Louisville pulled off the most impactful upset of the season so far with a lopsided 63-20 win over No. 2 Florida State over the weekend. That victory has completely changed the complexion of the ACC and has led to a major shakeup in the AP Top 25. Meanwhile, we also saw a big shakeup in the Big Ten when Iowa – deemed a frontrunner in one non-Ohio State, Michigan State and Michigan division – stumbled at home to North Dakota State. Texas, Oklahoma and Oregon were the other Top 25 teams to falter this past weekend, which is why we are looking ahead to this weekend trying to pin down the most likely upsets in what should be another wild weekend. Here is a look at the ranked teams on upset alert heading in to week four of the college football season.
#4 Michigan vs. Penn State
Saturday, 3:30 PM ET
Tom Brady’s visit to Michigan almost turned out really bad as his alma matter trailed Colorado 21-7 after one quarter of play before rallying back for the 45-28 win. Jabrill Peppers and De’Veon Smith stepped up with monster performances but the Wolverines looked shaky throughout the game. Despite clinching the win, they clearly don’t look invincible. Penn State’s only loss so far was a 42-39 result on the road at Pittsburgh so they should be able to give Michigan a tough test in week four. They’re on upset alert.
#12 Georgia @ #23 Ole Miss
Saturday, 12:00 PM ET
Georgia is coming off an impressive SEC road win over Missouri, but that victory was extremely close considering the perception surrounding the Bulldogs as the No. 12 team in the country right now. Quarterback Jacob Eason proved he can handle the pressure in close games but there are those that feel Georgia shouldn’t have been down in that game in the first place. It’s not as if Missouri is viewed as an SEC powerhouse, yet Georgia needed a late fourth-quarter drive to get in front. There is obvious reason to be cautious about their position moving forward to this week.
Ole Miss lost a shootout to Alabama last week but they at least showed they could compete with the top ranked team in the country. Remember that Ole Miss had a 24-3 lead at one point in the game. The Rebels will have the home field advantage this week, so they should be able to provide Georgia with a legitimate challenge. Georgia is squarely in upset alert territory.
#16 Baylor vs. Oklahoma State
Saturday, 7:30 PM ET
Baylor looked impressive in a big win over Rice and has now outscored its first three opponents by a combined 133-30 score. The question is whether or not the Bears can take care of business this week against their toughest opponent to date. Oklahoma State’s offense put on a show in last week’s 45-38 win over Pitt, and they should be hard to beat this week with Mason Rudolph and James Washington firing on all cylinders. Of course, Oklahoma State is no longer ranked because of their shocking, last-second loss to Central Michigan. However, they clearly haven’t looked the part of a Big 12 contender – at least on the defensive side of things. The Cowboys will certainly give Baylor a run for its money this week as they are always tough to beat in Stillwater.
#24 Utah vs. USC
Friday, 9:00 PM ET
Stanford’s matchup with UCLA was considered for an upset alert, but USC over Utah appears to be the more likely potential upset after the Trojans lost two of their first three games. A tough schedule has been a big part of the problem for USC with a couple of early defeats at the hands of Alabama and Stanford. Things won’t get much easier this week. Now they have to visit a Utah team that is ranked in the Top 25 after a good start to the season. USC will be throwing everything they have at the undefeated Utes hoping to knock them down. Utah barely escaped a battle with BYU when they secured a 20-19 win a couple of weeks ago so this matchup appears to have serious upset potential. While Stanford and Alabama were clearly a cut above USC, maybe this is a matchup for them in terms of what they’re capable of.
