The Ohio State Buckeyes entered this season as the defending national champions and the top-ranked team in the country and while they have maintained a perfect record with 10 straight wins the final two weeks will present their toughest tests of the regular season. Here is a look at the ranked teams on upset alert for Week 12.
Can No. 2 Buckeyes Survive Sparty?
The Buckeyes had no problem beating up on Illinois last week as Ezekiel Elliott ran for 181 yards and two touchdowns to power Ohio State to 10-0 with a 28-3 win. OSU has strung together 23 consecutive wins dating back to last season but things are about to get a lot tougher in the Big Ten with Michigan State in town this weekend followed by a trip to Michigan the following week. The Spartans confirmed quarterback Connor Cook will be good to go after he suffered a shoulder injury in last week’s win over Maryland. Michigan State will throw everything they have at the Buckeyes as they try to secure the upset win and vault themselves back in to the conversation for a Big Ten title and potential trip to the College Football Playoff.
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No. 12 North Carolina Face Tricky Test Against Virginia Tech
North Carolina has strung together nine straight wins and while there has been a lot of talk about their potential to upset Clemson in a potential ACC Championship game showdown, they still have to find a way to get there first. The Tar Heels will play their final two regular season games at Virginia Tech and North Carolina State, and while those are both winnable games they can’t afford to overlook either one. The Hokies have had nine days to prepare for this showdown and they have already had some close calls against Pittsburgh, Miami and Duke this season, so the upset alert will be on when Virginia Tech hosts the Tar Heels this Saturday.
No. 13 Michigan Must Be Careful With Penn State
It took double-overtime for Michigan to survive an upset alert at Indiana last week with a 48-41 win but it certainly won’t get any easier for them in their second road game in as many weeks at Penn State this Saturday. The concern is that Michigan appears to be a fading bunch with two very close calls on the road in the last three weeks. The Wolverines were absolutely torched on the ground for 307 rushing yards by the Hoosiers and the Nitany Lions will have watched the tape from that game very closely in preparation for this matchup. Penn State will have also watched Michigan quarterback Jake Rudock become the first Big Ten quarterback to throw for 400 passing yards and six touchdowns in a single game since Kyle Orton did it for Purdue back in 2004. There’s also the factor that Michigan could be looking ahead to a matchup with Ohio State next weekend. They better not as this trip to Happy Valley is a tricky one.
Can No. 17 LSU Avoid A Third Straight Loss?
LSU followed up its worst performance of the season with an even bigger letdown in a tough 31-14 loss to Arkansas. It could get even worse for the Tigers when they visit No. 22 Ole Miss this Saturday afternoon. LSU is beaten up right now and with both its offensive and defensive lines struggling in the trenches, they have really had trouble both running the football and stopping the run. Star running back Leonard Fournette will need to rebound with a dominant road performance but he can’t do it alone. He hasn’t had enough help up front of late. Meanwhile, the Rebels had recorded big wins over Texas A&M and Auburn before falling just short in a thrilling 53-52 loss to Arkansas two weeks. They will look to get back on track with position in the SEC West still very much up for grabs following a wild two weeks of action.
