Where will we find upsets in week eight?
The midpoint of the college football season is here. A lot of football has been played but a lot of question marks remain. Many of those question marks concern top-25 teams. This week there aren’t a lot of “prime time” matchups. This brings us to our question of the week, as TSS associate editors Bart Doan and Terry Johnson join staff writer Kevin Causey in this roundtable discussion.
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Question: Which ranked team is most likely to be upset in week eight?
Bart Doan:
On Twitter @TheCoachBart
Utah is the low-hanging fruit, but Michigan State deserves a mention as well. Granted, MSU was dead to rights and is living off self-combustion by some of its opponents, but the Spartans have still ousted decent football teams on their way to remaining unbeaten. If we’re going to say Michigan is all that and a bag of chips last week, MSU deserves credit for hanging with the Wolverines on the road and winning.
I know with Utah, everyone’s making a big deal over the fact that they’re underdogs to a completely uninspiring Southern Cal team as a form of disrespect, but I can’t get in line with oddsmakers really giving two squirts over perceived “respect,” they just want to see money move.
Otherwise, the Utes are ranked number three, and anyone who’s watched them thinks they’re probably a top 2 to 3 team at worst. The two teams ahead of them are ahead of them simply because they started ahead of them and that’s how voters vote.
Kevin Causey:
On Twitter @CFBZ
I think it’s Oklahoma. The Sooners absolutely destroyed Kansas State last week. They’ve done nothing this week but listen to everybody tell them how great they are.
Oklahoma has also beaten this week’s opponent, Texas Tech, three straight times. Many on this Sooners team have never lost to the Red Raiders.
This is the classic letdown scenario.
I look for the Red Raiders to pull the upset in this one.
Terry Johnson:
On Twitter @SectionTPJ
The most obvious choice here would be Virginia Tech over Duke. After all, the Hokies are a three-point favorite over the Blue Devils and are playing within the friendly confines of Lane Stadium. While that doesn’t exactly guarantee a victory, I certainly like Tech’s chances.
Likewise, the same holds true for Utah-USC. I could make a compelling case why the Trojans could upset the Utes, however SC is the favorite, so it’s technically not an upset.
Since I can’t consider either of those two contests as upsets, the only other plausible shocker that I can come up with is Tulsa over Memphis. While that seems highly unlikely after the Tigers’ win over Ole Miss last week, remember that the MU defense ranks 105th nationally in total defense and 126th against the pass. That hardly sounds like a unit that’s ready to stop Golden Hurricane QB Dane Evans, who is sixth in the country in passing yards per game, throwing for 354.5 yards per contest.
Please note that I am not saying that this upset will happen… I’m just saying it’s the only true “shocker” that I think is possible. Given that the Tigers have already defeated the team with the nation’s top passing attack (Bowling Green) earlier this season, my confidence level in this pick would be much lower than some of the other upset specials I’ve picked this year.
Yet, I’ll be glued to my TV set tonight to watch it all unfold.
