A number of underdogs made statements in marquee matchups in week five with Washington making the biggest statement of them all with a 44-6 win over Stanford in a game that shook up the entire outlook of the Pac-12. Clemson and North Carolina both pulled off impact wins in the ACC while Michigan State lost in overtime to Indiana and South Alabama took down San Diego State. A handful of top-25 teams have been put on notice once again heading in to this weekend with the potential for more upset alert games at the top. Here is a look at the top ranked teams on upset alert for week six of the college football season.
#5 Washington @ Oregon
Saturday, 7:30 PM ET
Washington made an absolute statement with a 44-6 win over Stanford last week and has leaped up the AP rankings to No. 5 in the country with five straight wins to open the season. It was easy to dismiss the Huskies when they cruised through their non-conference schedule early on but last week’s win over the Cardinal has Washington being talked about as a legitimate Pac-12 championship contender. Will there be an emotional letdown this week? The Huskies are on the road in a tough environment at Oregon and while the Ducks have looked terrible of late they still have the potential to thrive in an underdog role. Oregon will be looking to end Washington’s perfect season this Saturday night and they are getting nine points at home. The Huskies are on upset alert.
Pick: Oregon +9
#17 North Carolina vs. Virginia Tech
Saturday, 3:30 PM ET
North Carolina is another top-25 team that could be in line for an emotional letdown following last week’s road upset at Florida State. The Tar Heels ended the Seminoles’ 22-game home win streak in epic fashion but now they have to go to Virginia Tech and the upset alert situation against a Hokies’ side that has won three of four and has had an extra week to prepare for this showdown. Virginia Tech will get three points as the home underdog for this game but they have a legitimate shot at upsetting North Carolina and winning this game outright.
Pick: Virginia Tech +3
#18 Florida vs. LSU
Saturday, 12:00 PM ET
Les Miles finally got the axe at LSU following an 18-13 loss at Auburn. Last week’s 42-7 win over Missouri has a lot of people asking why the decision wasn’t made sooner. The Tigers looked like a different team under interim coach Ed Orgeron in last week’s win as Danny Etling threw for 216 yards while running backs Derrius Guice and Darrell Williams combined for 293 rushing yards and six touchdowns in place of injured running back Leonard Fournette. Orgeron has made a number of changes in terms of the way his team practices and in terms of their offensive philosophy when it comes to running the football down the throats of their opponents. The Gators rebounded from a loss at Tennessee with a close 13-6 win at Vanderbilt in which they clearly looked vulnerable. The Tigers will get an opportunity to make a statement on the road against Florida this week and an upset win would send a message to the rest of the country that LSU is back.
Pick: LSU Pick’Em
#20 Oklahoma vs. Texas
Saturday, 12:00 PM ET
The Sooners offense carried the load in a 52-46 win at TCU but there are plenty of reasons for concern after their defense was picked apart in another close game against a Big 12 opponent. Oklahoma has allowed at least 45 points in each of its last two games and now they head to the Cotton Bowl for a neutral site game versus Texas in the Red River showdown. The Longhorns are coming off back-to-back losses and have clearly struggled with consistency early on but they still have the talent to keep up with Oklahoma if their offense can step up and their defense can be better than they have shown so far this season. Texas has allowed an average of 38.3 points per game so far this season, including an average of 49.5 points in back-to-back losses to California and Oklahoma State. However, this is the same Longhorns’ team that upset Notre Dame in week one so if everything comes together they should be able to hang with an Oklahoma side that has underwhelmed early on this season. That’s why they’re on upset alert.
Pick: Texas +11
