Just when it seemed as though things were settling down at the top of the College Football Playoff pyramid, Clemson, Michigan and Washington all lost on the same weekend to provide a major shakeup. All three teams will look to bounce back this week but suddenly things are wide open at the top with a number of teams feeling like they have what it takes to get in to the mix along with Alabama. However, the pressure now is greater than it has been all season and one stumble could make an incredible difference. Here is a look at the top ranked teams on upset alert in college football for Week 12.
#3 Louisville @ Houston
Thursday, 8:00 PM ET
Clemson’s loss to Pittsburgh opened the door for Louisville to be welcomed back in to the conversation as a true contender in the ACC and on the national stage. Lamar Jackson will win the Heisman trophy this season but can he do enough to help the Cardinals earn some major hardware as a team? Their next test will be a tough one on the road and on a short week against a Houston team that was talked about as a dark horse playoff contender before the year began. Louisville should win this game but we aren’t counting the Cougars out for a potential upset.
Pick: Louisville
#7 Washington vs. Arizona State
Saturday, 7:30 PM ET
The Huskies suffered their first loss of the season to USC in a game that many thought would be an easy win for Jake Browning and company. Now that they have been beaten, how will they respond this Saturday? They’re on upset alert because they might experience a hangover.
Washington has a favorable matchup at home against Arizona State but the Sun Devils will be relishing the opportunity to play spoiler and the Huskies need to prove last week was merely a small stumble and nothing more. Washington could still be a playoff team as a one-loss Pac-12 champion but getting there could be a lot harder than most anticipated just one week ago.
Pick: Washington
#2 Ohio State @ Michigan State
Saturday, 12:00 PM ET
Ohio State is rolling following a pair of lopsided wins but after seeing the results from this past week Urban Meyer has to remind his team not to take anything for granted. The Spartans have been an absolute mess all season but they are still capable of being a tough opponent at home in an early afternoon showdown. The Buckeyes also have to be careful not to get caught looing ahead to their regular season finale with Michigan the following week so the upset alert will be raised this weekend in East Lansing.
Pick: Ohio State
#8 Oklahoma @ #10 West Virginia
Saturday, 8:00 PM ET – ABC
The Sooners improved to 7-0 in the Big 12 with their win over Baylor and suddenly have to be thinking they can contend for a playoff spot with two losses. The College Football Playoff rankings haven’t given them a ton of love – Clemson and Michigan didn’t fall as far as many people thought they would after suffering a loss – but what has been made clear is that they’re back in it. Any outside hope they have of contending will require a lopsided win on the road at West Virginia this weekend. Dana Holgorsen has the Mountaineers playing good football right now so while Oklahoma is a small favorite heading in to this game, they have to be on upset alert with their season on the line in Week 12.
Pick: Oklahoma
#13 Oklahoma State vs. TCU
Saturday, 12:00 PM ET
There’s a lot of talk about the opportunity for West Virginia and Oklahoma in the Big 12, but keep in mind that Oklahoma State is right there too. And on top of that, they have already beaten West Virginia this season and they’ll face Oklahoma in the final game of the season. If the Sooners lose this week or if they win but Oklahoma State beats them, there is going to be a real case to be made for the Pokes as they’ll be the top team in the Big 12.
But let’s not get ahead of ourselves. The Pokes are on upset alert this week.
This week, the Cowboys are on the road facing TCU. Sure, it hasn’t been the year that Gary Patterson and company thought they’d be but they haven’t quit. That was evident in their 62-22 blowout win over No. 17 Baylor last week. They’ll be game for this one too and we’d be expecting them to win and cover in this spot.
Pick: TCU -4.5
