It didn’t take long for the College Football Playoff rankings to receive a major shake up as any debate about who deserved the final spot in the top four was addressed in Week 10. Washington rolled to another lopsided win over Cal while Texas A&M suffered a 35-28 loss to Mississippi State to ensure some movement at the top. The Huskies will need to make sure they avoid their own letdown with a tough opponent up next this Saturday and they aren’t the only top-25 team that should be wary of their next matchup. Here is a look at the top ranked teams on upset alert for Week 11 of the college football season.
#5 Washington vs. USC
Saturday, 7:30 PM ET
All the Huskies have to do to reach the playoffs is win out in the Pac-12. That seems fairly straightforward considering what they have done to this point in the season but the potential is there for an upset. Washington blew away Cal with a 66-27 win and Washington State is the lone remaining ranked opponent on their schedule the rest of the way with USC this week followed by Arizona State. It would be easy to overlook the Trojans but they have played much better of late with five straight wins and would like nothing more than to upset the Huskies and bring their perfect season to an end. Remember that USC started the season with a number of losses against ranked teams. Then they got their season back on track and now they get another measuring-stick type of game. This is important in the Clay Helton era; blow this one and he goes right back on the hot seat. Win it and the program is heading in a positive direction.
USC will throw everything it has at Washington in their biggest game of the year and while it’s still tough to see the Huskies losing this game they have to be on upset alert once again this week in what should be a close game.
Pick: USC +9
#9 Auburn @ Georgia
Saturday, 3:30 PM ET
Auburn is rolling right now with six straight wins but they barely pulled out a 23-16 win over Vanderbilt at home and now they have to travel to Georgia to face a tough opponent that would love to put them on upset alert. Tigers’ quarterback Sean White is still not 100 percent and the Auburn rushing attack could have a tough time moving the football against a tough Bulldogs front-seven. Kirby Smart’s first year at Georgia has been a major disappointment to say the least but they could earn a measure of redemption with a big home win over Auburn this weekend.
Pick: Georgia +11
#12 Penn State @ Indiana
Saturday, 12:00 PM ET
The Nittany Lions have turned a lot of heads by getting to 7-2 with big wins over Ohio State and Iowa over the last three weeks and suddenly they are being talked about as a dark horse contender in the Big Ten. However, a lack of consistency on offense coupled with the fact that they have largely overachieved to this point makes us wary about their matchup with Indiana this weekend. The Hoosiers defense has been excellent so far this season and if they can keep the Penn State offense from finding its rhythm they could have a very legitimate shot at pulling off the upset in front of a packed house at Memorial Stadium. They need to be on upset alert.
Pick: Indiana +7
#13 LSU @ Arkansas
Saturday, 7:00 PM ET
LSU put up a fight against Alabama and fell short so what happens to the Tigers following that massive showdown with the Crimson Tide? There is a good chance a letdown is in order with Arkansas looking to pounce if LSU brings anything less than their best to town this weekend. The SEC West is already out of reach so it wouldn’t be a surprise if there were some sort of a letdown from the Tigers with a tough schedule to close out the regular season. The Razorbacks are coming off a big win over Florida last week and will look to keep on rolling with another big victory against a top-25 team at home this weekend.
Pick: Arkansas +7
