College Football Upset Alert: Week Five
Plenty of good games and first tests this week, so let’s get the ball rolling:
Texas A&M @ Arkansas
Both of these teams are coming off of their first losses of the season. Texas A&M blew a big lead at home to Oklahoma State last week, while Arkansas was blown out at Alabama. These two teams are very similar in that they both have high powered offenses, so this game will probably be a combination of who plays better defense and who bounces back quicker. Because of this, the Aggies should still be considered a very serious threat to leave Fayetteville with a win this weekend.
Northwestern @ Illinois
There’s no denying that Illinois has been the better team so far this year, but the reason they need to watch out is simple: Dan Persa is back at quarterback for the Wildcats. If the Illini feel the pressure of starting 4-0 or have a letdown, Persa could very well put them behind the eight ball in this one.
Toledo @ Temple
Temple has been impressive so far this year, starting 3-1 with a blowout win at Maryland last week. Their lone blemish was a 4 point loss to Penn State in a game that the Owls had the lead in the 4th quarter before letting it slip away. Toledo, on the other hand, doesn’t boast a great record, but has played everyone on their schedule tough, including Ohio State, Syracuse, and, for two to three quarters, Boise State. If Temple hasn’t come down from the high of their big win over the Terps last week, they could be in for a real fight today.
Auburn @ South Carolina
Both of these teams come into this game with some problems. For South Carolina: offense. For Auburn: defense. This game will be about which one of those two units is better, and there’s no reason to think Auburn doesn’t stand a chance in this one. I have put South Carolina on upset alert a couple times, as they usually have some sort of collapse against a decent team. It hasn’t happened yet, but with the play of their offense, it’s only a matter of time.
Baylor @ Kansas State
There’s no doubt that Baylor has been very impressive this year, but they haven’t played the toughest opponents, and have been less than airtight on defense. Kansas State, coming off a win against Miami last week, will probably be the toughest test the Bears will have had so far in terms of trying to slow down their offense. Can Baylor live up to the hype?
SMU @ TCU
While their only loss came in the first game of the year, TCU has had slow starts to inferior opponents the last couple games, and they haven’t been overly impressive overall. SMU comes into this game with their one loss coming against Texas A&M, but has been playing better, and it should not be overlooked that this is their big rivalry game. If the Horned Frogs don’t play better early, they could very well have some problems trying to keep the Iron Skillet.
Clemson @ Virginia Tech
This could be a very good game. Virginia Tech comes in playing well, but has been relatively untested thus far. However, they’ll be facing a very good Clemson team that already has wins over defending national champion Auburn, as well as a depleted Florida State team last week. Virginia Tech is no doubt in for a dogfight, but this is a great chance for both teams to show us how good they will really be this season.
College Football Upset Alert: Week Four
College Football Upset Alert: Week Three
College Football Upset Alert: Week Two
College Football Upset Alert: Week One
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