It was certainly surprising to see four Top 10 teams (Ole Miss, Notre Dame, Georgia and UCLA) all stumble the way they did last week. On the other hand, considering there are currently nine teams among the Top 25 with one loss, maybe we shouldn’t have been that shocked.
The constant shakeups at the top have blown the door wide open in terms of the road to the College Football Playoff and there is every reason to expect the upset trend to continue this week.
Here is a look at four ranked teams that will be on upset alert in Week 6 of the college football season.
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TCU Must Be Wary Of Wildcats
Ohio State and TCU haven’t budged as the top two teams in the country all year but the Buckeyes have had some close calls already against some relatively weak opponents while the Horned Frogs have survived close calls at Minnesota and Texas Tech.
TCU’s average win margin in road victories over the Gophers and Red Raiders was 4.5 points and while they are coming off a lopsided win over Texas at home, they can’t afford to let off the gas pedal at Kansas State this weekend.
The Horned Frogs are listed as a nine-point favorite but Trevone Boykin and company will have to play better than they have on the road to this point in order to hand the Wildcats their second straight loss. The Wildcats proved to be pretty game last week against another Top 25 team when they nearly handed a loss to Oklahoma State.
Are Sooners In Danger In Red River Rivalry?
Junior quarterback Baker Mayfield has emerged as a dark horse candidate to contend for a Heisman trophy after throwing for 1,382 yards and 13 touchdowns to start the season.
However, the Sooners needed double-overtime to knock off Tennessee in their lone road game to this point and they could be in tough on the road against a Texas side that is better than its 1-4 record. The Longhorns had no answer for Boykin and the TCU offense in a 50-7 blowout loss last week but they may have had an emotional letdown after being so close in their previous two contests.
Their two home losses to California and Oklahoma State came by an average of just two points. If they can regroup following last week’s terrible effort, they could have a chance in this year’s Red River matchup. Nobody is expecting Texas to win, but Oklahoma is far from a lock as a 17-point favorite.
Florida State Hosts Miami On Saturday Night
Florida State improved to 4-0 thanks to a strong defensive effort in last week’s 24-16 win over Wake Forest but that was a much smaller margin than expected against a low-level ACC team. The Seminoles forced a crucial turnover in the endzone to hang on and remain undefeated.
The fact that Florida State was outgained 359 to 327 in total yards and had 13 fewer first downs should be a concern – especially if star running back Dalvin Cook isn’t 100%. Miami is not an opponent that can be taken lightly. Since 1988, the team that has rushed for more yards has won 20 of the last 28 meetings between these sides.
The Hurricanes gave FSU all it could handle before the Seminoles emerged with the 30-26 win last season, so don’t sleep on Miami this weekend as they look to pull off the upset.
Northwestern Looking To Take Down Michigan
There has been a lot of talk about Michigan and where they stand as a potential sleeper pick. They could do some serious damage in the Big Ten this season – especially when you factor that they’ve outscored their opponents 119-7 over the past 15 quarters. However, the Wolverines’ next opponent has been pretty good too as Northwestern is undefeated.
They have also dominated on the defensive side of the football and the fact that this game comes a week before the Wolverines have to host Michigan State means this could be a potential look-ahead trap.
The No. 13 Wildcats have every right to believe they can end their string of three straight losses to Michigan in this game and on top of the fact they have a good chance to cover as a 7.5-point underdog, Northwestern should also have the Wolverines on an upset alert this Saturday.
