped a winnable game
against an upward-trending Florida Gators team.
Now back at home this week and having dropped to No. 13
in the latest AP poll, the Tigers now have an opportunity to prove their
quality in a gigantic SEC matchup. They’ll welcome the still-undefeated Georgia
Bulldogs to Baton Rouge, looking to pull off a massive upset that would shake
up the conference and the college football world at large.
In my opinion, the Bulldogs have the talent on both sides
of the ball to outlast anything that LSU can throw at them. As improved as the
Tigers offense is with Joe Burrow at quarterback, they still appear to have a
ceiling against a good defense, which Georgia possesses. What’s more, the LSU
defense showed last week that a well-schemed and balance offense can have
success against them, something the Dawgs also have.
Having said that, we haven’t seen Georgia tested to this
degree yet this season. What’s more, playing in Death Valley is never an easy
task, especially against an LSU team that is undeniably still high-quality.
Subsequently, they at least have to be on alert for an upset in this game
should they not be ready to rise to the occasion in their truest test yet.
4. PENN STATE
NITTANY LIONS
RANK: 8
OPPONENT: Michigan State
Spartans
TIME: 3:30 p.m. ET
On the surface, there may not seem like a great deal of a
chance that the Michigan State Spartans can upset the Penn State Nittany Lions.
After all, the Nittany Lions went to the wire with Ohio State their last time
out, one of the best teams in the country by most measures. What’s more,
Michigan State has made a habit out of letting fans down to this point of the
season, failing to live up to some notable preseason hype.
Having said that, there is a recipe for Penn State to
potentially struggle in this matchup with the Spartans. From a purely narrative
sense, you have to wonder if the Nittany Lions have any hangover from the loss
to the Buckeyes. Be it from having two weeks for it to marinate, from coming so
close and falling short or even from James Franklin’s awful fourth-down call,
the potential for that is there.
What’s more, we’re going to see the Penn State defense
potentially put to the test. One of the biggest surprises against Ohio State
was how the Nittany Lions defense performed in the first half. Having said
that, we’ve seen this unit play abysmally at times this season.
For all of the struggles of the Spartans this season,
there is talent on this offense that has to be noted. Brian Lewerke has shown
flashes of brilliance at times in his career, and there are weapons around him.
This may not be a likely upset, but it does indeed seem like we could see
Michigan State get on track and pull off a stunner in Happy Valley.
3. COLORADO
BUFFALOES
RANK: 19
OPPONENT: USC Trojans
TIME: 10:30 p.m. ET
Shockingly enough, the Colorado Buffaloes remain one of
the unbeaten teams in the 2018 college football season. Of course, coming into
last week, they still weren’t getting a ton of respect. It’s not hard to see
why that’s the case either. In their first four games of the season, they
played a slate of teams that had combined for just one game through the first
five weeks of the season. That’s not exactly a way for Colorado to prove their
legitimacy.
With that being said, the Buffaloes went out last week
and showed something impressive. While the hype around Herm Edwards and the
Arizona State Sun Devils has dissipated in recent weeks, they are still a good
team and easily the best that Colorado has played to this point. As such,
picking up a win over them does go a long way in proving that the Buffaloes are
a good team.
In Week 7, however, we’re going to get another test for
the Buffs. They’ll go on the road to Los Angeles to face off with a USC Trojans
team that is actually favored by a full touchdown in this game. This isn’t to
say that USC is elite by any means, but they now take the throne as the best
team that Colorado will have played yet in 2018.
There is reason to believe that Steven Montez and Laviska
Shenault Jr. will be able to put up numbers, but with what effectiveness? And
will the Colorado defense hold up against a talent-laden USC offense? These are
questions we still can’t answer with any kind of certainty, so we have to put
the Buffaloes on upset alert in a Pac-12 After Dark showdown.
2. TEXAS
LONGHORNS
RANK: 9
OPPONENT: Baylor Bears
TIME: 3:30 p.m. ET
Talk about bouncing back, the Texas Longhorns have looked
like a completely different team in recent weeks compared to how they began the
2018 college football season. Their campaign began with Tom Herman’s team
dropping one to Maryland for the second-straight year in the opener. What’s
more, they followed that up by getting played closely by Tulsa, another
less-than-stellar sign for what could be coming.
Instead, Sam Ehlinger and Co. have turned things around
in a massive way for the Longhorns. Since that Tulsa game, they have toppled
the USC Trojans, the TCU Horned Frogs, and a tough Kansas State Wildcats team
and then won in the Red River Showdown last week over a potent and talented
Oklahoma Sooners team. Now, there is all the buzz in the world that, say it
with me, Texas is back.
How many times have we heard that refrain before, though?
It happens every year with this Texas program and they always seem to have a
letdown game against a team that are simply better than. Thus, seeing that the
Baylor Bears are now coming to down this week just seems like a bad omen for
the Longhorns.
On paper, we should see the Longhorns topple Baylor. The
Bears have a talented offense, but their defense can be a sieve against good
teams and Texas can take advantage of that. Just from a narrative basis though,
you have to put Texas on upset alert. This is the exact type of game that we’ve
seen them kill optimism with in years past, and they will need to prove they’re
past that before they aren’t put on watch for an upset in this type of affair.
1. WASHINGTON
HUSKIES
RANK: 7
OPPONENT: 17 Oregon Ducks
TIME: 3:30 p.m. ET
As many have likely heard me say numerous times, you can
never count anything out in a rivalry game. The competitiveness of either team
in a given season can be thrown out of the window as the rivalry stands
separate from that. However, when you have two quality teams facing off in such
a matchup, it can often be anyone’s guess as to what’s going to transpire.
That is indeed the case that we’re presented with as the
Washington Huskies, ranked seventh in the latest AP poll, and head to Autzen
Stadium to face the No. 17 Oregon Ducks on Saturday afternoon. Not only is
there years of animosity from the rivalry that will come into play, but this is
also largely for firm control of the Pac-12 at large in the 2018 season.
Since losing their season-opener to the Auburn Tigers,
Washington has done as a good team should, winning every game since. However,
they’ve been less than impressive on multiple occasions, with a pair of
seven-point wins over Arizona State and UCLA, two teams that they should’ve ran
away from if they are as quality as their ranking would have you believe.
While we’ve seen Oregon fall flat down the stretch
against Stanford to earn their lone loss of the season, they just appear to be
the much more explosive and high-upside team in this rivalry matchup. With
Justin Herbert and this high-octane offense, they have the talent to
legitimately just overwhelm the Huskies in this game, especially with the home
crowd behind them.
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